Tag: La Liga

VILLAREAL: Etienne Capoue scored twice to seal a dominant 4-2 win for Villareal over 10-man Espanyol on Thursday and improved the side’s chances to qualify for the European championships. 

Valencia edged past Valladolid 2-1 thanks to a late strike from Javier Moreno in the dying minutes of an exciting contest.

Villarreal moved up to fifth on the table with 50 points, one ahead of sixth-placed Real Betis and five behind fourth-placed Real Sociedad. Espanyol are in the relegation zone with only 28 points in 31 matches this season.

Barcelona top the standing and are likely to win their first title since 2019 with a nine-point advantage over arch-rivals Real Madrid, who are on second place with 65 points.

Valencia, on the other hand, stay afloat of the relegation zone with the latest win, taking 16th place on the table while Valladolid remained 14th.

Espanyol opened the scoring through Javi Puado just before halftime but Villareal rebounded after the break finding the equalizer in the 53rd minute when Capoue slotted in the right-footed shot from outside the box.

Daniel Parejo took the lead for Villareal 10 minutes later from the very close range following a set piece situation.

Espanyol, however, rebounded and brought the game to a 2-2 stalemate in the 73rd minute when Joselu fired in from the centre of the box after Martin Braithwaite’s superb assist.

Nicolas Jackson put his team back into the lead seven minutes later after Alberto Moreno set him up with a fine through ball.

Capoue hit another one in the additional time to wrap up the game for Espanyol who were reduced to 10 men at the end.

In another La Liga fixture on Thursday, Sevilla broke Atheltic Club’s three-game winning streak with a late decider scored by Lucas Ocampos in stoppage time.

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MADRID: Barcelona suffered a shock 2-1 defeat against Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday and wasted a golden chance to stretch their lead at the top of La Liga. 

Atletico Madrid, on the other hand, celebrated their 120th anniversary in fashion as they beat Mallorca 3-1 to close in on city rivals Real Madrid with a difference of just two points.

Alvaro Garcia and Fran Garcia scored goals in each half to upset the lacklustre Barca, who still enjoy a healthy 11 points lead over second-placed Real.

With seven games to play, defending champions Real faced a severe jolt to their title hopes when they were stunned 4-2 at Girona on Tuesday.

Xavi’s side, however, are poised to win their first title since 2019 despite running out of luck at the end of the race as they won just one of their last four league matches – a close win over Atletico on Sunday.

Rayo lived up to the expectations at a sold-out Estadio de Vallecas as they broke the seven-game unbeaten streak of the Catalan giants in the league.

They proved to be the better side for most of the match and took the lead in the 19th minute after Sergio Camello tackled Gavi and quickly fed Alvaro Garcia who fired an unstoppable low shot past Barca goalkeeper.

Rayo doubled their lead in the 52nd minute thanks to a superb effort from Fran Garcia, who stole the ball from Frenkie de Jong in midfield and ripped through the Barca defence to finish with a fine touch past Ter Stegen.

Lewandowski scored the consolation goal for Barca in the 83rd minute.

Earlier Atletico put on an impressive show on their 120th anniversary with Antoine Griezmann assisting two of three goals scored by Rodrigo de Paul, Alvaro Morata and Yannick Carrasco.

Donned in special blue and white kits at home to mark the special occasion, Atletico faced an early setback as Matija Nastasic put Mallorca ahead after 20 minutes of play.

De Paul levelled right before the break after Predrag Rajkovic saved a shot from Griezmann, but the Frenchman crossed the rebound to his teammate.

The host then took the lead early in the second half when Morata fired a header home from Nahuel Molina’s cross.

Carrasco struck the third for his side after 77 minutes after Griezmann set him up with a fine lobbed pass.

Almeria moved up to 15th with a 2-1 win over 10-man Getafe, which left the hosts 17th, one point above the bottom three.

Celta Vigo earned a 1-0 win over rock-bottom Elche thanks to defender Joseph Aidoo’s diving header in the dying minutes of the game.

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GIRONA: Valentin Castellanos scored four goals to shock defending champions Real Madrid as they lost 2-4 against Girona on Tuesday in a major setback to their fading LaLiga title hopes.

Castellanos became the first player to hit more than three goals in a LaLiga game against Real Madrid since Esteban Echavarria’s five goals for Real Oviedo in December 1947.

With seven games left, Real title chances slipped further into dismay as they sit second on the table with 65 points, 11 behind leader Barcelona, who can stretch their lead on Wednesday when they play Rayo Vallecano.

Girona moved to ninth place with 41 points.

The hosts took Madrid by surprise with their all-out attack right from the start, scoring the opener just 12 minutes into the match when unmarked Castellanos headed in from close range on a cross from Miguel Gutierrez.

Girona doubled their lead 12 minutes later when the Argentinian grabbed on to a long ball, pushed his way into the box and blasted low underneath Madrid keeper Andriy Lunin.

Real’s Vinicius Junior reduced the home side’s advantage to 2-1 in the 34th minute, heading in Marco Asensio’s cross.

Castellanos, however, regained the two-goal cushion for his side right after the break,  netting home a right-footed half-volley after Real’s defence gave him room in the box.

The visitors repeated their mistake and left Castellanos alone inside the box when the 24-year-old headed in his fourth goal of the evening in the 62nd minute.

Madrid’s Lucas Vazquez hit a consolation goal from close range in the 85th minute.

Madrid has had a difficult time facing Girona this season since the reverse fixture at the Santiago Bernabeu ended 1-1 in October.

In another LaLiga fixture on Tuesday, Osasuna beat Cadiz 1-0 thanks to Ruben Garcia Santos’ winner in the 62nd minute.

Real Sociedad held Real Betis to a nil-nil draw at the latter’s home after 90 minutes of high-voltage action.

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Ferran Torres’ strike propelled Barcelona to recover from a recent slump to edge Atletico Madrid 1-0, moving them closer to winning their first La Liga title since 2019.

Earlier, having contested two straight goalless matches, Barca saw the defending champions Real Madrid cut into their lead with a victory over Celta Vigo. However, a first-half strike from Torres sealed the deal for the home side.

Torres’s brilliant low strike brought Barca back on the winning track and also restored their advantage to 11 points with eight games remaining.

Diego Simeone’s Atletico, being in red-hot form, failed to keep the home side silent as Torres stroked home from the edge of the box in the 44th minute to secure victory for Xavi Hernandez’s side.

Both sides then had multiple golden opportunities to score in the second half but Barcelona held on to their lead to script Atletico Madrid’s first defeat since the two teams clashed in January.

The hosts produced their 23rd clean sheet of the season in La Liga, with Marc-Andre ter Stegen making a brilliant stop to deny Antoine Griezmann an equaliser.

In another Sunday La Liga fixture, 13th-ranked Sevilla, fresh from thumping Manchester United in the Europa League, carried on their brilliant form to snatch a late winner and edged sixth-placed Villarreal 2-1 with Youssef En-Nesyri heading home in stoppage time.

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MADRID: Marco Asensio and Eder Militao netted goals to steer Real Madrid to a 2-0 win against Celta at Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday and bring down Barcelona’s lead to eight points at the top of LaLiga.

Leader Barcelona have a chance to solidify their claim on the title with a game in hand as they host Atletico Madrid on Sunday.

In-form Atletico are flying high on an unbeaten 13-game streak and have won their last six encounters in LaLiga. They sit third on the table with 13 points behind Barca and five from Real.

With eight games left in the season, defending champions Real maintained their hopes by moving to 65 points. Celta are 12th in the standings with 36 points.

After a steady start, Real started to apply pressure midway through the first half and took the lead in the 42nd minute through Asensio. The Spanish international finished with a fine touch from the middle of the box after Vinicius passed him a low cross running from the left.

Defender Militao doubled the lead right after the break by diving at a corner kick from Asensio and headed the ball over the Celta goalkeeper.

Earlier hosts Valladolid beat Girona 1-0 thanks to Monchu’s decider in the first half.

Real Sociedad, on the other hand, edged past Rayo Vallecano 2-1 with an own goal by Florian Lejeune after Alexander Sorioth neutralized Rayo’s lead two minutes after Isi Palazon’s opener in the second half.

Meanhwile, Nico Williams and Oscar de Marcos scored goals in each half to give Bilbao a 2-1 win over Almeria and take the side to seventh place on the table.

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Espanyol halted a six-match losing streak with a goalless draw against Cadiz on Friday, but they remain in La Liga’s relegation zone.

The Catalans sit 18th, two points from safety, and have played one more game than the three teams above them. Cadiz currently sits 14th, four points above the relegation zone.

Espanyol almost seized the lead at the half-hour mark but Cesar Montes headed wide, while Nico Melamed also came close but faltered.

Sergi Guardiola wasted two fine first-half chances for Cadiz, who held their own as Espanyol fought valiantly to halt their losing streak.

Espanyol striker Joselu headed one against the post at the hour mark and then had a goal disallowed for offside.

Espanyol applied pressure but came up empty as Joselu once more struck the woodwork, and Jeremias Ledesma saved Martin Braithwaite.

Ledesema then once again denied the Spain international a chance to score with a brilliant safe in the stoppage time of the enthralling contest.

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GETAFE: In an enthralling contest, Getafe earned a point as leaders Barcelona were held to a nil-nil draw twice a week in LaLiga on Sunday. 

The Catalan Giants, who drew 0-0 with Girona on Monday, would not be happy with this week’s results yet they maintain a healthy lead over second-placed Real Madrid at the top of the standings.

With the current draw, their advantage is cut down to 11 points over arch-rivals, who beat Cadiz 2-0 on Saturday. However, there are still nine games left in the season.

Visitors Barca had two chances to break the deadlock in the 25th minute when Raphinha came close to the target but his shot struck the post before Alejandro Balde’s effort from the rebound also hit the woodwork.

Despite dominating the possession for most of the match, Barcelona looked unimpressive in their attack in the absence of injured players such as Pedri and Ousmane Dembele – two of their mainstays in creating chances this season.

Barcelona next play Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou on next Sunday while 15th-placed Getafe, who sit four points above the relegation zone, visit Mallorca on the same day.

Earlier, Girona thrashed bottom-placed Elche 2-0 at home to go ninth in the standings, thanks to goals in each half by Valentin Castellanos and Oriel Romeu.

In another LaLiga fixture yesterday Atletico Madrid edged past Almeria 2-1 after Antoine Griezmann scored twice in the first half.

Later Sevilla grabbed a sensational 2-0 win at Valencia, credit to Loic Bade and Suso’s strikes in the second half.

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Nacho and Marco Asensio made back-to-back strikes within four second-half minutes half to help Real Madrid claim a 2-0 win over Cadiz and cut leader Barcelona’s lead to 10 points in La Liga on Saturday. 

Defending champion Real kept their slim title chances on the hook by crawling up to 62 points, ten points behind Barcelona who play at Getafe on Sunday. Atletico Madrid are third on the table with 57 points and will host Almeria on Sunday.

Madrid controlled the opponents throughout the game, possessing the ball 70 per cent of the time, and created several chances including three shots that hit the post and a few critical stops by Cadiz goalkeeper David Gil.

However, the visitors opened the scoring only in the 72nd minute when defender Nacho received a pass from Aurelien Tchouameni and slotted a powerful long-range shot into the bottom left corner.

Four minutes later, Asensio doubled the side’s lead by netting the ball from the edge of the box into the bottom left corner.

Earlier, Real Betis breezed past Espanyol 3-1 to go fifth on 45 points after Ayoze Perez, Juan Miranda and William Carvalho scored goals each.

Athletic Club beat Real Sociedad 2-0 at home, thanks to a sensational brace by Inaki Williams.

Valladolid, on the other hand, stunned Villareal 2-1 on the latter’s home ground after first-half strikes from Salim Amallah and Jawad El Yamiq.

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MADRID: Rayo Vallecano at home on Friday outclassed Osasuna 2-1 to end their winless streak in the ongoing La Liga 2022/23.

Osasuna’s defender Aridane Hernández attempt to make a tackle close to the goal line but instead pushed the ball into his own goal in the 40th minute.

Isi Palazón then took just three minutes to double Rayo’s lead when the midfielder latched on to a clearance by the defence and volleyed the ball just inside the post.

Osasuna’s Moi Gómez scored a stunning long-range goal in the 66th minute to cut Rayo’s lead to 2-1, but the hosts held on to its advantage to earn its first victory in nine games.

With their first victory, after more than two months, Rayo managed to leapfrog the visitors and moved into eighth place with 40 points, two clear of Osasuna.

Meanwhile, both teams still have a chance to finish sixth at the end of the season, which would earn them a Conference League spot.

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BARCELONA: Table-toppers Barcelona failed to extend their lead to 15 points over defending champions Real Madrid after the 11th-placed Girona held the home side for a goalless draw.

The title-chasing side now sits 13 points clear of second-placed Real Madrid with 10 more matches to go.

Barcelona were not at their best in a Catalan derby as Xavi Hernandez’s side appeared to be still reeling from the aftershocks of their Clasico defeat by Madrid last week in the Copa del Rey.

Mid-table Girona battled strongly and forced the leaders to drop points at home, for the first time in their home after three years.

Barcelona kept a clean sheet for the 21st time in the top flight, but they were unable to fully profit from Real Madrid’s slip-up as they sought to win La Liga for the first time since 2019.

Robert Lewandowski came close to opening the scoring for his side just four minutes into the game, after being set up by Fati, but fired it onto the top of the net.

Barcelona, once again came close to scoring the opener when Girona’s defender Santi Bueno almost netted an own goal but goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga responded well, dived and diverted the ball to safety and barred the hosts from taking the lead.

The goalkeeper made a brilliant save at his near post from Raphinha before clawing away a Ronald Araujo attempt from the resultant corner.

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