Tag: La Liga

SPAIN: Real Betis’ Andres Guardado’s match-winning goal propelled the side to move closer to fourth-placed Atletico Madrid with a victory over Almeria while Valencia failed to escape the relegation zone following a 1-2 defeat against Athletic Club.

Betis, which had been struggling in their previous fixtures amid an otherwise strong season, triumphed over Almeria 3-2 to move just one point within the fourth-placed Atletico Madrid.

Midfielder Sergio Canales, deflected a floated pass by Rodri Sánchez with his chest before chipping the ball over the advancing goalkeeper with his left boot without letting the ball touch the ground in the 42nd minute to power Betis to lead 2-1.

Almeria forced level in the 62nd minute before Guardado then headed in a cross from Canales in the 70th minute to secure the victory.

Rodri opened the scoring for Betis in just the sixth minute while Luis Suárez and Samu Costa scored for Almeria in the loss.

Meanwhile, Valencia failed to escape the relegation zone despite a firm start at home against Athletic Club letting the game slip away 1-2.

Samu Castillejos put Valencia in front in just the 17th minute, only for Nico Williams and Oihan Sancet to score for sixth-placed Athletic Club and sealed the victory for the tourists.

Following the defeat, Valencia hold the 18th position with only 20 points after Cadiz escaped the drop zone on Friday with a win.

In another fixture, Sevilla stunned better-ranked Mallorca 2-0 to secure 12th position in the standings while Jorge Sampaoli’s side remained at 10th.

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Holders Real Madrid suffered a shock 1-0 defeat at Mallorca, damaging their bid to defend the La Liga title as Barcelona extended their lead at the top after defeating Sevilla 3-0 on Sunday. 

Barcelona went eight points clear of their arch-rivals and second-placed Real Madrid and stretched their La Liga winning streak to five games.

Jordi Alba, Gavi and Raphinhea scored second-half goals to thrash Sevilla following a disappointing outcome for Real earlier in the day.

A bizarre own goal from Nacho in the 13th minute spoiled the game for Real, who couldn’t find the equalizer rest of the way.

Nacho left everyone stunned when he tried to clear a cross and headed the ball into the nets, going over the head of his own goalkeeper.

Real failed to make a breakthrough despite having perfect control and about 70% of the possession. At the hour mark, they had a fantastic opportunity, but Predrag Rajkovic made a brilliant save to deny Marco Asensio a penalty goal.

Meanwhile, at Camp Nou, the host also witnessed Robert Lewandowski’s two attempts getting blocked by  Yassine Bounou in the first half.

However, Barcelona rebounded sharply after the break and broke the deadlock in the 59th minute when substitute Franck Kessie showed great skills to set up the ball for Alba, who breached Sevilla’s defence to slot it in from close range.

Gavi doubled the lead twelve minutes later with a beautiful low cross from Raphinha, who then hit the third goal in the 79th minute with a point-blank strike, through Alba’s assist.

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BILBAO: Olhan Sancet put up a stellar performance to take Athletic Club back on the winning track as they claimed a commanding 4-1 win over Cazid in La Liga on Friday. 

The Spanish forward Sancet opened the scoring for the hosts in just the 10th minute to set up a solid foundation for a dominant show over struggling Cadiz.

Gonzalo Escalante, however, struck back 15 minutes later to neutralize Athletic Club’s lead but only for Sancet to strike again and restored his side’s lead in the 35th minute.

Yeray Alvarez then joined Sancet as he struck a timely goal in the closing minutes of the first half to give his side complete command at the halfway mark.

Sancet then once again managed to breach the Cadiz defence and scored his third to propel the home side to a commanding win over weak visitors.

Following a humiliating defeat, Cadiz entered the unwanted relegation zone as they slipped to the 18th place with Valladolid one point ahead of them following their 1-0 victory over Valencia.

The Athletic Club, on the other hand, secured the seventh position with 29 points.

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MADRID: Marco Asensio and Vinicius Junior scored second-half goals to put Real Madrid’s La Liga campaign back on track as they sealed a dominant 2-0 win over struggling Valencia on Thursday. 

The defending champions jumped to 45 points in second place, five behind table leaders Barcelona. who beat Real Betis on Wednesday.

Valencia, who sacked manager Gennaro Gattuso the previous day, were handed their fifth straight defeat last night and are 14th in the standings with 20 points, one clear of the relegation zone.

Valencia defender Gabriel Paulista was sent off with a straight red 18 minutes from final time as he chopped down Vinicius with a ruthless tackle, almost starting a brawl among players on the pitch.

Real controlled the game for most parts but wasted a few opportunities in the first half.  VAR ruled out Antonio Rudiger’s goal just before the break for a Benzema foul in the build-up.

Real rebounded strongly after half-time as they scored two in two minutes, an excellent curling shot into the top corner by Asensio after 52 minutes followed by Vinicius’ close-range smash to finish off a swift counter-attack.

Real Madrid will next face Mallorca on Sunday.

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SEVILLE: Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski struck a goal each to take Barcelona 2-1 up against Real Betis on Wednesday and extend their lead to eight points at the top of La Liga.

Betis goalkeeper Rui Silva made a string of excellent saves to deny Pedri before Raphinha scored from Alejandro Balde’s cross.

Betis created their chances too on and almost scored through Borja Iglesias and Sergio Canales but found Jules Kounde to block their effort.

It took 65 minutes for Barcelona to break the stalemate with Raphinha tapping the ball into the nets from close range before Lewandowski scored his 14th goal of the season to make it 2-0, 15 minutes later.

Kounde’s own goal in the 85th minute threatened to spoil the party for Barcelona but the visitor hung on to claim three points.

Following the win, Barcelona cemented their position at the top with 50 points from 19 matches, eight points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, who will host Valencia on Thursday.

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VILLAREAL: Sergio Camello struck a second-half winner to take Rayo Vallecano to seventh place in the La Liga table as they beat Villarreal 1-0 at El Madrigal on Monday. 

Vallecano jumps ahead of eighth-placed Osasuna with 29 points while Villareal takes fifth position and levels on point with sixth-placed Real Betis.

Barcelona, however, cemented their position at the top since they are five points clear of second-placed Real Madrid, who were held in a nil-nil draw by Real Sociedad on Sunday.

Vallecano dominated the home side right from the start and made a few unsuccessful attempts in the first half.

Camello broke the deadlock in the 72nd minute with a superb solo and finding the back of the back nets from the edge of the box.

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MADRID: Real Sociedad goalkeeper Alex Remiro erected a bulwark to leave Real Madrid frustrated as they finished in a nil-nil draw at Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday. 

An unwanted outcome at home left Madrid five points behind leaders Barcelona who edged Girona 1-0 on Saturday to extend their lead to 47 points in La Liga.

Madrid made 20 goal attempts but Sociedad weathered the storm thanks to a string of excellent saves by Remiro, who ensured a point for his side on its visit.

Vinicius Junior wasted three chances, including two from close range with Remiro repelling all of them. The keeper also blocked the efforts by Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos and Rodrydo.

Real unleashed a solid attack from the beginning and created a few chances in the first half through Benzema and Vinicous’ slick moves.

Benzema constructed Real’s first chance in the seventh minute when he dribbled past three defenders but had his close-range shot stopped by Remiro.

Vinicius created another soon afterwards, beating defender Igor Zubeldia to run into the box but his right-footed effort went wide.

Rodrygo also fired a shot from the edge of the box in the 35th minute and once again, Remiro thwarted the effort with a stunning save.

Vinicius had his second chance before the break when he received the ball from Benzema but Remiro blocked his low shot with his left leg.

The Brazilian winger received his last opportunity in the 70th minute but the goalkeeper intercepted the one-on-one chip shot.

Earlier Atletico Madrid, however, edged past Osasuna 1-0 thanks to a second-half winner by Saul Niguez in an away fixture at El Sadar.

Meanwhile, Celta Vigo shocked Athletic Club with Iago Aspas scoring the decider in the 71st minute to steer his side above the relegation zone and equal points with 17th-placed Valladolid, who beat Valencia 1-0 on Sunday.

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GIRONA: Pedri’s second-half strike earned Barcelona three more points and maintained their top position in the La Liga table as they beat Girona 1-0 on Saturday.

Barcelona jumped to 47 points, six ahead of their arch-rivals and second-placed Real Madrid who will host Real Sociedad on Sunday.

Girona, however, slipped to 12th and level on 21 points with 13th-placed Sevilla who later beat Elche 3-0.

Xavi Hernandez made a few adjustments to his starting lineup, which defeats Real Sociedad in Copa del Rey on Wednesday, resting key players including Robert Lewandowski and  Ronald Araujo.

Despite outplaying the opponents in the first half, Barcelona failed to create clear-cut chances. In the 14th minute, Ousmane Dembele was able to test Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga, but he made a crucial stop. Eleven minutes later, Dembele was forced off the field due to an injury.

Pedri broke the deadlock after the hour mark and scored the lone goal of the game.

Meanwhile, Sevilla’s convincing 3-0 win came on the back of a sensational first-half display which witnessed three goals within 20 minutes.

Youssef En-Nesyn scored a brace with Marcos Acuna striking in between to give Sevilla a comforting lead before the break.

Later Real Betis edged past Getafe 1-0 thanks to a late penalty by Borja Iglesias in the dying minutes.

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BARCELONA: The second top-scorer of the ongoing La Liga season Joseulu Mato’s strike in the stoppage time went in vain as Espanyol succumbed to a thumping 3-1 defeat at the hands of home side Almeria on Friday.

Rubi’s Almeria carried on their consistent performance to remain unbeaten in the Spanish league since the resumption after World Cup.

After being promoted for the ongoing season, the side went undefeated in the last five La Liga fixtures since the end of December and also emerged as one of the strongest teams at home with six triumphs in 10 games.

Meanwhile, in their dominant show over Espanyol, the home team got off to a somewhat unpleasant start, missing a number of opportunities until Colombia’s Luis Suarez ultimately scored the opener in the 21st minute.

Suarez’s opener injected Almeria with momentum, resulting in the side pressing Espanyol’s defence more rigorously and soon got rewarded when former Espanyol forward Leo Baptistao doubled their lead in the 61st minute.

The home side then tasted another triumph in the 77th minute when Gonzalo Melero set up Francisco Portillo, who eased the ball into the nets.

Espanyol forward Joselu got the touring side’s consolation goal in stoppage time to close in gap with the leading scorer Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski (13) with his 11th of the season.

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BARCELONA: Pedri’s first-half strike earned Barcelona three more points and maintained their top position in the La Liga table as they beat Getafe 1-0. 

Barcelona jumped to 44 points, three ahead of their arch-rivals and second-placed Real Madrid who also defeat Athletic Club 2-0 later on Sunday.

Getafe, however, slipped to 16th and level on 17 points with Celta Vigo and 18th-placed Real Valladolid, barely above the relegation zone thanks to a better goal difference.

In preparation for Wednesday’s Copa del Rey quarterfinal match against Real Sociedad, head coach Xavi Hernandez made many adjustments to his starting lineup, resting key players including Robert Lewandowski, Ronald Araujo, and Frenkie de Jong.

Pedri broke the deadlock in the 34th minute by latching onto Raphinha’s pass and guiding it to the back of the nets.

Barcelona dominated the opposition throughout the game, holding possession of the ball for about 70% of the time. However, with only four shots on target during the entire match, the Catalan Giants did not produce many obvious opportunities to widen their lead.

Meanwhile, experienced Karim Benzema and Toni Kross scored goals to take Real Madrid home with flying colours at San Mames.

Ballon d’Or winner Benzema gave his side a lead in the 23rd minute with an eloquent left-footed finish from the centre of the box while Toni Kroos extended the lead in the dying minutes of the game with a long-range shot.

Earlier, a late penalty shot from Dani Parejo deep into the stoppage time helped fifth-placed Villareal sink Girona 1-0 at El Madrigal.

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