LaLiga 2022-23 Archives

Barcelona solidify LaLiga title claim after Real Madrid stunned at Sociedad

SAN SEBASTIAN: Barcelona closed in on winning their 27th La Liga title after a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Osasuna at Camp Nou and Real Madrid’s disappointing 2-0 loss at Real Sociedad on Saturday.

Jordi Alba scored the decider after 85 minutes of a see-saw contest as visitors Osasuna braved Barcelona’s solid attack despite getting reduced to 10-man in the 26th minute.

Later Madrid faced a powerful punch to their title defence as Sociedad came out dominantly at home, leaving the champions 14 points behind leaders Barcelona with five games remaining.

The results give Barca, who now moves to 83 points, the chance to bag their first LaLiga title since 2019 with a win in their next encounter against city rivals Espanyol on May 14. They only need a win in the remaining five games to clinch the title.

Real Madrid would only be able to reach 83 points if they win the rest of their games. However, they could slip to third place on Wednesday if their city rivals Atletico Madrid win their home match against lowly Cadiz.

Sociedad took control early in the game but were made to wait 47 minutes before scoring their first goal through Takefusa Kubo.

They doubled their lead in the 84th through 21-year-old forward Ander Barrenetxea, taking advantage of defender Dani Carvajal sent off on the hour mark for a second yellow card.

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Barcelona thrash Real Betis to move closer to LaLiga title

BARCELONA: Andreas Christensen, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha scored goals as Barcelona outclassed 10-man Real Betis 4-0 on Saturday to consolidate their position at the top and moved a step closer to their 27th LaLiga title.

With only six games remaining, Barca dominate the standing with 79 points, 11 ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, who beat Almeria 4-2 earlier in the evening.

The result took Barca back on track after they faced a surprise 2-1 defeat to Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday.

Barcelona opened the scoring in the 14th minute with a point-blank header from Christensen following a cross from Raphinha.

Unsettled Betis suffered a setback in the 33rd minute when Edgar Gonzalez was sent off for two bad bad tackles, 21 minutes after he came off the bench to replace injured Luis Felipe.

The host capitalized on the advantage, scoring twice within three minutes before the break thanks to strikes by Lewandowski and Raphinha.

LaLiga top scorer Lewandowski increased his tally to 19 for the season with a first-touch shot from inside the box assisted by Jules Kounde in the 36th minute.

A couple of minutes later Raphinha hit Barca’s third goal of the night but the effort was initially ruled out his effort for offside before a VAR check overturned the decision.

With a victory in sight, the Catalan side relaxed a bit after the break but still managed to extend their lead through Guido Rodriguez’s own goal while he was trying to clear a cross from Ansu Fati inside six yards.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, thrashed Almeria 4-2 at Bernabeu after Karim Benzema scored thrice in the first half and a goal from Rodrygo in the second half.

The hat trick saw the French forward surpass Hugo Sanchez as the fourth-highest scorer in La Liga history with 236 goals.

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Rayo shock LaLiga leaders Barca, Atletico celebrate anniversary in style

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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Benzema hits hat-trick as Real Madrid crush Valladolid 6-0 in LaLiga

MADRID: Karim Benzema netted three goals in seven first-half minutes as Real Madrid stormed through Valladolid 6-0 on Sunday to cut leader Barcelona’s lead to 12 points in La Liga.

The hat trick took the French forward to 14 league goals this season — three behind the top-scorer Barca’s Robert Lewandowski.

Rodrygo opened the scoring in the 22nd minute before Benzema seized control at the Bernabeu, scoring a hat-trick in just seven minutes to totally outclass the opponents before the first half.

Benzema netted his first one with a diving header from a Vinicius Jr cross while barely escaping a collision with the far post.

The Brazilian then set up the second only three minutes later with a simple pass for the striker to score from the edge of the box.

The French forward completed his hat trick with an impressive overhead effort from inside the six-yard box and grabbed a Rodrygo cross that was behind him to score while his back was towards the goal.

Rodrygo then assisted Marco Asensio in the second half as he played a one-two pass with the Brazilian forward before sending the ball home.

Lucas Vazquez produced the final of the evening in the added time set up by Eden Hazard, who made his first league appearance since September as a substitute for Benzema.

With the win, second-placed Real surge to 59 points, five ahead of third-placed Atletico Madrid, who beat Real Betis 1-0 later on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Villareal edged past Real Sociedad to take sixth place in the standings with 44 points, thanks to second-half strikes by Dani Parejo and Nicolas Jackson.

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Barcelona storm past rock-bottom Elche to move closer to LaLiga title

ELCHE: Robert Lewandowski scored a brace as Barcelona wreaked havoc on bottom-placed Elche to win 4-0 and go 15 points clear of arch-rivals Real Madrid at the top of La Liga on Saturday.

The Catalan giants strengthen their position in the title race after this win while second-placed Real will look to keep their slim hopes alive with a win against Valladolid on Sunday.

League’s top scorer Lewandowski ended his goal drought after three goalless games when he opened the scoring in the 20th minute with a close-range finish after Ronald Araujo headed the ball down to him in front of the goal.

Ansu Fati doubled the lead in the 55th minute by receiving a pass from Ferran Torres in his own half, moving towards the outside of the box, and hitting low into the far corner for his first league goal since October.

Lewandowski scored his second of the night 10 minutes later after Gavi snatched the ball off Elche’s defence and set up brilliantly for the polish strike in the box.

Torres slotted the fourth goal of the visitors in the 70th minute to wrap up the game.

With the rout, Elche were pushed deep into the crisis with only 13 points from 27 games, 14 points away from the safety zone.

Earlier, Sevilla beat Cadiz 2-0 to go 13th in the standing on 31 points while the opponents were left stranded on the brink of the relegation zone.

Meanwhile, 14th-placed Getafe held Athletic Club to a nil-nil draw at home.

Girone edged past Espanyol, thanks to a late penalty scored by Christian Stunai two minutes before time, to jump to 10th place with 34 points.

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Morata’s late strike gives Atletico Madrid tense win at Girona

GIRONA: Alvaro Morata scored a late winner to help Atletico Madrid beat Girona 1-0 on Monday to tighten their claim on third place in the La Liga standings.

Atletico now move to 48 points, three ahead of fouth-placed Real Sociedad, which drew 1-1 against Mallorca on Sunday. Girona, however, are in 12th place with 30 points, four points above the relegation zone.

Leader Barcelona top the standing on 65 points, nine points clear of arch-rivals Real Madrid.

Attleico had a fortunate day at Montilivi as they snatched the win in stoppage time following some tense moments when substitute Morata’s effort was initially disallowed but after a VAR check, the visitors were finally handed the lead.

The Spanish striker registered his 10th goal of the season with that last-gasp strike

Atletico Madrid next host relegation-threatened Valencia on Saturday, while Girona face Rayo Vallecano in an away game.

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Getafe hold Cadiz to 2-2 draw after Unal’s late penalty

CADIZ: Enas Unal scored a brace from the spot to hold home side Cadiz to a 2-2 draw against Getafe in La Liga 25th matchday opener on Friday.

In an enthralling contest between two teams on the verge of the relegation zone, three of the four goals were scored on penalty kicks and ended with a player sent off from each side.

Cadiz equal on 27 points with 14th-placed Valladolid and 13th-placed Espanyol, as they moved to 15th place while Getafe stick to the Cadiz’s tail with 26 points, one ahead of Sevilla and Almeria.

Barcelona top La Liga standing on 62 points, nine points clear of arch-rivals Real Madrid.

Cadiz broke the deadlock in the 39th minute through Ruben Sobrino’s header after a brilliant cross from Carcelen.

The visitors found the after the break when Unal scored his first penalty goal in the 61st minute. Cadiz regained the lead 20 minutes later through a penalty after the referee sent off Getafe’s Domingos Duarte for a foul inside the area.

However, in the dying minutes of the game referee waved another red card, this time to Cadiz defender Isaac Carcelen. Unal netted his second goal of the night from the spot to bring the game to a standstill, moments before the final whistle.

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Rodriguez saves Real Madrid from derby defeat at Bernabeu

MADRID: Alvaro Rodriguez rescued Real Madrid from embarrassment at home with a late equalizer yet 10-man Atletico Madrid handed a severe blow to the defending champions’ La Liga title hopes after a tense 1-1 draw on Saturday.

The shared points between the two Madrid clubs after the derby give Barcelona a chance to extend their lead to 10 points over Real Madrid when they face Almeria on Sunday.

Currently, the holders are second on the table with 52 points, seven behind leaders Barcelona. Atletico sit on fourth with 42 points.

Real Madrid dominated the opponent at the start on a freezing afternoon and light snow but the home team remained unable to convert their on-paper superiority into scoring opportunities.

Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior and Marco Asensio unleashed the attack up front but could not find a way to break the deadlock as Atletico held the fort with a five-man defence.

Atletico opened the scoring when defender Jose Maria Gimenez netted a header from an Antoine Griezmann free kick in the 78th minute.

Real sprung after the slump and levelled seven minutes later with a clever header from 18-year-old forward Rodriguez from Luka Modric’s corner.

In another fixture, Sergio Navarro scored a second-half winner to give Cadiz a sensational 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano.

Earlier Espanyol edged past Mallorca 2-1 thanks to a brace from Martin Braithwaite.

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Barcelona extend LaLiga lead to 11 points after Pedri winner

VILLAREAL: Pedri’s first-half strike earned Barcelona three more points and tightened their grip on the La Liga title as they edged past Villareal 1-0 on Sunday.

With their fifth consecutive win in La Liga, Barcelona went 11 points clear of their arch-rivals and second-placed Real Madrid, who will host rock-bottom Elche on Monday.

The result also marked Barcelona’s 16th clean sheet this season, most by any time in Europe’s top five leagues.

The only goal of the game came in the 18th minute following an excellent build-up involving Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski before Pedri gave a superb finish past veteran goalkeeper Pepe Reina.

The goalless second half also witnessed a number of chances created by both sides. Lewandowski, Raphinha and Pedri missed chances to add a second for Barca.

Villareal came close to an equalizer in the final minutes but Samuel Chukwueze’s goal was disallowed for the offside.

Earlier, Athletic Club defeated Valencia 2-1, thanks to a second-half winner by Nico Williams following a 1-1 tie at the break.

Atletico Madrid, however, earned three points from an away fixture over Celta Vigo after Memphis Depay broke the deadlock a minute before time.

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Mallorca shock Real, Barca thrash Sevilla to go eight points clear at top

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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