The La Liga title race is far from finished and it became more interesting this weekend. Real Madrid conceded a draw at home against Celta and Barcelona are back on track with a win against Getafe.
This means that Setien’s team is just 1 point away from the leaders. There is more. Look here the La Liga table:
Real Madrid 2 x 2 Celta Vigo
Real Madrid knew a win at the Bernabeu over Celta Vigo on Sunday night would keep Barcelona at arm’s length but things got off to a terrible start as the away side took the lead on 7 through Fyodor Smolov who found himself one on one with Thibaut Courtois after Celta had cut through the Madrid backline far too easily.
Real were far from dominant and only pulled level on 52 when Toni Kroos emphatically slammed home Marcelo’s cutback but on 65 they took the lead for the first time. Eden Hazard looked to be running the ball out of play but was brought down by Celta keeper Ruben Blanco and Sergio Ramos beat Blanco down to his right from the resultant spot-kick.
Celta weren’t to be denied though and on 85 they earned the point they deserved; Denis Suarez turned this way and that before sliding Santi Mina in behind and he made no mistake finding the net for 2-2.
Barcelona 2 x 1 Getafe
When Getafe visited Camp Nou on Saturday it was second versus third with the hosts aiming to temporarily go level on points with Real Madrid but it was Getafe who had the ball in the net first.
Jorge Molina forced Marc Andre Ter Stegen into action with a header following a corner and Allan Nyom tucked the rebound in from close range – thankfully for Barca, the goal was chalked off by VAR for a foul in the build-up.
Barcelona responded well to that scare and on 33 took the lead thanks to a delicately flicked finish from Antoine Griezmann after Lionel Messi has slipped him through on goal with a sublime first-time pass. Then, just five minutes later, the home side doubled their lead; Sergi Roberto rolling a finish into the bottom corner from a low cross by Junior Firpo for 2-0.
The second half saw Barcelona fail to cut their opponents open and on 66 Angel halved the lead with a sensational side-footed volley from Jaime Mata’s right-wing delivery and late on Getafe were agonizingly close to nicking a point as they saw three last-ditch saves from Ter Stegen in a frantic scramble.
Valencia 2 x 2 Atletico Madrid
Atletico narrowly overcame Granada last time out to stop a poor run of form and an early goal away at Valencia gave them hopes of building a winning run. The opening goal came on 15 through Marcus Llorente’s finish from six yards but on 40 they were pegged back.
Atletico failed to clear a corner and afforded far too much time to Maxi Gomez at the back post. Gomez controlled and hit a powerful half volley into the mix where Gabriel nodded home for 1-1.
Just three minutes later though Atletico restored their lead thanks to a solo goal from Thomas Partey.
The Ghanaian international robbed Daniel Parejo in the middle of the park before driving towards goal and firing a low 18-yard strike beyond Jaume Domenech.
It remained 1-2 until the hour mark when Valencia leveled up for the second time; Parejo delivered a free-kick deep into the Atletico box and Geoffrey Kondogbia, who was attempting to shrug off Llorente, appeared to half stand on the ball but with enough of a touch to send it across Jan Oblak and into the net.
Mallorca 1 x 0 Alaves
Mallorca welcomed Alaves knowing it would be a tough encounter with Alaves having taken seven points from the last 12 to pull away from danger.
The hosts were the better side in the opening 45 though albeit without finding a way past Fernando Pacheco in the Alaves’ goal but had a golden chance just before the break.
Lisandro Magallan was penalized for handball. Salva Sevilla stepped up to take the resultant spot-kick. Despite doing everything right, Pacheco got down well to claw the ball away from his left-hand post ensuring the half time whistle went with things at 0-0.
In the second half, Lucas Perez wasted Alaves’ best chance as he pulled an effort wide of the upright when he should have hit the target. Then at the other end, Daniel Rodriguez had a goal ruled out because of a handball in the build-up.
The deadlock didn’t remain though because on 63 Mallorca netted what would prove to be a crucial winner. Cucho Hernandez headed goalwards, that man Pacheco saved, but Hernandez reacted quickest to have a second bite of the cherry and made no mistake. 1-0 is how it stayed.
Villarreal 2 x 1 Levante
Levante beat Leganes to pull away from the relegation battle last week but an away trip to Villarreal was a much more challenging fixture. That’s exactly how it looked too when the hosts took a ninth-minute lead through Gerard Moreno, who shaped a left-footed finish into the corner.
Villarreal was the better side but Aitor Fernandez kept the score at 1-0 whilst Levante only really threatened from set-pieces. They did, however, equalize on 56 from open play. Carlos Clerc delivered a low cross that evaded everyone and Borja Mayoral stole in at the back stick to turn in.
The score only stayed at 1-1 for five minutes though. On 61, Villarreal retook the lead thanks to a smartly stroked Moi Gomez finish from 18 yards after Moreno teed him up with a square ball and it proved enough to win the game.
Granada 2 x 1 Real Valladolid
Valladolid has eased relegation fears over the past two games having claimed four points. A trip to Granada presented a realistic chance of grabbing another three.
The game looked in danger of playing out in dull fashion with neither side showing a killer instinct but on 56 Sergio Guardiola somehow beat Rui Silva with a cross-shot from a tight angle. The keeper really ought to have stopped it, but it gave Valladolid a 0-1 lead.
Valladolid has flirted at the wrong end of the table for a reason though and on 81 Jose Diaz was left unmarked to nod in a cross from Darwin Machis to make it 1-1. The action still wasn’t over and in the sixth minute of injury time, Granada snatched victory when Carlos Fernandez swiveled and swept home.
Sevilla 2 x 2 Espanyol
Espanyol might be bottom of the table but they’ve proven there is some fight in their squad over the past few matches. Sevilla knew a home tie with their visitors wouldn’t be as straight forward as it appeared on paper.
The home crowd was celebrating early on though when Lucas Ocampos headed in Suso’s cross. Espanyol meanwhile had created next to nothing but on 35 made it 1-1 through Adri Embarba’s sneaky free kick that went under the wall and into the bottom corner.
Five minutes after the interval Espanyol took a 1-2 lead after going route one. Diego Lopez launched a free-kick upfield, Jonathan Callleri won the header and Wu Lei beat Tomas Vaclik.
On 69, Victor Sanchez saw red for a second yellow that meant the basement club would have to hold on with 10 men. On 80 their resolve was broken by Suso who struck a low effort beyond Lopez.
Athletic Bilbao 0 x 1 Osasuna
Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna are both locked in mid-table with the possibility of European soccer very much an outside shot but still a possibility if they could string a run together.
On 29, it was Osasuna who struck first; a free-kick was delivered to the far post where it was headed into the danger zone, Darko Brasanac connected with a header of his own to send it goal bound. It was straight at Unai Simon.
Simon could only parry and Oier gobbled up the rebound for 0-1. Bilbao rallied to try and find a way back in but found Sergio Herrera in fine form.
They did beat the Osasuna shot-stopper on two occasions – an Unai Paris free-kick and an Aritz Aduriz header – but both struck the woodwork ensuring Osasuna move level on points with their hosts.
Leganes 0 x 0 Real Betis
Leganes are just one of a few sides battling to keep their heads above water and they entertained Real Betis on Sunday looking to add further points to their tally.
Neither side ever looked like scoring – despite no lack of effort – and in injury, time frustration boiled over for Betis man Borja Iglesias who received his marching orders.
It is also mentioning that Eibar x Real Sociedad was postponed due to air pollution after a landfill collapsed. The game will be played on March 10th.
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