Barcelona have finally overtaken Real Madrid for the top spot in the table in Spain. What made it even better for Barca supporters is that Lionel Messi also tallied yet another hat trick to his illustrious list of accomplishments. One positive note for Real Madrid is that they can still grab the lead back with the infamous ‘El Clasico” coming up on March 22nd. In other news, Atletico look to have lost their chance at repeating as La Liga champions after a tough draw vs. Valencia.
Let’s get to the games:
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Levante | 2 | (6-7-13) |
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Eibar | 1 | (7-6-13) |
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Things haven’t been going so well for Levante this season who entered the 26th round of La Liga in the relegation zone behind the likes of Elche and Almeria. They had to feel good about facing 13th place Eibar who have now lost their last 6 matches heading into this one. The first half of this one had us thinking that this game would be a dull affair before things heated up in the second. Saul Berjon would score a stunning volley in the 55th minute for Eibar which would go down as an early contender for goal of the week. Levante would tie the game up 9 minutes later with a deflection off of Barral finding it’s way into the net. Levante would strike again only minutes later as Eibar was still recovering from Barral’s goal. This time, it would come off of a terrible mishap from the Eibar defense that would leave Kalu Uche in on goal to strike home the game winner.
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Deportivo La Coruña | 3 | (6-7-13) |
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Sevilla FC | 4 | (15-4-7) |
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Sevilla have proved to be a solid and strong squad all year holding onto their 5th place spot, and they would continue to show their strength in this match against Deportivo. The struggling Deportivo side would give Sevilla a run for their money here but it would not be enough to gain any points towards salvation. Oriol Riera would score a brace in this match but 2 goals from Vitolo, a penalty kick from Gameiro and an own goal by Sidnei would do them in for this fixture.
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Athletic Bilbao | 1 | (9-6-11) |
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Real Madrid | 0 | (20-1-5) |
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The only goal in this one came off of a sweetly delivered cross from Mikel Rico that found the run of the Athletic Bilbao big-man Aritz Aduriz who powerfully headed the ball into the net. Real Madrid would shuffle and panic for the rest of the match desperately trying to score an equalizer but this lack of composure seemed to have actually hurt Real Madrid instead of helping them. Most of the players on the pitch had a look of panic and uneasiness on their faces throughout the match. The closest Real Madrid would get to finding an equalizer would come from Gareth Bale shot from almost the half line which bounced off of the post and then cleared out for a corner by Athletic’s defense. Overall, Athletic Bilbao deserved the 3 points in this one after putting in a very strong performance.
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Elche | 1 | (7-6-13) |
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Almería | 0 | (6-6-14) |
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Elche would have the best day of all the potential relegation sides in Spain as they would grab this 1-0 victory from 18th place Almeria who were desperate for points. The goal would come off some fancy footwork from Jonathas before placing a cross into the box for Victor Rodriguez to slot home in the 6th minute. A crucial 3 points for Elche sees them in 15th place and some breathing room; which they will need having to face Sevilla next week.
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Granada | 1 | (4-10-12) |
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Málaga | 0 | (12-5-9) |
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19th place Granda put on quite the performance against 7th place Malaga in this game. The home side held 63% possession and outshot Malaga 13-3. The goal would come off of a powerful header from Robert Ibanez that was deflected in by a Malaga defender trying to clear it off the line.
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Barcelona | 6 | (20-2-4) |
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Rayo Vallecano | 1 | (9-2-15) |
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The performance that Barcelona put in this match-up made it seem as if it didn’t matter who they were playing this week. The Real Madrid loss the day before had to be a huge spark for Barcelona and it was evident in the match against Rayo. Luis Suarez continued his excellent form by scoring in the 5th minute and sending an early message to Rayo that the day would not be easy for them. Barcelona would be leading 5-0 by the 68th minute and were in complete control of the game throughout. Rayo was able to score a late goal from last week’s hero Alberto Bueno, but Barcelona would then erase that goal with another from Suarez in stoppage time.
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Real Sociedad | 1 | (7-9-10) |
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Espanyol | 0 | (9-5-12) |
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This game was an absolute nightmare for Espanyol goalkeeper Kiko Casilla. It’s hard to truly talk about anything else in this game after seeing the blunder by Casilla who will surely never forget this match. Kiko Casilla would attempt a no look pass to his left while his body was facing his right. The pass would go directly to Sergio Canales who easily passed the ball into the net in the 38th. Espanyol did have the remainder of the game to get their keeper off the hook but the blunder might have been too costly for the team’s morale to sustain.
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Villarreal | 4 | (14-6-6) |
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Celta Vigo | 1 | (8-8-10) |
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Villarreal has been a part of some huge matches in their recent fixtures, but would have somewhat of a break when they would welcome Celta to the Madrigal. All the star players showed up to play this day for Villarreal and they would receive goals from Dos Santos, Vietto, Musacchio and Gerard Moreno. Celta would look dangerous at times in this game, but they seemed to have forgotten their finishing boots at home as they would only muster up 1 goal on 13 shots total.
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Atlético Madrid | 1 | (17-4-5) |
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Valencia | 1 | (16-6-4) |
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Atletico-Valencia promised to be an intriguing match-up between two very good sides. The first half was a heated affair with slightly better play coming from Atleti. The first goal would come from Atletico midfielder Koke who would hammer home a shot from the top of the box. Valencia would then come close on a number of occasions until Shkodran Mustafi would ultimately tie the game up late on with a scrappy goal coming off of his headed attempt. The final result was a fair one, but Atletico must have been disappointed as their chances to repeat as La Liga champions seems to have slipped away.
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Córdoba | 1 | (3-9-14) |
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Getafe | 2 | (8-5-13) |
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The final match-up of the week would see last place Cordoba at home with a chance to stay afloat with the rest of the relegation contenders. Cordoba would put in a hard-fought game throughout the match and actually be able to take the lead in the 77th minute with Florin Andone’s goal. Unfortunately for Cordoba, the familiar theme of heartbreak would come to haunt them as they would let in an own goal and then finally have the dagger sunk into them by Juan Rodriguez in the 92nd minute.