Barcelona Shines When It Counts: La Liga Review for Mar 20-22

The entire soccer world had it’s eyes on the match between Barcelona and Real Madrid this weekend and it did not disappoint. A hard-fought match took place at the Camp Nou, and while both teams were probably not at their best, the action and drama was still rampant. Barcelona won the game to take a 4-point lead in La Liga which leaves Real Madrid with some work to do if they want to win the title.

Let’s get to the games:

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Elche 0 (7-6-14)
Valencia 4 (17-6-4)
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The new third place side Valencia took on Elche in the first action of the weekend in La Liga. The first goal came in the 44th minute and would start a spiral downwards in composure for Elche. Valencia would score off of a terrible mistake by Elche goalkeeper Tyton. The next goal would come in the second half off of a sharply struck cross that found the outstretched foot of Paco Alcacer. Elche would compound their problems by scoring an own goal in the 71st and conceding one more at the end of the match to lose 4-0.

 

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Atlético Madrid 2 (17-5-5)
Getafe 0 (8-5-14)
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‘El Nino’ Fernando Torres was all business in this match-up as we would see him score very early in the match with a wicked header off of a cross into the box. The second goal would come in the 44th scored by Tiago. Throughout the match Getafe looked like a walk in the park for Atletico.

 

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Rayo Vallecano 1 (10-2-15)
Málaga 0 (13-5-9)
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Rayo Vallecano and Malaga was a match up of two solid mid-table teams and that was exactly what we saw. The match was very closely-contested but a goal in the 22nd minute by Kakuta would be what separated the two sides.

 

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Levante  0 (6-7-14)
Celta Vigo 1 (8-8-11)
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After a 2-0 loss to Real Madrid last week, Levante were desperate for any points in this match against Celta de Vigo. The play went back and forth for most of the game but Celta would find the breakthrough with a goal from Charles in the 86th minute to grab the win.

 

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Granada  0 (4-10-13)
Eibar  0 (7-6-14)
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Granada vs Eibar was a match up of two of the teams who are currently in terrible form. The play in this one was sloppy, unorganized and lacked creativity. In the end, it would end 0-0 and give both teams a useful point in trying to stave off relegation.

 

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Athletic Bilbao  2 (10-6-11)
Almería  1 (6-7-14)
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Athletic Bilbao have been in great form as of late and would continue it in this match against 17th placed Almeria. The first goal would come off of a corner kick for Athletic Bilbao as Etxeita would head home a goal. The second goal would be quite entertaining as Mikel Rico would chip the keeper from outside of the penalty box. The final goal in the game would come for Almeria in the 47th after taking a wicked deflection off of Bilbao defender Balenziaga.

 

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Deportivo La Coruña  0 (6-7-14)
Espanyol 0 (9-6-12)
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Deportivo would take home a valuable point in this match against 12th place Espanyol. The two teams have been in poor form as of late but the draw surely made both sides happy.

 

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Villarreal  0 (14-7-6)
Sevilla FC 2 (16-4-7)
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Villarreal had the chance to go level on points with Sevilla in this direct match-up but they would fail terribly. Sevilla tok control of this game in the first half with some very strong play before ultimately finding their first goal in the second half thanks to Coke. Minutes later in the 65th, they would double their lead with Vitolo and grab a firm hold of 5th place.

 

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Real Sociedad  3 (8-9-10)
Córdoba  1 (3-9-15)
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People are starting to feel bad for Cordoba who have lost their last 8 games in a row. Real Sociedad were not one of those teams who felt bad however as they would put up 3 goals in this contest. Cordoba did show some signs of life by scoring first in this one with Andone, but overall they were no match for Real Sociedad.

 

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Barcelona  2 (21-2-4)
Real Madrid  1 (21-1-5)
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The match the entire world was waiting for arrived at 4PM EST time and it was huge. The first 20 minutes of the game saw Barcelona in complete control and they would be rewarded with a goal off a set piece by Jeremy Mathieu who scored his first ever clasico goal of his career. The remaining minutes of the 1st half saw Real Madrid answer with some exceptional play of their own, creating chance after chance until finally scoring on a beautiful example of team play involving Modric, Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo. The game would kick off in the second half with Real Madrid still in control and creating chance after chance until Jordi Alba played an exceptional ball for Luis Suarez in the 56th who took it down and slotted it past Iker Casillas. At this point, Real Madrid were unable to look dangerous anymore and Barcelona would regain control of the match by creating multiple chances with Neymar. The match would end 2-1 and 1st place would remain with the Blaugrana.