Barcelona wins late against Real Betis, Atletico Madrid triumphs in Madrid derby
Jordi Alba struck in the fourth minute of additional time of the second half to hand Barcelona a 2-1 victory over Real Betis on Matchday 35 of La Liga. The win ensured Barca stayed tight for the second spot holding a four-point lead over third-placed Sevilla. Title winners Real Madrid slowed down a bit as they lost 1-0 to Atletico Madrid ahead of their UEFA Champions League finals.
Levante 2-1 Real Sociedad
Matchday 35 of La Liga started with relegation-threatened Levante edging sixth-placed Real Sociedad courtesy of Gonzalo Melero’s late penalty in the 90th minute. Earlier in the game, Jorge Miramon scored his first goal of the season after finding himself unmarked at the edge of the box to slam the ball into the far corner and put Levante in the driver’s seat in the 53rd minute.
The lead lasted only 13 minutes as David Silva made a run through the centre to nod home Andoni Gorosabel’s lobbed pass. However, it was Levante who had the last laugh in the dying embers of the contest.
Mallorca 2-6 Granada
Granada pumped six goals past Mallorca to come out of the dropzone in a relegation six-pointer contest. The visitors opened the floodgates in the sixth minute through Luis Suarez after the Colombian pounced on a rebound off a corner-kick to tap the ball home.
Salva Sevilla’s long-range effort from outside the box jubilated the home crowd in the 28th minute but Sergio Escudero put Granada in the lead once again in the 46th minute after a lovely one-two. Antonio Puertas’ cheeky heel-flick from a hand-shaking distance doubled their advantage before Mallorca captain Antonio Raillo pulled one back for his side in the 58th minute.
Jorge Molina rifled his shot into the bottom corner to restore Granada’s two-goal lead in the 69th minute before setting up Myrto Uzuni nine minutes later to score his side’s fifth. Molina completed his brace by turning past his marker and making the most of his weaker foot to bundle the ball into the net right before stoppage time.
Athletic Club 0-0 Valencia
Mid-table clubs Athletic Club and Valencia played a goalless draw against each other to share the spoils as both of them spurned wonderful opportunities to break the deadlock. In the final action of the game, the referee gave marching orders to Hugo Guillamon for holding back a player in the centre of the field.
Cadiz 3-0 Elche
Cadiz enjoyed a much-needed three points to go three points clear of the dropzone with three games remaining as they beat a ten-man Elche 3-0. Ezequiel Ponce was shown a red card for elbowing an opposition player right under the referee’s nose and Cadiz showed no signs of remorse in taking the revenge.
Alvaro Negredo leapt above his marker to head home Lucas Perez’s cross in the 80th minute while Ruben Sobrino doubled their lead three minutes later after running past the napping Elche defence. Anthony Lozano hit the final nail in the coffin in the dying embers of the game after his second attempt from the weaker foot bulged the far corner.
Celta Vigo 4-0 Alaves
Celta Vigo battered bottom-placed Alaves 4-0 to bolster their ambitions of finishing inside the top half of the table. Thiago Galhardo scored the first goal by prodding the ball home from close distance in the sixth minute. The goalscorer turned into an assist provider thirty minutes later as his defence-splitting pass found Iago Aspas, who made no mistake in smothering it into the net.
An own goal by Ximo Navarro in the 57th minute left Alaves three goals behind and things went from bad to worse for Navarro as he got red-carded seven minutes later. Iago Aspas’ free-kick from the edge of the box hit the wall but his first-time shot from the rebound bulged the net as the goalkeeper stood rooted to the spot.
Real Betis 1-2 Barcelona
Ansu Fati scored the first goal for Barcelona against Real Betis
Both the ‘keepers stood up to their respective tasks of not letting the ball go past them as the scoreline remained nil-nil till the last fifteen minutes of the game. A slight deflection off a defender helped the young Ansu Fati break the deadlock but Betis replied with an equaliser three minutes later as former Barcelona player Marc Bartra speared his header into the net.
Just when it seemed the match would head towards a draw, Jordi Alba rocketed his left-footed volley towards the top corner to win the tie in the final kick of the game.
Getafe 0-0 Rayo Vallecano
Rayo Vallecano sealed their fate in the top flight of Spanish football by playing out a 0-0 draw against Getafe. Both sides were wrongfully denied a penalty while their strikers failed to make the most of the chances presented to them before.
Villarreal 1-1 Sevilla
Sevilla scored in the dying embers of the game to rescue a point against Villarreal. Giovani Lo Celso drew first blood for the home side in the 86th minute by volleying his effort into the top corner. Jules Konde poked the ball past the reach of the ‘keeper from a corner-kick to restore parity for the away side and ensured the game ended in a draw.
Espanyol 1-1 Osasuna
Kike Barja broke the deadlock courtesy of a glorious finish that saw him bundling the ball into the top far corner with his first-time effort for Osasuna just before half-time. Espanyol kept on missing their chances but Nico Melamed zigzagged his way past the defenders to unleash a scorching strike from outside the box that nestled into the top corner in the 67th minute. No more goals were scored as the final scoreline read 1-1.
Atletico Madrid 1-0 Real Madrid
Carrasco scores the goal for Atletico Madrid against Real Madrid
Atletico Madrid ended Real Madrid’s five-game winning streak in La Liga as Yannick Carrasco’s penalty in the 40th minute gave the home side the lead in the Madrid Derby. VAR showed that Matheus Cunha was indeed nudged inside the box by Jesus Vallejo as opposed to the referee’s initial decision. Carrasco sent the ‘keeper the wrong way to score the only goal of the contest.
