Real Madrid’s winning run ends, Barca edges Mallorca via a single goal

After a long and tiring international break, club football returned with a bang and there were some mouth-watering matches scheduled to be played on La Liga matchday 7. 

Atletico Madrid travelled to the Sanchez Pizjuan and walked home with all three points, while Barcelona narrowly edged out Mallorca, Real Madrid’s one hundred per cent winning streak since the start of the campaign came to a halt as they were held by Osasuna. 

That, and plenty more action unfolded at the weekend, and here’s a brief of all the madness. 

Athletic Club 4-0 Almeria 

Keeping up with their decent start to the La Liga campaign Ernesto Valverde’s men trounced newly promoted Almeria 4-0. They needed just 10 minutes to draw first blood, as the talismanic Inaki Williams headed to give his side the lead. Barely seven minutes later the Basque club doubled their advantage, after slick build-up play, Oihan Sancet finished with aplomb. 

Two minutes after the hour mark, Neco Williams also joined in the goal-fest, grabbing one for himself and confirming all three points. Athletic were then awarded a penalty as Mikel Vesga was fouled inside the box, and he stepped up to duly dispatch the resulting spot-kick further compounding Alemeria’s miseries. 

 Cadiz 0-0 Villarreal

After picking up their first win of the new La Liga campaign prior to the international break, Cadiz was looking to pick up from where they left off, as they hosted a Villarreal side who have struggled for consistency this term. 

The game’s best chance fell to Nicolas Jackson after just 12 minutes but he fired straight at the goalie with the goal mouth gaping. Barely a minute later, the Yellow Submarine had a corner cleared from near the goal-line and then a subsequent cross almost diverted into an own goal after a mix-up in the home side’s defensive lines. 

The second half was also equally as entertaining but despite plenty of chance at both ends, neither side had to composure to trouble the scorers as the fixture ended in a stalemate. 

Getafe 2-3 Valladolid  

Neither Getafe nor Real Valladolid came into this fixture in good form, but Jose Rojo Martin’s side dished out an upset to return home with all three points. Sergio Leon had the visitors in front after just 20 mins following some clumsy defending saw the Ronaldo Nazario-owned club being awarded a penalty which they successfully converted. 

Not for long though as Borja Mayoral tapped in the equaliser 10 minutes later. Less than a minute later Damian Suarez turned the game on its head as controlled a long pass on his chest drove into the Valladolid box and finished to put his side in the lead, and the Coliseum Alfonso Perez erupted. The visitors wouldn’t be pinned down though as Leon bagged his second to make things interesting with half-time approaching. 

Three minutes into the second half, Oscar Plano unleashed a rifle of a shot that flew into the bottom corner as Valladolid got their noses in front again. There was some more late drama as Enes Unal missed a penalty, and thus a chance to come back into the contest. 

Sevilla 0-2 Atletico Madrid

Both Sevilla and Atletico Madrid have struggled for consistency but Los Rojiblancos found their rhythm to put the hosts to the sword. Shortly before the half-hour mark, Marcos Llorente put Diego Simeone’s side ahead with a thumping finish. 

Into the second half, Julen Lopetegui’s side was two goals down after they failed to deal with a goal kick from Jan Oblak. Alvaro Morata ran in behind the goal and finished calmly to cement Atleti’s grip on the game. Despite late pressure from Sevilla, the visitors held on to return to the capital with all three points. 

Mallorca 0-1 Barcelona

Mallorca began the season well but faced a stern test as Barca came to town. Despite some early threats, it was the Blaugrana who took the lead after some good work down the left flank. Robert Lewandowski was in behind the defence but he chose to stop turn and unleash a curling effort inside the far post, celebrating his ninth league goal already in his trademark fashion. 

There were chances at both ends as the game progressed, but both sets of goalkeepers stood tall and saved everything that came at them. The Catalan weren’t at their best but they held out a spirited Mallorca side to seal the prize. 

Espanyol 2-2 Valencia

Valencia was in a good run of form but their momentum was halted by a spirited Espanyol side as the two sides shared the spoils. Chances were far and few in between but the game came alive once Gabriel Paulista nodded in a corner to give his side the advantage. Gennaro Gattuso’s side was pegged back instantly as Joselu curled in the equaliser from the edge of the box. 

The hosts scored seven minutes before the end of regulation time through Sergi Darder’s 30-yard screamer, but there was plenty of drama to follow. Martin Braithwaite was then banished to an early shower after a VAR review saw him collect a straight red. 

Marcos Andre was given his marching orders after he hit Vinicius Souza in the face following an altercation. Nico Gonzalez nearly brought Valencia back on level terms but after making a hash of the save, Alvaro Fernandez, redeemed himself and pulled off a goal-line save. 

With just a minute of added time remaining, Gattuso’s side stole a point after Eray Comert’s left-footed volley flew into the top corner. A thoroughly entertaining match ended all square. 

Celta Vigo 1-0 Real Betis

Real Betis and Celta Vigo crossed swords at Balaidos and the match started with a bang. Gabri Veiga won the ball in the midfield, skipped past a couple of challenges and unleashed a rocket into the bottom corner as the hosts were ahead with just 10 minutes into the game. 

Luiz Felipe was sent out for an early shower as he stopped Strand Larsen illegally as the latter was running towards an open goal. Betis kept knocking at the door but to no avail as they couldn’t find a way past Agustin Marchesin. 

Right at the death, Celta had two clear chances to put the game to bed but they failed to do so, and after some nervy added minutes, the club from Galicia held on for dear life. 

Girona 3-5 Real Sociedad

Girona and Real Sociedad played out an eight-goal thriller but it was La Real who went back home with all three points. Alexander Sorlath tapped in from close range to put the visitors ahead, but Rodrigo Riquelme’s 30-yard thunderbolt got the hosts back at level pegging. Arnau Martinez then got into the act and the Montilivi erupted as Girona went ahead. 

Sorloth then brought his side back level with a composed volley at the near post. Shortly after the second half began, Taty Castellanos put the home side ahead once again, but Brais Mendez got the faintest of touches on a perfectly delivered free kick to get Imanol Alguacil’s side level again. 

La Real was in the driving seat again as Martin Zubimendi poked in from close range before Takefusa Kubo delivered the knockout punch to end any hopes of another miraculous recovery. 

Real Madrid 1-1 Osasuna

The league leaders were held by a spirited Osasuna side that created few chances but made the most important one count. It was an off-night for Karim Benzema whereas Vinicius Junior kept his scoring streak going, but a rare mistake in the defense led to a brilliant header from Kike Garcia that beat the custodian between the sticks. 

Despite being reduced to 10 men later, the club from El Sadar held on to take a point back from the Santiago Bernabeu with the Frenchman failing to find the back of the net along with his teammates.

Rayo Vallecano 2-1 Elche

The final match of matchday 7 saw Rayo Vallecano host Elche at the Estadio de Vallecas. The home crowd was silenced by Lucas Boye as he headed into an empty net from a corner. 

Sergio Camello got the fans cheering again as his deflected shot curled into the goal shortly after, there was late drama here as well, as Unai Lopez unleashed a rocket from outside the box that flew into the contest and sent the home fans into a frenzy.