Not in favor, as it turned out, went to Madrid "Real" victory in El Clasico. Zidane's team has been at the top standings only one round, after which she ingloriously lost in Seville to the local Betis. "Creamy" took away 4 points from the Catalans, which they gave to the "cucumbers". Ruby's team seems to be neither cold nor hot, but Real may not win the championship again, although the head-to-head advantage over Barca has not gone away. You can't just allow more misfires. The team of Quique Setien, with difficulty and under the whistle of the home stands, forced out a victory over Real Sociedad. Barcelona should have won big, but Remiro worked wonders in the frame, and Messi again didn’t have a game and he scored only from the penalty spot. Champions League contenders unanimously lost points: Atlético and Sevilla in a personal meeting, while Getafe and Valencia could not break the resistance of Celta and Alaves, respectively. Disappointed by Villarreal, who lost at home to Leganes, again pulled themselves into the top 10 Athletic, defeating Valladolid on the road. One of the two main Basque clubs will definitely play in the Europa League as the winner of the Cup, although the San Sebastians do not mind dusting in the Champions League, where else they can get through the championship. The main outsider was determined in the relegation zone. They became Espanyol, which did not score points in this round, unlike competitors, and is already 6 points behind the 17th Celta. In the middle of the table there is a familiar swamp, but only teams from 12th-13th place and above can feel more or less calm.
predictable instability.
Even the start of Denis Cheryshev did not bring Valencia a guest victory over Alaves in the first match of the tour, although there were all chances for this. The Bats failed to recharge before the return game with Atalanta in the Champions League and get closer to the top 4 in the Example. Everything started pretty well for Celades' wards. Cheryshev in the middle of the half could earn a penalty, and in the last third the score was completely opened by Dani Parejo. The captain of the "bats" irresistibly struck from 25 meters from a free kick into the left "nine". Luxurious goal! At the end of the half, the teams exchanged scoring chances, but Lucas Perez could not break through Cillessen, and Vass sent the sphere past the left goal post after a cross from Parejo. In the second half, next to the bar (already on the right) fired from a long distance and Florenzi. Nothing foreshadowed trouble, but the "glorious" took it and fought back. Lucas Perez and Edgar Mendez were forgotten in the center of the penalty area, and it was there that the ball landed after a rebate with a head on the right. The striker conceded the right to hit the midfielder, and he slapped the right one on goal. The projectile, as it seemed, walked along the leg of the defender and flew from the lawn under the crossbar. For the remaining 15 minutes, Celades released Rodrigo instead of Cheryshev, but the forward of the Spanish national team could not distinguish himself either.
One of the most spectacular matches took place at the Wanda Metropolitano, where Atlético took on Sevilla. The winner went to a clear third place, so the guests immediately identified their claims. Suso checked Oblak first, but Ian pulled through, and then a great pass from Jordan led de Jong to a rendezvous with the keeper. When shot from a few meters, even the Slovak could not save. Exactly 10 minutes later, a banal header of the ball in the Sevilla penalty area led to the projectile rolling over the defender’s arm, and the referee ran to “watch TV”. Penalty! Morata struck both hard and exactly in the left “six”. In less than 5 minutes, as the "mattress" came forward under the roar of the stands. Felix received a pass from Correa in a quick attack and hit from the left from the left edge of the penalty area. Vatslik, maybe, would have saved, but the Sevilla defender put his foot up, ricocheting from which the projectile flew over the sprawling goalkeeper. However, the Andalusians did not lose heart and bounced back before the break. Reguilon almost knocked the ball into the net with his goalkeeper's head, but Oblak miraculously saved it. The sphere flew off towards Ocampos, who tripped over Trippier's leg at the corner of the box. And then a penalty kick with VAR! The victim himself realized it, breaking into the same lower left. The second half promised to become even more interesting, but Sevilla did not show anything at all in the attack, and the hosts could have noticed Costa and Carrasco who came on as a substitute, but they could not break through Vaclik more.
Fedor Smolov stopped scoring, but Celta did not stop scoring. Maybe Fedya is not a scorer, but a symbol? Well, jokes are jokes, but the second trip to Madrid turned out to be a draw. Yes, they had to play with a much more modest Getafe, but now they are a contender for the Champions League. Already in the first half, Arambarri and Mata could have scored, but Ruben handled Mauro's shot at the "nine", and Jaime shot inaccurately from a lethal position. The Galicians attacked little and were not particularly impressive, and Smolov generally differed only in wrestling and fouls (plus a yellow card on the bench after being replaced for disputes and protests). In the second half, the hosts still scored, but Angel's goal was not counted due to offside. Almost immediately after that, Arambarri left the field for the second yellow card and the chances of the Blues to win became much lower. But the Whigovites could not score on the flag either. Goalless draw, and Celta are still on the saving 17th line.
Different games cup finalists.
The Catalan "Barcelona" after the fiasco in Madrid took another "Real", San Sebastian. The Basques had previously played the second leg of the semi-final of the Spanish Cup and were more exhausted than the Catalans. Perhaps this played a fatal role. The first half was left for the hosts, but they created only three chances. First, Braithwaite, who first started for the Spanish champion, could score with a head, and then Messi had two chances, but Remiro saved the Basques twice (the third time Leo hit the target). After the break, Barça stepped up the pressure, but Remiro again dragged shots from Rakitic and Pique, while Messi again fired off target. Everything could have become quite interesting in the last third of the second half, when Isak was shooting at someone else's goal, but missed the target. And after 5 minutes in the penalty area of Real Sociedad, the ball hit the hand of one of the defenders. The referee watched the replay and awarded a penalty, which was converted in the style of Sergio Ramos by Lionel Messi. The guests had more than 15 minutes with stoppage time to bounce back, but instead they got a goal from Alba, which was canceled due to offside.
The finalist of the Spanish Cup - "Athletic" from Bilbao - in Valladolid proved that he reached the final not by chance. The Basques scored four goals against the Pucels, conceding only once. Less than four minutes later, Unai Lopez delivered a magic kick from a free kick from 30 meters, breaking through the “wall” into the left “nine”. The hosts tried to answer, but in the middle of the half they got the second one. Iñigo Cordoba from the left flank hung exactly on the head of Raul Garcia, and he pushed the defender from the goalkeeper's line and struck the keeper at hand. Enes Unal could close the gap in the score, but the hosts forward missed twice from outside the penalty area. After the break, Vesga and the same Unal did not use their chances in turn, but in general the course of the match was calm. Exactly until the 76th minute, until Sandro Ramirez, who put the ball from the penalty line into the right "six" in a breathtaking arc, reduced the gap to a minimum. It seemed that the hosts would put pressure on them, but instead the Basques got down to business. Inaki Williams ambushed an absurd discount from the defender into the penalty area, tamed the ball, beat the goalkeeper and scored in the empty, and in stoppage time Cordoba scored his goal with a powerful and accurate shot to the left "six" after the ball rebounded from the defender. Defeat!
A draw for Granada and a defeat for Espanyol.
Levante this season is cracking down mainly on the giants. With the rest - as it turns out. So Granada took away a draw with Ciudad de Valencia. As a result of a massive attack in the 11th minute, Jose Luis Morales picked up a bounced ball in someone else's free kick and shot it to the left post, where Roger had only to substitute his foot. The hosts easily opened the scoring, but there were no special chances to increase it. "Granada" did not sit on the defensive, but could equalize only in stoppage time, when Carlos Neva hit Aitor Fernandez twice in someone else's penalty area from a lethal distance. During the break, the Nasrids had two substitutions at once, while the Frogs limited themselves to one. It was the guests' coach's bet that played, although before that the hosts could have scored the second, but Jose Campagna did not break through Rui Silva from the penalty area from a zero angle. Already in the return attack, Carlos Fernandez made a discount on Machis's move with his head, and Darwin, who came on as a substitute, ran down the center at speed, beat the goalkeeper and scored in the empty. After that, it was the guests who led the game, but they could not come out ahead. Soldado's shot under the crossbar led to a save by Aitor Fernandez, while the hosts' head from a 11-meter head missed Vezu's target.
Espanyol smoothly qualifies for the main losers of the season. Abelardo's team not only lost on the road to Osasuna, but also the main competitors scored points. It is clear that there are still chances of maintaining a residence permit in the Example, but with each round they are less and less. In the first half in Pamplona, the teams did not show anything serious. The hosts filed three corners, and Diego Lopez parried a good blow from Barkha, but that's about it. Almost immediately after the break, Osa carried out a number of dangerous attacks, one of which ended in a penalty kick. Torres threw a projectile into the penalty area and landed in the hand of Victor Sanchez, who was running to help his teammates. The arbitrator immediately appointed a penalty, even without watching VAR, and Roberto himself carried out the sentence, throwing the goalkeeper in the center. Further, the score could change, both in one direction and in the other. For the hosts, Enric Gallego did not outplay Diego Lopez twice, and for the “parrots” from close range, Darder did not ask Ruben. At the end of the meeting, David Lopez finished the game before being sent off for two yellow cards (unsportsmanlike behavior and handball), but his team was not close to equalizing anyway.
surprise and sensation.
Quite unexpectedly, Mallorca won in the Basque Country. The Balearicans not only pulled themselves up to Celta on the saving 17th line, but also forced Eibar, who lost to the islanders, to tense up, because the gap is now only 2 points. The first half was for the hosts. A beautiful goal in the 11th minute could have been scored by Jose Angel, but he hit the crossbar from a free kick. The Basques pressed, but did not create truly dangerous moments, for which they paid the price. In the very end, in a rare attack of the Balearic people, the guests were lucky. From the standard from the left corner of the penalty area, Dani Rodriguez served to the goalkeeper's line, but the ball struck the top of the Eibar defender and darted under Dmitrovich's arm. In the second half, Charles did not realize his moment, who hit from outside the penalty area, but the Mallorca defender rushed under the blow. Kucho Hernandez had a similar chance, but he sent a projectile past the right post. But Kubo scored! Takefusa received a short pass on the arc, removed two defenders and carefully ricocheted the projectile from the left post into the target. Dmitrovich jumped, but to no avail. In stoppage time, Bigas, after a cross from the right flank from Orellana, corrected the sphere under the crossbar with his head, but the hosts did not have enough for more.
"Villarreal" is stormy again. The “submariners” themselves did not rise to the Europa League zone, and “Leganes” was given a chance to maintain a residence permit, although the Madrid team did not seem to have a chance at the “Estadio de la Ceramica” initially. Already in the 5th minute, Cazorla on the left edge of the attack received a pass from Gerard Moreno from the center and hung on him on the goalkeeper's line. The striker pressed the defender and drove the ball under the goalkeeper's hand into the net with his head. Questions were supposed to be removed by Alberto Moreno, but his cannon shot from the penalty area did not become a goal. Further, the initiative was seized by the guests, and already Asenjo had to be saved after Rosales hit, and before that, Carrillo loaded into the post. Paco Alcacer had a great chance to double the score in the last minute, but the Spanish striker's performance worsened and he again failed to excel - Cuellar dragged a shot almost from the "nine", and his partner sent a sphere above the crossbar in a rebound from 4 meters. After the break, everything turned upside down. After throwing an out on the left, Oscar Rodriguez sent a projectile from the crossbar at the left "nine" from the right from the penalty line over the goal line. Asenho stood and looked at such beauty. The hosts tried to return the threads of the game into their own hands, but ran into a counterattack, during which Assal was shot down in the penalty area. The referee did not believe Roger at first, but then he was forced to change his decision by the VAR judge. The referee personally watched the replay and put the ball on the “point”, from which Oscar Rodriguez confidently scored. "Villarreal" immediately bounced back, but his goal was canceled due to offside. In the end, Madrid played for time, but still managed to keep the victory.
What's missing from Zidane's team? Real beat all direct competitors - Barcelona, Atlético, Sevilla, Getafe, but cannot cope with the middle peasants and even outsiders. Not the same motivation? Self-confidence? It is better for the French coach to find answers to these questions early. No one expected problems from a visit to Benito Villamarin, and there was no rotation. "Creamy" again habitually left the debut behind them, but from the dangerous moments there was only an inaccurate blow by Vinicius. The hosts gradually got used to and began to threaten other people's gates themselves. First, Bartra struck his head from outside the penalty area, and then Fekir forced Courtois to work hard. "Cucumbers" pressed and opened the scoring. After playing the corner by the hosts, Ramos fouled on Fekir in his penalty area. The ball bounced back to Sydney, who did not wait for the whistle, but drove the projectile into the target. Credited! In stoppage time, the Betis centre-back nearly turned into an anti-hero as he tripped Marcelo - a penalty! Benzema outplayed Robles from the “point”, breaking into the left “six”. It seemed that in the second half the guests would squeeze, but Zidane's team could not find their game. In the 70th minute, Modric and Mendy tried to break through Robles, but it did not work out. A little later, Guardado fired from the penalty area, but the ball flew over the crossbar. The case was heading towards a sensational draw, but for some reason Benzema decided to perform a cross pass in midfield. Tello, who recently came on as a substitute, picked up a projectile after Guardado's pass, rushed to someone else's goal and scored, avenging Barcelona. Benzema could save his team in the 5th stoppage minute again, but Karim missed.
