As it turned out, the victory in El Clasico did not benefit Real Madrid. Zidane's team was at the top standings only one round, after which it ingloriously lost to local Betis in Seville. “Creamy” took 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 advantage in head-to-head matches over Barca has not gone away. We simply cannot allow any more misfires. Quique Setién's team, with difficulty and the whistle of the home stands, pulled 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 good game and scored only from the penalty spot. The contenders for the Champions League lost points: Atlético and Sevilla in a head-to-head match, while Getafe and Valencia were unable to break the resistance of Celta and Alaves, respectively. Villarreal disappointed, losing at home to Leganes, and Athletic again moved into the top 10, defeating Valladolid away. One of the two main Basque clubs will definitely play in the Europa League as the winner of the Cup, although San Sebastians are not against dusting themselves off in the Champions League, where they can still get through the championship. The main outsider has been identified in the relegation zone. It was Espanyol, which did not score points in this round, unlike its competitors, and is already 6 points behind the 17th-placed Celta. In the middle of the table there is a familiar swamp, but teams only from 12th-13th place and above can feel more or less calm.
Predictable instability.
Even the appearance of Denis Cheryshev in the starting lineup did not bring Valencia an away victory over Alaves in the first match of the tour, although there was every chance for this. “Bats” were unable to recharge themselves with positivity before the return game with Atalanta in the Champions League and get closer to the top 4 in La Liga. Things started out pretty well for Celades’s team. Cheryshev could have earned a penalty in the middle of the half, and in the final third Dani Parejo opened the scoring. The captain of the “bats” irresistibly fired a free kick from 25 meters into the left corner. Magnificent goal! At the end of the half, the teams exchanged scoring chances, but Lucas Perez was unable to get past Cillessen, and Wass headed the ball past the left goal post after a cross from Parejo. In the second half, next to the bar (already on the right), Florenzi also fired from long range. There were no signs of trouble, but the “glorious” took it and won back. Lucas Perez and Edgar Mendes were forgotten in the center of the penalty area, and it was there that the ball landed after a header from the right. The forward gave up the right to strike to the midfielder, and he hit the goal with his right. The projectile seemed to hit the defender's leg and flew off the lawn under the crossbar. For the remaining 15 minutes, Celades brought on Rodrigo instead of Cheryshev, but the Spain national team forward was unable to score.
One of the most spectacular matches took place at the Wanda Metropolitano, where Atlético hosted Sevilla. The winner came out in third place, so the guests immediately outlined their claims. First, Suso tested Oblak, but Jan managed, and then Hordan, with an excellent pass, brought de Jong to a rendezvous with the keeper. When shot from a few meters away, even a Slovak could not save him. Exactly 10 minutes later, a banal header in the Seville penalty area led to the projectile rolling over the defender’s hand, and the referee ran to “watch TV.” Penalty! Morata shot both hard and straight into the left six. Less than 5 minutes had passed before the “mattress guys” came forward to the roar of the stands. Felix received a pass from Correa in a quick attack and shot with his left from the left edge of the penalty area. Vaclik might have saved the ball, but the Sevilla defender put his foot up, and the projectile ricocheted off of it and flew over the prone goalkeeper. However, the Andalusians did not lose heart and won even before the break. Reguilon almost hit the ball into the net from within the goalkeeper's head, but Oblak miraculously saved it. The sphere flew towards Ocampos, who tripped over Trippier's leg on the corner of the penalty area. And then a penalty with the help of VAR! The victim himself realized it, shooting into the same lower left. The second half promised to be even more interesting, but Sevilla showed nothing at all in attack, and the hosts could have scored on Costa and Carrasco, who came on as substitutes, but were unable to break through Vaclik again.
Fedor Smolov stopped scoring, but Celta did not stop gaining points. Maybe Fedya is not a scorer, but a symbol? Well, jokes aside, 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 coped with Mauro’s shot into the top nine, and Jaime shot inaccurately from a lethal position. The Galicians attacked little and were not particularly impressive, and Smolov was generally distinguished only by his fight and fouls (plus a yellow card on the bench after being substituted for arguments and protests). In the second half, the hosts still scored, but Angel's goal was not counted due to offside. Almost immediately after this, Arambarri left the field for a second yellow and the Blues' chances of winning became much lower. But the Whigs couldn’t score at the flag either. A goalless draw, and Celta are still in the saving 17th line.
Various games cup finalists.
After the fiasco in Madrid, the Catalan Barcelona hosted another Real Madrid, San Sebastian. The Basques had previously played the semi-final return match of the Copa del Rey and were more exhausted than the Catalans. Perhaps this played a fatal role. The first half was left to the hosts, but they created only three chances. First, Braithwaite, who made his first start for the Spanish champion, could score with his head, and then Messi had two chances, but the Basques were saved twice by Remiro (the third time Leo missed the target). After the break, Barca intensified their attack, but Remiro again drew shots from Rakitic and Pique, while Messi again fired wide of the target. Things could have gotten really interesting in the last third of the second half, when Isak shot at the other team's goal but missed the target. And 5 minutes later, in the Real Sociedad penalty area, 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 visitors had more than 15 stoppage minutes to come back but instead received a goal from Alba which was disallowed for offside.
The finalist of the Spanish Cup, Athletic Bilbao, proved in Valladolid that it was not by chance that they reached the final. The Basques scored four goals against the Puselas, conceding only once. Less than four minutes had passed when Unai Lopez struck a magical free-kick from 30 meters over the wall into the left corner. The hosts tried to respond, but got a second one in the middle of the half. From the left flank, Inigo Cordoba crossed right onto the head of Raul Garcia, and he pushed the defender from the goal line and shot under the keeper's arm. Enes Unal could have reduced the gap in the score, but the hosts' forward missed twice from outside the penalty area. After the break, Vesga and the same Unal took turns not using their chances, but overall the course of the match was calm. Exactly until the 76th minute, when Sandro Ramirez, who placed the ball from the penalty area into the right “six” in a breathtaking arc, reduced the gap to a minimum. It seemed that the hosts would push, but instead the Basques got down to business. Iñaki Williams watched for a ridiculous pass from a defender into the penalty area, tamed the ball, beat the goalkeeper and scored empty-handed, and in stoppage time Cordoba scored his goal with a powerful and accurate shot to the left “six” after the ball bounced off a defender. Devastation!
Granada draw and Espanyol lose.
Levante has been dealing mostly with the giants this season. With the rest - as it turns out. So Granada took home a draw with Ciudad de Valencia. As a result of a massive attack in the 11th minute, Jose Luis Morales picked up a bouncing ball in someone else's penalty area and crossed to the left post, where Roger could only substitute his foot. The hosts easily opened the score, but there was no particular chance of increasing it. “Granada” did not sit back on defense, but could only equalize in stoppage time, when Carlos Neva hit Aitor Fernandez twice from a lethal distance in someone else’s penalty area. During the break, the Nasrids had two substitutions at once, while the Frogs limited themselves to one. It was the visiting coach's bet that made the difference, although before that the hosts could have scored a second, but Jose Campanha did not hit Rui Silva from the penalty area from a zero angle. Already in the response attack, Carlos Fernandez made a header on Machisu's move, and Darwin, who came on as a substitute, ran through the center at speed, beat the goalkeeper and scored empty-handed. After that, it was the guests who led the game, but they were unable to take the lead. Soldado's shot under the crossbar led to a save by Aitor Fernandez, and Vezu's header from the penalty spot missed the target.
Espanyol smoothly qualifies as the main losers of the season. Abelardo’s team not only lost to Osasuna on the road, but their main competitors also scored points. It’s clear that there are still chances of maintaining registration in Example, but with each round they are getting smaller. In the first half in Pamplona, the teams did not show anything serious. The hosts sent in three corners, and Diego Lopez saved a good shot from Barkha, but that was probably all. Almost immediately after the break, Wasps carried out a number of dangerous attacks, one of which ended in a penalty. Torres threw a ball into the penalty area and hit the hand of Victor Sanchez, who ran to help his teammates. The referee immediately awarded a penalty even without looking at VAR, and Roberto himself carried out the penalty by throwing the goalkeeper in the center. Then the score could change, either in one direction or the other. For the hosts, Enric Gallego failed to beat Diego Lopez twice, and for the Parrots, Darder missed Ruben from close range. At the end of the match, David Lopez was sent off for two yellows (unsportsmanlike conduct and handball), but his team was not close to equalizing the score anyway.
Surprise and sensation.
Quite unexpectedly, Mallorca won in the Basque Country. The Balearics not only pulled up to Celta in 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 left to the hosts. Jose Angel could have scored a beautiful goal in the 11th minute, but he hit the crossbar from a free kick. The Basques pressed, but did not create any truly dangerous chances, and they paid for it. At the very end, the guests were lucky in a rare attack by the Balearics. From a set piece 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's head and slipped under Dmitrovich's hand. In the second half, Charles did not capitalize on his chance, he shot from outside the penalty area, but the Mallorca defender rushed under the attack. Cucho Hernandez had a similar chance, but he sent the ball wide of the right post. But Kubo scored! Takefusa received a short pass on the arc, removed two defenders and carefully placed the projectile with a rebound from the left post into the target. Dmitrovich jumped, but to no avail. In injury time, Bigas, after a cross from the right flank from Orellana, headed the ball under the crossbar, but the hosts didn’t have enough to do more.
Villarreal is stormy again. The Submariners themselves did not reach the Europa League zone, and Leganes were given a chance to retain their registration, although the Madrid team seemed to have no chance at the Estadio de la Cerámica initially. Already in the 5th minute, Cazorla, on the left edge of the attack, received a pass from Gerard Moreno from the center and crossed it to him on the goal line. The forward pushed the defender and headed the ball under the goalkeeper's hand into the net. Alberto Moreno should have answered the questions, but his cannon shot from the penalty line did not lead to a goal. Then the visitors took over the initiative, and Asenjo had to be saved after Rosales' shot, and before that Carrillo had hit the post. Had an excellent chance to double the score on last minute Paco Alcácer, but the Spanish forward's execution deteriorated and he again failed to score - Cuellar pulled the shot almost from the top nine, and his partner sent the ball over the crossbar while finishing from 4 meters. After the break everything turned upside down. After a throw-in from the left, Oscar Rodriguez from the right from the penalty line sent a projectile off the crossbar at the left "nine" over the goal line. Asenjo stood and looked at such beauty. The hosts tried to take the game back into their own hands, but ran into a counterattack, during which they brought down Assale in the penalty area. The referee did not believe Roger at first, but was then forced to change his decision by the VAR. The referee personally watched the replay and put the ball on the spot, from which Oscar Rodriguez confidently scored. Villarreal immediately came back, but their goal was canceled due to offside. In the end, Madrid played for time, but still managed to hold on to the victory.
What is Zidane's team missing? Real beat all direct competitors - Barcelona, Atlético, Sevilla, Getafe, but cannot cope with the middle peasants and even outsiders. Wrong motivation? Self-confidence? The French coach had better find answers to these questions early. No one expected any problems from the visit to Benito Villamarin, and there was no rotation. “Cream” again, as usual, reserved the opening, but the only dangerous moments were an inaccurate shot from Vinicius. The hosts gradually got used to it and began to threaten the opponents' goal themselves. First, Bartra headed in a header from outside the penalty area, and then Fekir made Courtois work. The Cucumbers pressed on and opened the scoring. After the hosts played a corner, Ramos fouled Fekir in his own penalty area. The ball bounced to Sydney, who did not wait for the whistle, but fired the ball into the target. Counted! In stoppage time, the Betis centre-back almost turned into an anti-hero as he tripped Marcelo - a penalty! Benzema beat Robles from the spot, shooting into the left six. It seemed that the visitors would put the finishing touches in the second half, but Zidane’s team could not find their way to play. In the 70th minute, Modric and Mendy tried to shoot through Robles, but it didn’t work out. A little later, Guardado fired from the penalty line, but the ball flew over the crossbar. The matter was heading towards a sensational draw, but for some reason Benzema decided to perform a cross pass in the center of the field. Tello, who had recently come on as a substitute, picked up a shot from Guardado's pass, rushed towards the opponent's goal and scored, avenging Barcelona. Benzema could once again save his team in the 5th minute of stoppage time, but Karim missed.
