There were goals galore this weekend in La Liga, with Valladolid hammering home six, Real Madrid putting five past Deportivo and Málaga and Osasuna both scoring four
One goal proves enough for Atlético
On a goal packed weekend, Atlético Madrid, who had been the competition’s top scorers, only managed one – from Raul Garcia- but that was enough to keep them second, two points behind Barça, as well as keeping their hosts Espanyol firmly anchored to the bottom spot, with just one point. Málaga are a further two points adrift after thrashing Betis 4-0 on Saturday night, whilst Mallorca’s 1-0 defeat at Getafe on Monday means that despite losing to Barça, Seville creep into fourth place having scored one more goal than the Islanders.
Ronaldo hat trick
Real Madrid warmed up for the Nou Camp, with a comfortable 5-1 win over Deportivo, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring twice from the spot for his hat trick to leave them sixth, eight points behind Barça. Di Maria and Pepe got the other two goals after Riki had opened the scoring for the visitors. A point behind Madrid are Valladolid, who knocked six past Rayo on Sunday. Rayo actually took the lead early on, but two Djukic’s team had scored four by the break and went on to record the highest score of the season so far.
Real Sociedad take Basque derby win
Real Sociedad are level on points with Valladolid after winning the Basque derby 2-0 against Bilbao with goals from Griezmann and Vela, whilst Bilbao’s pain was worsened by the red card shown to Amorebieta. Sitting down in the relegation spots, Bilbao face another Basque derby against Osasuna next week, followed by a trip to Valencia. Osasuna got their first win in style with a 4-0 win over Llevant, with three goals in the last 10 minutes and are second from bottom, a point behind Bilbao. Granada lifted themselves out of the drop zone with a 2-1 win over Celta, after the Galicians dominated the game only to be denied by a stellar performance from Granada keeper Toño to follow up his great performance at the Camp Nou last week.