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Match round-up - First Division, Day 10

Eibar are up to ninth in the table after an action packed 2-3 win at Rayo Vallecano on Monday evening. The Basque side started the game a point behind their hosts after five games without a victory, and Leo Baptistao and Kakuta went close for the locals early on. However with eight minutes to go to the break the visitors went ahead with a hotly disputed Arruabarrena penalty after Bóveda fell under a challenge by Nacho, and just four minutes after the restart Piovaccari picked up a long pass from Saúl Berjón to run on and beat Cobeño (who had replaced the injured Toño earlier in the first half). Paco Jémez threw on all his fire power though, Licá having a shot saved by Irureta and Bóveda clearing Aquino’s follow up off the line, and the visiting keeper tipping a long Kakuta free kick over the top. Soon afterwards the pressure paid off, Leo Baptistao heading a long centre in off the crossbar, and then turning in Kakuta’s cross just a minute later to level the scores. Alberto Bueno also went close, but with four minutes to go Arruabarrena silenced the crowd, turning a first time shot past Cobeño from Abraham’s cross to win the match. A morale boosting victory for Eibar, and with Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad below them in the rankings, Garitano’s side are top dogs in the Basque region right now! (03.11.14)

Still only two points separate the top five teams after Sevilla lost and Valencia won on Sunday. Sevilla came in to their mid-day game at Athletic Bilbao knowing that a victory would take them a point clear at the top of the table after Barcelona’s defeat the day before. However they were beaten 1-0 in the end, and after the rest of the weekend results they now find themselves down in fifth place. The Andalusians were full of confidence after their big midweek cup win, and Aleix Vidal fired an angled shot just wide early on. However with twelve minutes gone Aduríz got on the end of a Susaeta cross to volley a shot past Beto, and Susaeta and Laporte could have added to the lead soon afterwards with a long shot and free kick which went just wide of the post. There was a blow for Valverde when Aduríz limped off injured with only half an hour gone, but shortly before half time only a full stretch save by Beto prevented Susaeta from scoring the second. Sevilla’s only response up to that point was with a couple of efforts by Denis Suárez, but even though Emery brought on Gameiro and Banega at the break, they only went close after that with a long shot over the top from Trémoulinas. A much needed second win in a row for the Basque side though, and they move away from the danger zone as a result.

Valencia meanwhile beat regional rivals Villarreal 1-3, the result taking them second behind new leaders Real Madrid after the best start in their history. The Ches went ahead in only the sixth minute when Trigueros poked a Feghouli cross past his own keeper trying to clear. For the rest of the first half though the locals were on top, Diego Alves having to make important saves from Gabriel and a couple of times from Cheryshev to keep his team ahead at the break. The Brazilian keeper was in action again soon after the restart to tip a deflected Bruno free kick over the bar, but then the visitors came back, and Mustafi put the game beyond Villarreal’s reach with two goals in ten minutes, the first a header from Piatti’s cross, and the second with a low shot after Feghouli headed on Piatti’s corner. Trigueros partly made up for his mistake in part with a late consolation for the locals after Giovani and Moreno combined to set him up, but it came too late to prevent a defeat which leaves Marcelino’s side five points adrift of the European spots.

Later in the evening Levante and Elche both clocked up their first home wins of the season, Levante beating Almería 2-1 to move temporarily out of the bottom three. Barral picked up a pass from Diop and ran on to beat Rubén to open the scoring midway through the first half, and the striker came close to a second just a few minutes later. Corona and Soriano brought good saves out of Diego Mariño though either side of half time, and with twenty minutes to go Zongo headed the equalizer after Hemed headed on Verza’s corner. Five minutes after that however Víctor Casadesús restored the lead, the ex Mallorca forward poking the rebound past Rubén after Gavilán’s free kick came back off the post. Barral and Wellington Silva could have scored at either end after that, but the locals held on to give new coach Lucas Alcaraz a win in his first game in charge at the Ciutat de Valencia stadium.

A couple of hours later though Levante were back in the drop zone after Elche won 2-1 against Espanyol. The locals were also looking for their first home win, and Jonathas brought an early save out of Kiko Casilla. Referee José Antonio Teixeira disallowed headed goals by Cisma and Stuani within minutes of each other for what he considered to be previous fouls in the play, and with twenty minutes gone Jonathas got on the end of a long Roco cross to head in the opener. For the rest of the first half though the visitors were on top, Tyton making saves from Sergio García and Stuani, and Damián Suárez blocking a Montañés header on the line with the keeper beaten. Early in the second half there was another controversial refereeing decision when Lombán’s free kick hit the crossbar and appeared to bounce over the line, but soon afterwards Jonathas ran on to a Víctor Rodríguez through ball to score his side’s second. With quarter of an hour to go though Rodrigues was sent off after picking up a second booking for a foul on Cañas, and with five minutes remaining Elche were left with nine men when Cisma was also shown a second card for blocking a Cañas shot with his elbow inside the penalty area. Stuani fired home the resulting spot-kick to set up a frantic finish, although in the end the locals could have won by a bigger margin had Mosquera’s shot not come back off the upright.

The wins by Levante and Elche meant that Real Sociedad dropped down to next to bottom spot, and the club confirmed in the evening that coach Jagoba Arrasate had been sacked, with several names on the list to replace him, including David Moyes, Pepe Mel, Thomas Tuchel and Alejandro Sabella. (02.11.14)

 

Real Madrid moved to the top of the table pending Sevilla’s game on Sunday after a comfortable 0-4 victory at Granada on Saturday afternoon, an eleventh straight win for Ancelotti’s side. With only two minutes gone Ronaldo gave them the lead, beating Roberto with an angled shot after Carvajal and Benzema combined to set him up, and James, Benzema and Carvajal all went close before James fired home a spectacular second on the half hour mark, a first time volley after Benzema flicked the ball up in to the air following a throw-in. Córdoba tried his luck a couple of times for the locals either side of half time, but some ten minutes in to the second half Benzema latched on to Ronaldo’s back-heel pass to make it three. Marcelo hit the crossbar after that and then fired another shot over the top, and Roberto had to make saves from James and Arbeloa. Local substitute Rochina did cause a few problems in the closing minutes, and Casillas had to make a late save from Javi Márquez. But with three minutes to go James wrapped things up with his second of the afternoon, bundling the ball over the line with a little help from Babín after Ronaldo’s half-hit shot rolled towards the line, and the Merengues were back on top of the pack.

Madrid are now two points clear of Barcelona, who drop to third after they were beaten 0-1 by Celta later in the evening. It was a first home game for the formidable front trio of Messi, Neymar and Luis Suárez, but after losing at the Bernabeu last week they needed to win to hold on to top spot. Luck was against them though as they dominated for much of the match, hitting the woodwork four times and coming up against an excellent Sergio Alvarez. The keeper saved from Neymar and Messi early on, Neymar hit the crossbar with a long shot, and Messi saw his shot cleared on to the bar by Jonny a few minutes later. Suárez headed over the top and he and Neymar came up against the keeper before the break, and after the restart Neymar fired another chance against the woodwork. Bravo had had little to do up to them, but ten minutes in to the second half Nolito set up Larrivey with a back-heel pass for the striker to run through and score. Charles came close to a second when he headed the rebound over the top after Bravo saved from Nolito, and in a frantic finish Messi hit the upright with a free kick and Sergio kept out Suárez a couple more times. Just one of those days, but in the end Celta had won in the Nou Camp for the first time in 73 years, and they consolidated sixth spot as a result.

Atlético Madrid climb above Barcelona as well after they beat Córdoba 4-2. The Andalusians have yet to win this season, but the first chance fell to them when Iago Bouzón headed a corner over the top. Koke fired a long shot against the crossbar and Juan Carlos had to save from Griezmann at the other end, but Moyà had to be on his toes to keep out Ghilas on a quick breakaway a few minutes later. With the first half coming to a close however Griezmann got the first following a wide Koke free kick, his shot deflecting in off Luso, and although Ghilas made it all square soon after the restart with a looping header from Fede’s corner, Griezmann restored the lead with another header which Juan Carlos was unable to stop from entering the net. The visiting keeper was at fault a few minutes after that when he misread another Koke free kick, Mandzukic heading the ball in to the empty net, and with ten minutes to go Raúl García headed the fourth from another Koke centre, the ball hitting Pinillos on the shoulder before entering the net. Córdoba didn’t give up though, and they got a second consolation goal near the end, Juanfran failing twice to clear a Fede cross before Ghilas fired a shot past Moyà.

Málaga meanwhile consolidated seventh spot with a 0-1 win at Real Sociedad in the last match of the evening, a fourth consecutive victory for Javi Gracia’s side. Local coach Jagoba Arrasate was under an ultimatum after a poor season in which they were knocked out of the Europa League at the qualifying stage, and had only picked up three points from their last seven games, but there was little improvement, and Zubikarai had to save from an Antunes free kick early on. Zurutuza did head a corner against the crossbar before the break, but after the interval they hardly created any chances, and only a last minute tackle prevented Samu Castillejo from opening the scoring on a quick breakaway. A few minutes later though Juanmi did score for the visitors after Amrabat set him up on another rapid counter-attack, and Sergi Darder should have added a second when he fired an easy chance against the post as the Andalusians came out quickly once again a few minutes later. Arrasate’s job is now hanging by a thread, and the Basque side remain just a point outside the drop zone with two of the teams below them, Elche and Levante, yet to play. (01.11.14)

Getafe are gradually getting their act together after a poor start to the season, and they move up to ninth pending the rest of the weekend games after beating Deportivo 1-2 in the Friday night game. The Madrid based side started the weekend two points ahead of their hosts, and they had much the better of the first half, Lafita going close and Velázquez bringing a good save out of Fabricio before Yoda’s shot hit the post and went in off the back of the keeper. Escudero could have added to the lead after that, with the locals only replying when Cavaleiro fired a shot in to the side netting, and Victor Fernández made two changes at the break to try and change things around. However just a minute after the restart Lafita got on the end of Hinestroza’s cross to score his side’s second, and the ex Deportivo forward put a couple of chances wide after that. Half time substitute Postiga did cause a few problems later on, and with ten minutes to go he got one back after Cavaleiro and Toché combined to set him up, but the strike came too late to save the result. Depor’s recent good run has come to an end, and once more they are dragged back in to the relegation struggle. (31.10.14)