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Match round-up - First Division, Day 11

Defending champions Atlético Madrid lost ground on their big two rivals after they were beaten 2-1 by Real Sociedad on Sunday evening. B team coach Asier Santana was temporarily in charge of the Basque side for the first and probably last time after Arrasate was fired earlier in the week, and he saw his team go behind in only the tenth minute when Mandzukic got on the end of Raúl García’s cross to beat Zubikarai. However Agirretxe headed just wide soon afterwards, and a couple of minutes later Carlos Vela made it all square with an angled shot from outside of the area. Agirretxe got free later in the first half only to see Godín clear his shot off the line, and Godín was in action at the other end as well, heading a free kick just over the top before the break. Just five minutes in to the second half the visitors were left with ten men when Siqueira picked up two bookings in as many minutes, and the locals had at least two good penalty appeals turned down by the referee, the first when Mandukic’s hard tackle left Vela with a split lip, and the second when Ansaldi blocked the ball with his arm in the area. Real finally got their reward though when Agirretxe got on the end of Zaldúa’s cross to steer a header past Moyà with eight minutes to go, giving his team a first win in nine games. Curiously their only other victory this season was against Atlético’s city rivals, Real Madrid!

Two of Atlético’s closest competitors this season also dropped points though, Valencia and Sevilla both being held to draws at home. Valencia could only draw 0-0 against Athletic Bilbao, the Ches dropping behind Barcelona to third, albeit that the point keeps them ahead of Simeone’s side. The locals were unable to find the route to goal despite creating several chances in the first half, Rodrigo, Paco Alcácer and Andrés Gomes all shooting wide and Piatti coming up against Iraizoz. De Marcos could have given the visitors the lead though shortly before the interval had he been able to get a looping header on target with Diego Alves off his line. The second half opened with Rodrigo heading wide, but even with Negredo on the park the chances dried up, and Athletic went close with a couple of long free kicks later on, Javi Fuego almost heading Ibai’s kick in to his own net and Etxeita seeing his shot hit Alves in the face from close up in the dying minutes. The result extends the Basque side’s unbeaten run in the league to four games, and gives them a boost of confidence after they were knocked out of the Champions League midweek.

Sevilla though were also held to a 1-1 draw by Levante in this Sunday’s mid-day kick off, and they remain out of the top four for another week, even though they are still only four points off the leaders. There was an early scare for the home fans when Carriço had to clear off the line from Víctor Casadesús, but Denis Suárez shot wide and Diego Mariño had to save an Arribas header before Vitolo headed the Andalusians in to the lead from Deulofeu’s cross on the half hour mark. Soon after the break Ivanschitz almost equalized with an inswinging corner which almost caught out Beto, and Juanfran cleared off the line from Bacca at the other end with the keeper beaten. The game was constantly broken up though by injuries to players, in particular to the local keeper, and the referee added on six extra minutes in the first half and nine in the second. With ten minutes to go however Beto missed his punch when a corner was played up in the air, and Casadesús was on hand to turn the ball in to the net. Real Sociedad’s win and Levante’s draw means that five teams are tied now tied on nine points, with Elche and Levante now in the relegation zone together with bottom club Córdoba.

The points dropped by the three title contenders means that Málaga and Celta also join the mix after their results on Saturday, with only seven points between first and seventh. Villarreal are now six points off the European spots however after they drew 1-1 at Espanyol, Marcelino’s side having only picked up one point from their last three matches. The visitors did get off to a good start though, Mario latching on to Cheryshev’s headed pass to open the scoring, and then bringing a good save out of Casilla a few minutes later. Vietto also tested the local keeper later in the first half, Trigueros firing the rebound wide, and the home side didn’t manage a shot on goal until three minutes in to the second half, Asenjo dealing easily with a soft shot from Colotto. A few minutes later Fuentes saved the day however when he headed a shot from Vietto off the line, and with the game coming to an end Colotto levelled the scores, turning the ball in on the far post after Asenjo pushed out a header from Stuani. (09.11.14)

Real Madrid stay in first place after a convincing 5-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano on Saturday evening, and after thirteen straight wins in all competitions they are already looking like strong favourites for the title. Bale was back in the side after a short injury lay-off, and he took less than ten minutes to open the scoring after Kroos crossed in from left of the area. Rayo were not to be daunted though, and Leo Baptistao and Alberto Bueno both brought good saves out of Keylor Navas, a surprise inclusion in the line-up as Ancelotti decided to give Casillas a rest. James tested Cristian Alvarez and Benzema headed against the bar in response, and with five minutes to go to the break Sergio Ramos turned a Kroos corner in to the net with his knee to make it two. However four minutes later Baptistao intercepted a poor pass by James to set up Bueno to get one back, and soon after the restart Baptistao got the ball in the net on a quick breakaway only for the strike to be ruled out for a borderline offside. Within ten minutes though any hope of a comeback ended, Kroos curling a shot past Alvarez after Ronaldo laid the ball back to him, and Benzema connecting with a wayward shot from Ronaldo to score a fourth, the referee waving away good claims for offside. Bale saw his shot pushed onto the crossbar by Alvarez after that, and with seven minutes to go Ronaldo inevitably got his name on the scoresheet as well, the keeper letting his soft shot through his hands and in to the net. It was a record eighteenth of the season for the Portuguese superstar, and kept up his record of scoring in the Bernabeu in every league game since September last year.

For a few hours though Madrid were knocked off top spot by Barcelona, Luis Enrique’s side coming from behind to beat Almería 1-2 in the first match on Saturday. The coach surprisingly left Neymar and Luis Suárez on the bench (as well as Xavi, Piqué and Alves), but Messi was in the starting line-up, and he and Munir had early shots saved by Rubén. A few minutes later the keeper blocked a Rakitic header, Messi heading the rebound against the bar, but soon afterwards the locals took the lead on a quick counter-attack, Thievy picking up Soriano’s through ball and running through to steer a shot wide of Bravo. Luis Enrique repented at the break, bringing on Suárez and Neymar, the former volleying a shot against the bar and the latter heading another chance just wide. But Almería held on until the 73 rd minute, when Suárez laid the ball across for Neymar to drive home the equalizer. Suárez fired a shot wide across goal and Messi steered yet another header against the bar, and with eight minutes left on the clock Suárez lifted the ball across the defence for Jordi Alba to bounce a shot past Rubén. A much needed win for Barça after their two recent defeats, but still not the most convincing of performances. Almería themselves can take heart from their achievements, although they have still to win at home this season, and they ended the day just a point above the drop zone.

The other three teams currently in the title race all play on Sunday, but sixth placed Celta were held to a 0-0 draw by Granada later in the evening. The Galicians were on a high after their win in the Nou Camp last weekend, but a heavy rainstorm at the start of the match made play difficult, and they were unable to break through a well ordered defence. Sergi Gómez did have an early strike ruled out for offside, and Pablo Hernández lobbed his shot wide after Roberto gifted him the ball. The keeper made up for his mistake though with saves from Sergi Gómez and Orellana, and soon after the restart Larrivey fired a shot on the turn just wide of the post. Up to that point the Andalusians had hardly troubled Sergio Alvarez, but substitute Rochina fired a shot just over the top, and then ran through past the keeper only to see Cabral clear his shot off the line. Otherwise though the locals continued to push for the winner, and a brave Roberto kept out Nolito and Orellana late on despite carrying an injury for a knock he took on the knee earlier in the game.

Málaga took advantage of Celta’s slip-up to overtake them in the table thanks to a 2-1 win over Eibar. The first chance fell to the Basque side, Raúl Navas heading in a long free kick only to be pulled up for a narrow offside. Boka tested Irureta a couple of times at the other end and Miguel Torres headed wide, but with half time approaching Torres could only clear Capa’s cross as far as Arruabarrena, who drilled a shot back in to the net. Only a good save by Kameni prevented Saúl Berjón from making it two after the restart, but a couple of minutes later Irureta could only push out Samuel’s long shot, and Juanmi was on hand to fire home the rebound. Both teams traded shots after that, Arruabarrena in particular firing the best chance of all over the bar when free on goal. However the game appeared to be heading for a draw until two minutes from the end, when Raúl Navas cut out Darder’s pass with his arm inside the area. Navas had to take the long walk after picking up a second yellow card for the offence, and Amrabat stepped up to convert the spot kick, ensuring a record fifth victory in a row for the Andalusians.

Elsewhere Getafe and Elche also drew 0-0, a result which kept Fran Escribá’s side just above the bottom three and took the hosts up to ninth pending Sunday’s games. Chances though were few and far between, Guaita pushing an early shot by Víctor Rodríguez round the post for a corner, and Tyton keeping out long shots from Escudero and Sarabia at the other end before the break. Jonathas turned a good chance over the top and Guaita saved well from Cristian Herrera after the restart, and Sammir and Escudero fired free kicks over the bar later on in the second half. In the end though both coaches settled for a point which builds on the wins they clocked up last weekend. (08.11.14)

Córdoba and Deportivo kicked off week eleven with a goal-less draw on Friday evening, a result which left the hosts still at the bottom of the pack, and the Galicians just three points above them in the table. Djukic’s side will be ruing missed chances though, particularly after Fabricio saved a Fede Cartabia penalty when Postiga pulled down Pinillos in the area with only fifteen minutes gone. A quarter of an hour later Postiga picked up a rigorous second yellow card for retaliatory push on Iñigo López, but even against ten men the locals struggled to create any chances, and Juan Carlos had to save header from Sidnei to keep the scores level at the break. Half time substitute Borja García did go close a couple of times, and López Silva got the ball in the net only to be pulled up for a clear offside, but once again it was a disappointing night for the home fans, and the Andalusians have yet to win a single game since their promotion last summer. (07.11.14)