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Match round-up - First Division, Day 2

A single goal by Rakitic midway through the first half gave Barcelona a narrow 0-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday evening. With Claudio Bravo signing for Manchester City, Ter Stegen took over in goal, and he was to set a new record for the number of passes by a goalkeeper. However one of those early on went very wrong, and only a brave stop by the keeper prevented Beñat from putting the locals in front. With the rain starting to fall though it was the visitors who took the lead, Arda Turan crossing in for Rakitic to head past Iraizoz. Soon afterwards Umtiti swepty a shot over the top, and with the first half coming to a close Turan got free on goal only to shoot wide of the mark. Ter Stegen had to save from Aduríz before half time though, and after the interval Laporte headed a corner over the top, and Raúl García and Beñat shot just past the post. In the end though the Catalans could have won by a bigger margin, Messi and Luis Suárez going close, and Bóveda clearing a last minute effort off the line from Suárez with the keeper well beaten.

Luis Enrique’s side stay ahead of Real Madrid in the table as a result, but the surprise new leaders of the first division are Las Palmas, the Canary Islanders thrashing Granada 5-1 to go top of the table for the first time in 38 years! El Zhar latched on to a loose ball in the area to open the scoring midway through the first half, and after Ochoa had to save from the ex Levante and Liverpool forward, Paco Jémez made his first substitution. Boga made it all square with an impressive shot just before half time, but early on in the second half Boateng headed in a Livaja cross to restore the lead. With twenty minutes to El Zhar got his second of the night after Jonathan Viera set him up, and just three minutes later he set up substitute Momo for the fourth. Granada were in disarray, and Uche had to clear off the line from el Zhar before Viera put Araujo through to wrap things up.

Other than that though it was a very low scoring weekend, with only eleven goals in the other nine games. The other two matches on Sunday both ended scoreless, Villarreal and Sevilla drawing 0-0 in the last match of the weekend before the two week international lay-off. The locals were looking to bounce back after their midweek elimiation from the Champions League, and Sergio Rico had to be at his best to keep out Roberto Soriano early on. Soon afterwards Pato limped off to add to the ever growing injury list at the Madrigal stadium, and Vietto, Franco Vázquez and Sarabia all tested Sergio Asenjo. Santos Borré had a strike ruled out for offside though before the break, and after the restart only a string of saves by Rico from Santos, Trigueros and Sansone prevented the locals from taking the three points. Even so the Andalusians could have won it themselves when a last minute inswinging corner from Sarabia hit the far post, albeit that the referee eventually pulled the play up for a foul in the area.

Earlier in the evening Alavés and Sporting Gijón also drew 0-0, leaving both sides unbeaten in their first two matches. Despite the result there were chances for both teams, Ibai Gómez and Lillo bringing good saves out of Pacheco and Duje Cop heading a free kick just wide, and Deyverson and Theo Hernández coming up against Cuéllar at the other end before the break. After the interval Víctor Rodríguez, Ibai Gómez, Cristian Santos and Toquero all went close, but in the end both coaches settled for a point. (28.08.16).

Real Madrid made it two wins out of two after they beat Celta 2-1 on Saturday evening. Modric fired a long shot against the bar and then brought a good save out of Sergio Alvarez before the break, and Bale headed a Kroos corner just wide. Casilla had to keep out Radoja, and Guidetti and Jonny and tried their luck either side of half time in reply. But Alvarez had to be at his best tip a Bale free kick on to the crossbar, and with an hour on the clock Morata opened the scoring, firing a shot past the keeper after he had blocked a shot from Marcos Asensio. Morata turned a shot against the upright a couple of minutes later, but soon afterwards Orellana made it all square with a shot from outside of the area. However with ten minutes to go Kroos fired a low shot in off the post after Lucas Vázquez laid the ball across the area to take his side to the top of the table pending Sunday’s games.

For the second week in a row though Atlético Madrid were held to a stalemate by a newly promoted club, Simeone’s side unable to find the route to goal in a 0-0 draw at neighbours Leganés. A capacity 11,000 crowd turned up at the Butarque stadium to see their team’s first ever home game in the top flight, fired up by their victory at Celta the week before. Griezmann was back in the line-up after serving out a one match ban from last season, and he had the best chances before the break, having a strike ruled out for offside and coming up against the excellent Serantes. Saúl and Gameiro also went close before the break, and after the restart Serantes was in action again to keep out Gameiro, Carrasco and Fernando Torres. Oblak had to save from Guerrero though and Godín blocked an effort from Víctor Díaz before time ran out, but (with their team now in third place), the supporters celebrated the result as if they had won the cup final.

Earlier in the evening Eibar beat Valencia 1-0, the result leaving the Ches down at the bottom of the table without a single point to date. Pako Ayestarán’s team had much the better of the first half, Rodrigo and Abdennour failing to find the target and Santi Mina wasting a couple of easy chances. Escalante headed just wide though before the break, and a quarter of an hour in to the second half the locals were awarded a hotly disputed penalty when Kike’s cross hit Abdennour on the arm. Mat Ryan guessed correctly to save Pedro León’s spot kick, but the ex Getafe midfielder reacted quicker than anyone to turn the ball back in to the net. Enzo Pérez, Abdennour and Parejo all had their chances after that, but with Paco Alcácer in the stands pending his transfer to Barcelona there was nobody with that killer instinct they needed. Without him and Mustafi, this looks like being a long, hard season in Mestalla.

Real Sociedad picked up their first three points of the season after they won 0-2 at local rivals Osasuna. Despite a serious injury to Javier Flaño, the locals started well, Oriol Riera and Unai García heading dead ball kicks just wide of the mark. However with half time approaching Zurutuza battled for a loose ball, and he played the ball through for Oyarzabal to set up Juamni for the opener. Rulli had to save from Jaime Romero after the interval, and Enrique Martín brought on his new signing Sergio León to look for the equalizer. But with ten minutes to go Unai García could only head a long clearance from Yuri back over his own keeper, and Rulli kept out Fran Mérida, Miguel Flaño and Kodro after that to ensure the win. (27.08.16)

Both matches on Friday night ended in draws this week, home sides Betis and Espanyol picking up their first points of the new campaign. Betis drew 0-0 against Deportivo in the first game of the evening, a good result for the visitors, who have not lost in the Villamarín stadium in twelve years. The hot conditions made play difficult though, and neither keeper was particularly troubled throughout the ninety minutes. Sanabria went close for the locals a couple of times before the break, and Bruno Gama caused a few problems for the local defence either side of half time. Lux had to save from Durmisi, Rubén Castro and Dani Ceballos after the interval, and Borja Valle headed just wide near the end, but in the end a draw was a fair result.

Later in the evening Espanyol and Málaga drew 2-2, the Andalusians coming back from two goals down to save a point in the last minute. Gerard Moreno gave the locals the lead midway through the first half, picking the ball up outside of the area and cutting across to fire in a shot which took a deflection off Llorente past Kameni. Sandro was the most dangerous of the Málaga forwards, but with an hour on the clock Moreno got above the defence to head in his second from a Piatti free kick. Hernán Pérez came close to a third when he intercepted a back pass and rounded the keeper only to shoot wide, and Moreno fired another effort just past the post. However with twenty minutes or so to go Llorente headed one back from a wide Rosales free kick (getting a punch to the head from Roberto in to the bargain), and with the game in the last minute Camacho headed on a long Llorente free kick to allow Charles to poke home the equalizer. (26.08.16)