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Match round-up - First Division, Day 20

Las Palmas beat Valencia 3-1 on Monday evening to stay in the running for the European spots. Santi Mina gave the Ches the lead midway through the first half after connecting with a centre from Gayà, but Boateng put a good chance wide, and Jonathan Viera equalized with a shot from outside of the area close to half time. Six minutes after the restart the visitors were left with ten men when Munir picked up two bookings in quick succession, and soon afterwards Lemos put the hosts ahead with a well struck free kick. Three minutes later Boateng scored a third after Mangala failed to cut out a cross from Bigas, and Javi Varas had little to do until he was tested by Santi Mina and Mangala near the end. The result keeps up the Canary Islanders’ unbeaten home record, and leaves the visitors still just six points off the bottom three. (30.01.17)

Leaders Real Madrid have pulled four points clear of their immediate followers with a game still in hand after a 3-0 victory over fifth placed Real Sociedad in a rainy last match on Sunday. Willian José went close a couple of times for the visitors early on, but with seven minutes to go to the break Ronaldo put Kovacic through to open the scoring. Soon after the restart the two combined again for Ronaldo to make it two, and a few minutes later substitute Morata had a headed goal ruled out for a marginal offside. The Basque side were left with ten men though when Iñigo Martínez was sent off for a second bookable offence, and with eight minutes to go Morata got on the end of a Lucas Vázquez cross on a rapid counter-attack to head in the third. Ronaldo had a strike disallowed after that for another close offside decision, but Zidane’s team already had the win they needed to reconcile with their fans after the midweek elimination from the Spanish cup.

Barcelona and Sevilla both dropped points however, the Catalans held to a 1-1 draw by Betis in the mid-day kick-off. Dani Ceballos brought a couple of good saves out of Ter Stegen in the first half, and Adán had to keep out Neymar before the break. After the interval Ter Stegen tipped another effort from Ceballos on to the bar, and soon afterwards Rubén Castro fired a shot against the upright. With a quarter of an hour to go Alex Alegría put the locals ahead after the keeper could only push out a Durmisi corner, and Rubén Castro could have scored a second had Ter Stegen not kept him out when free on goal. The visitors felt hard done by though when the referee disallowed a goal after Mandi cleared the ball from well over the line after a deflection off Jordi Alba and Durmisi, and with the game coming to an end Messi set up Luis Suárez for a last minute equalizer.

Barcelona move above Sevilla on goal difference though after the Andalusians lost 3-1 at Espanyol. The visitors played the full match with ten men after Nico Pareja was sent off for giving away a penalty in the first minute, Reyes converting the kick against his old side. Jovetic levelled it soon afterwards though following good work by Nasri, but Marc Navarro headed a second from a wide Reyes free kick on the stroke of half time. Midway through the second half Reyes fired a shot against the crossbar, Gerard Moreno’s follow up header being cleared off the line by a defender, and just a minute later Moreno headed the third past Sergio Rico after Marc Navarro crossed in from the right wing.

Athletic Bilbao took advantage of the slips by the teams above them, a 2-1 win against Sporting Gijón taking them to within two points of the European spots. Duje Cop missed an early chance before giving the visitors the lead from the penalty spot after he was brought down by Bóveda with just under half an hour gone. However San José brought a good save out of Cuéllar soon after the restart, and minutes later Muniain connected with a centre from half time substitute Williams to volley in the equalizer. Aduríz and Amorebieta tested the keepers at both ends, and with twenty minutes to go Aduríz converted a second penalty after Moi Gómez tripped Muniain from behind in the area. The defeat leaves Sporting further adrift in the bottom three, still five points away from safety. (29.01.17)

Atlético Madrid stay in fourth spot pending Sunday’s games after a 0-0 draw at Alavés on Saturday afternoon. Both teams qualified for the upcoming semi-finals of the cup midweek, but despite the closeness of the fixtures the coaches put out strong line-ups for this match. The locals had the better chances throughout though, Moyà having to save from Ibai Gómez early on, Laguardia heading against the bar soon afterwards, and Deyverson heading the rebound wide. Griezmann did give Pacheco some work to do before the break, but after the restart Moyà had to be at his best to keep out Camarasa, Edgar and the on-loan Theo Hernández. With the game coming to a close Gaitán could have won it had Pacheco not kept him out, but even Simeone admitted that that would have been an unfair result.

Sixth placed Villarreal are now just two points behind Atlético after they beat Granada 2-0 in the early kick-off. Ochoa had to save from Trigueros early on, and Sansone hit the bar with a well struck free kick before Bruno opened the scoring, turning the ball in from close up after Álvaro played across a José Ángel free kick. Ochoa had to keep out Sansone and Soriano either side of half time, and with just over a quarter of an hour to go Álvaro made it two, poking a shot past the keeper after his first header from a corner hit Soriano in front of goal. The visitors didn’t trouble Asenjo until a shot from Kravets hit the post later on, and substitute Adrián López came close to a third in his first match since returning to the club a few days ago. The result leaves the Andalusians further down at the bottom of the table.

Celta also made it through to the semi-finals of the cup after knocking out Real Madrid midweek, and they stay four points below Villarreal in seventh place after a 0-2 victory at Leganés in the last match of the evening. Once again Berizzo rested several key players, but Alvaro Lemos gave them the lead somewhat against the run of play when he beat Herrerín with a shot on the turn on the half hour mark. Midway through the second half Guidetti made it two from the penalty spot after Víctor Díaz brought down an active Pione Sisto, and Guerrero missed a sitter late on for the locals, who are now just a place above the bottom three.

Eibar are back up to ninth after they won 3-1 against Deportivo in the Ipurúa stadium. The Basque side went two up in the first quarter of an hour, Adrián González opening the scoring with an impressive shot over Tyton, and Sergi Enrich adding a second after Adrián put him through. Çolak headed one back soon afterwards however, and Yoel had to make important saves from Andone and Çolak after the interval. Lejeune tested Tyton again though, and a few minutes later the French defender wrapped things up after Sergi Enrich squared the ball across the area. (28.01.17)

The second half of the season kicked off with a 1-1 draw between Osasuna and Málaga, a result which was probably inevitable given that the Pamplona based side had not won at home all season, and their visitors had not won away. Causic put the hosts in front after Kodro laid the ball back to him with a quarter of an hour to go, but just three minutes later Camacho headed in a long Luis Hernández throw-in to level the scores. Earlier in the first half Mario saved a Michael Santos penalty after the keeper had brought down the Uruguayan forward in the area. (27.01.17)