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Match round-up - First Division, Day 37

The title race will be going right down to the wire this season after Barcelona and Real Madrid both won on Sunday evening. Barcelona stay top on goal difference though after they beat Las Palmas 1-4, albeit having played a game more than their arch-rivals. Neymar combined with Busquets, Imiesta and Luis Suárez to open the scoring midway through the first half, and the Brazilian forward then set up Luis Suárez for the second just two minutes later. Roque, Momo and Jesé tested Ter Stegen though either side of half time before Bigas got on the end of a Boateng cross to pull one back. However Neymar added two more in the next eight minutes to complete a hat-trick, the first with a header from a Rakitic cross and the second after picking up an assist from Jordi Alba, and only a good save by Javi Varas prevented Messi from increasing the lead near the end.

Real Madrid also won 4-1 against fourth placed Sevilla however, Nacho starting things off with a quickly taken free kick which caught the visiting defence totally off guard. Jovetic hit the woodwork soon afterwards, but Ronaldo made it two after Sergio Rico saved from James, and James himself came close to a third with a wide free kick. Jovetic lobbed a shot against the bar again though, and Keylor Navas had to save a couple of times from Joaquín Correa before the break, and some four minutes in to the second half Jovetic got one back following a quick passing move. However Ronaldo got his second of the night with a shot in to the near top corner of the net from a Toni Kroos centre, and Kroos wrapped things up after Nacho laid the ball back near the end. Madrid visit Celta next Wednesday to play their game in hand before the last round of fixtures at the weekend, and if they can pick up four points from their last two games they will be sure of a first league title in five years.

Sevilla’s defeat means that they will finish fourth, and that Atlético Madrid are sure of the third Champions League spot despite being held to a 1-1 draw at Betis. Caretaker coach Alexis Trujillo was in charge of the Andalusians for the first time after Víctor Sánchez del Amo was sacked a few days ago, and he saw his team dominate the first half, Dani Ceballos hitting the post and Oblak having to save free kicks from Rubén Castro and Joaquín. Some twelve minutes in to the second half Dani Ceballos volleyed the locals in to the lead after a corner was headed clear, and Cejudo could have added a second later on. But Simeone’s team rallied despite the tired legs following their midweek efforts in the Champions League, Carrasco bringing a first save out of Adán before Savic levelled the scores after Saúl Ñíguez played on Koke’s free kick, the referee failing to spot that Saúl had handled the ball, and that Savic was marginally offside when he poked his shot past the local keeper.

One issue which was resolved on Sunday though was the final relegation spot, Sporting Gijón going down with Granada and Osasuna even though they won 0-1 at Eibar. A victory last weekend against Las Palmas had given the Asturians a slender life-line, although they needed at least one of their two closest rivals to fail to be able to stay up. After a shaky start Carmona had a strike ruled out for a borderline offside, and soon afterwards Burgui put them in front after picking up a pass from Moi Gómez. Duje Cop missed a couple of chances after the restart, and there were some nervous moments for the thousands of visiting fans, especially when Rivera hit the post later on, but in the end it was all in vain as news came in that Deportivo and Leganés had both drawn.

Deportivo picked up the point they needed in a goal-less draw at Villarreal, the result keeping them three points clear of Sporting with a superior head-to-head record against the Asturians. The locals were also looking for a win though to consolidate their fifth spot and keep up their options of catching fourth placed Sevilla, and although Andrés had to turn a long shot from Ola John for a corner early on, Bruno and Jonathan Dos Santos both went close before the break. Lux was lucky to stay on the park though when the referee only gave him a yellow card for a retaliatory push on Soldado on the stroke of half time, but the visiting keeper made important saves after the restart from Jaume Costa and Sansone, and Bakambu wasted a couple of easy chances to win it for the locals near the end.

Leganés are also staying in the top flight for another year after they drew 1-1 at Athletic Bilbao, the point taking them four clear of Sporting in the table. The Madrid based side were odds-on favourites for the drop at the start of their first season at this level, but they have held their own with a makeshift squad, and they got their reward in their first ever visit to the San Mamés stadium. With a place in next season’s Europa League in play, Valverde put out a full strength line-up, and with a quarter of an hour gone Aduríz deflected a shot from Balenziaga past Champagne, the keeper drafted in to replace first choice Herrerín, who was banned from playing under the loan agreement between the two clubs. After the interval however the visitors had the better of play, and with an hour on the clock Szymanowski got in front of Kepa to head in the equalizer.

Villarreal and Athletic stay fifth and sixth though after seventh placed Real Sociedad also drew 2-2 against Málaga, and the two (or three depending on the cup final result) Europa League spots will be decided next Sunday. Recio had to clear a Willian José header off the line before Illarramendi won a penalty off Keko, Xabi Prieto firing home the resulting spot kick. Luis Hernández made it all square though after a shot from Juan Carlos hit the bar and bounced off the back of Rulli just before the interval, and Recio gave the Andalusians the lead with an impressive shot from outside of the area with fifteen minutes to go. Iñigo Martínez headed just wide however a few minutes later, and soon afterwards Jon Bautista headed the equalizer from Iñigo’s centre.

One other game earlier in the day with nothing at stake, Alavés beating Celta 3-1 to end the weekend in eighth spot. Once again Berizzo rested many of his key players after their Europa League tie at Old Trafford on Thursday, and by half time they were already three down. A mistake by Marcelo Díaz allowed Manu García to give the locals an early lead, and Feddal headed a second from Katai’s corner before Deyverson connected with Vigaray’s cross to score the third. Iago Aspas converted a penalty after Sisto was fouled in the area with twelve minutes to go, and Beavue hit the post near the end, but the Galicians were unable to prevent a fifth defeat in a row in the league. Both teams still have one more match to play though as well as next weekend’s final league games, the visitors hosting Real Madrid on Wednesday in a match rescheduled from February, and the locals taking part in this season’s Spanish cup final the week after, with a place in Europe reserved for them if they can win. (14.05.17)

All games with anything at stake have been scheduled to kick off at 20:00 tomorrow, but two matches took place on Saturday, Valencia beating Espanyol 0-1 to leave both clubs safely in mid-table. The Catalans failed to convert several chances in the first half, Jurado and Marc Navarro unable to find the target, and Gerard Moreno and Hernán Pérez coming up against Jaume Domenech. Nani went close a couple of times though for the visitors, and with a quarter of an hour to go Gayà got the only goal after Dani Parejo set him up.

Later in the evening the two relegated teams met, Osasuna beating Granada to 2-1 to move above their opponents off the bottom of the table. The Andalusians had only picked up one point from their last eleven games, including five defeats in a row under new coach Tony Adams, and Kodro went close before Steven Mondragón opened the scoring after Kodro’s shot was blocked. Sirigu had to save from Boga though, and with half time approaching Adrián Ramos headed the equalizer from an Andreas Pereira free kick. Kodro got the winner later on however after Ochoa could only parry a header from Vujadinovic to extend the Pamplona based team’s unbeaten home run to four matches. (13.05.17)