Real see off gritty Espanyol to climb to top, Atletico sink Getafe
Marco Asensio’s strike earned Real Madrid a 1-0 win over Espanyol to send them top of La Liga and Thomas Lemar scored his first goal for Atletico Madrid in a 2-0 win at Getafe on Saturday.
Julen Lopetegui’s Real were tested by Espanyol at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Borja Iglesias hitting the crossbar, but held on for the victory. After an emphatic Champions League win over AS Roma on Wednesday, Lopetegui shuffled his pack for the visit of Espanyol, sixth in the table after a good start to the season.
The coach rested Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Toni Kroos, giving a debut to defender Alvaro Odriozola in place of the injured Dani Carvajal. Real dominated but Espanyol were persistent. “(The clean sheet) was really important for us, we don’t want to let in goals,” said Real defender Raphael Varane. “Espanyol played very well but we played as a team and did not concede.”
The hosts took the lead four minutes before the break, when Luka Modric’s pass took a triple deflection but found its way to Asensio, who steered home his first goal this season. He had to wait for VAR to prove he was onside before he could celebrate.
French winger Lemar struck the crossbar with a long-range effort and the ball bounced back, hitting Soria and crossing the line, to send Atletico ahead after 14 minutes. The visitors struggled to create openings but Lemar put the finishing touch to a quick counter-attack after an hour to net his first goal since his close season move from Monaco.
Getafe winger Ivan Alejo was sent off for an apparent stamp just four minutes after coming on as a substitute, leaving Atletico to cruise to victory and climb to fifth in the table. Rayo Vallecano were thrashed 5-1 by thirdplaced Alaves at Vallecas after Abdoulaye Ba was sent off in the first half. Ba became the first player in Spanish football to be dismissed after VAR flagged an offthe-ball incident, with the officials deciding he elbowed Jonathan Calleri.
Villarreal drew 3-3 at Real Sociedad and Eibar beat Leganes 1-0.
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