Barcelona strengthen grip at the top despite Real and Atlético wins
BARCELONA strengthened their grip at the top of La Liga with a 3-1 victory over mid-table LEGANÉS at the Camp Nou. Ousmane Dembele got the first on 31 minutes, firing a low first-time strike past Iván Cuéllar, yet Leganés grabbed an unlikely equaliser after the break with a close-range goal from Middlesbrough loanee Martin Braithwaite following a swift break. Lionel Messi came off the bench along with Iván Rakitic just after the hour mark, and he made an immediate impact when his free-kick was saved and Luis Suárez prodded home the rebound. And in stoppage time the Argentine made certain of the win with a thumping shot after he had combined with Jordi Alba.
ATLÉTICO MADRID cruised to a 3-0 victory at a fog-shrouded El Alcoraz against basement boys HUESCA. The home side almost took an early lead after 12 minutes, only for Jorge Pulido to see his overhead kick strike an upright, but found themselves behind on the half-hour mark after Lucas Hernández got on the end of a low cross from Koke. Diego Simeone’s men went ahead seven minutes into the second half when Santiago Arias volleyed home, and they made sure of the points 20 minutes later with midfielder Koke powering the ball home after an Antoine Griezmann header had come back off the crossbar.
REAL MADRID moved up to third after late goals from Casemiro and Luka Modric downed SEVILLA 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu. Los Blancos passed up several opportunities to score in a game they dominated from start to finish, but finally achieved the breakthrough in the 75th minute with a stunning long-range drive from Casemiro. Midfielder Modric then raced clear in injury time to make sure of the points, a win that sees Real leapfrog their opponents in the table but remain 10 points behind leaders Barcelona and five adrift of neighbours Atlético.
CELTA VIGO suffered a fourth successive loss after going down to a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of VALENCIA. The Galicians took the lead five minutes before half-time when Nestor Araujo headed home from a corner. Nonetheless, Valencia regained control after the interval and substitute Ferran Torres netted the equaliser on 71 minutes when taking the ball down on his chest before firing past a helpless Rubén. It was another substitute who created the winner, Kevin Gameiro producing a perfect pass for Rodrigo, who turned the ball into an empty net with six minutes remaining. Los Che held on for what was just their fifth win of the campaign and moved up to ninth in the standings.
GETAFE continued their excellent recent form with a 4-0 home win over ALAVÉS. The Madrid outfit were awarded a penalty in the 32nd minute as Sebastián Cristóforo was brought down by Guillermo Maripán, with Jaime Mata scoring. Getafe doubled the lead one minute into the second half through a Jorge Molina shot from outside the box, and Molina got his second of the evening 10 minutes later. Mata then notched his own brace two minutes from time by sliding in at the near post to complete the rout.
REAL BETIS got back in the hunt for the European places with a dramatic 3-2 win over GIRONA at the Benito Villamarín. A strong drive in the 12th minute from Cristian Tello put them in front, but Girona turned the game on its head before the break with goals from Aleix García and Seydou Doumbia. A corner kick 10 minutes after the interval fell kindly for Loren, who beat Bono from close range, and the game appeared set for a draw despite the Andalusians dominating things. However, with four minutes stoppage time played Giovani Lo Celso was upended by Douglas Luiz in the box and Sergio Canales fired home from the spot to claim a last-gasp victory.
VILLARREAL remain in the drop zone after managing a 1-1 draw with ATHLETIC BILBAO at the Estadio de Las Cerámica. The Basques got their noses in front in the 18th minute when Yuri Berchiche put a cross into the area, which Jaume Costa turned into his own goal. It took until the 71st minute for the Yellow Submarine to find an equaliser as an Alfonso Pedraza cross was touched in by Karl Toko Ekambi. The game ended somewhat controversially when Iñaki Williams was denied a goal after the referee had already blown, although VAR subsequently showed it should have stood. But, unfortunately for Athletic, it could not be overturned.
LEVANTE got back to winning ways by beating REAL VALLADOLID 2-0 at the Ciutat de Valencia. The first goal arrived just before the break as Coke headed a Rubén Rochina cross past Jordi Masip, while the second came five minutes into added time when Roger Martí got his ninth goal of the season after Levante had earlier had a goal ruled out by VAR.
Improving RAYO VALLECANO secured a 2-2 draw with REAL SOCIEDAD at Vallecas in their latest attempt to escape the relegation zone. Rayo took the lead in the 22nd minute through a Santi Comesaña rocket shot, and doubled that advantage in the opening 30 minutes with a composed finish from Adri Embarba. La Real pulled one back before the break courtesy of a Hector Moreno header and managed an equaliser eight minutes from time, Willian José finishing off a rapid counterattack.
EIBAR managed a first win since late November with a 3-0 trouncing of ESPANYOL on a freezing cold night at Ipurua. The hosts took the lead on 24 minutes with Pape Diop finding Sergi Enrich inside the area and he got free of his marker to beat Diego López with ease. Pablo De Blasis’s left-foot shot into the roof of the net then made it two in the 51st minute. Seven minutes from the end, Brazilian striker Charles ensured there was no way back for Espanyol when he added a third to give Eibar some breathing space, five points above the bottom three.