L atest updates on L aL iga
L aL iga 1 - M atch D ay 2 5
A TOTAL of 25 matches have now been played in the Spanish top division, and the top two, as you can imagine, are still the two giants of Spanish football Barcelona and Real Madrid – who both won their matches at the weekend.
Despite their off-field legal problems, FC Barcelona are still doing the business on the pitch and are nine points clear at the top after winning a potential ‘banana skin’ match at Bilbao (0-1), whilst Real Madrid took all the points with a 3-1 win against Espanyol. Barcelona have 65 points with Real Madrid on 56.
Atlético Madrid won away at Girona to stay in third position with 48 points. They remain one place above Real Sociedad, who have 45 points after their away draw at Real Mallorca. Real Sociedad are going through a poor run of form at the moment, having won just once in their last five games played. Real Betis drew for the second time on the spin and are in fifth with 42 points, one place above their weekend rivals, Villarreal who are in sixth with 38 points, after the clubs drew 1-1.
Rayo Vallecano, who have now not won any of their last five matches, stay on 35 points after their latest defeat - 3-0 away at Celta Vigo. Osasuna are in eighth position with 34 points after their 1-0 away defeat at relegation-threatened Valencia, with Athletic Bilbao continuing their poor run of form (no wins in their last four played), in ninth position with 33 points. Real Mallorca, who have been in decent form lately, could only manage a home draw (1-1) against Real Sociedad and are in 10th with 32 points.
It is really tight between this mid-table group of clubs and they are now joined by Celta Vigo (unbeaten in their last four games) who managed another win at the weekend (3-0 against Rayo Vallecano) and move up to 11th place with 31 points. Girona, who lost again at the weekend, are in 12th with 30 points, whilst Sevilla and Valladolid (both on 28 points) are in joint 13th position.
Espanyol (two defeats on the trot) and Cádiz (two draws) are both on 27 points in joint 15th position. Valencia, the only winners in the bottom seven this week, climbed out of the relegation places on goal difference. Their 1-0 home win against Osasuna moves them into joint 17th position, where they join Getafe. Both clubs are on 26 points, with Almería, who lost for the second week on the spin, one place off the foot of the table on 25 points. Elche are bottom for another week, although they did manage a point this week, at home to Valladolid. After going down to an early (and somewhat fortunate) goal, Elche had by far the better of the game and created enough chances to perhaps take all three points. However, the referee decided to add 13 minutes at the end of the 90, and the fun really started from there. Elche equalised on 96 minutes and then the visitors had two players red carded (10 and 11 minutes into injury time), with Elche missing three good chances at the death, before having to settle for a share of the spoils. Elche are in 20th position with 13 points and 14 points outside the safety places.
R esults for M atch D ay 2 5 (M arch10-13)
Cádiz 2-2 Getafe
Real Madrid 3-1 Espanyol Elche 1-1 Valladolid Celta Vigo 3-0 Rayo Vallecano Valencia 1-0 Osasuna Real Mallorca 1-1 Real Sociedad Sevilla 2-1 Almería Villarreal 1-1 Real Betis Athletic Bilbao 0-1 Barcelona Girona 0-1 Atlético Madrid
F ix tures for M atch D ay 2 6 (M arch17-19)
Valladolid v Athletic Bilbao Almería v Cádiz
Rayo Vallecano v Girona Espanyol v Celta Vigo Atlético Madrid v Valencia Real Betis v Real Mallorca Real Sociedad v Elche Osasuna v Villarreal Getafe v Sevilla FC Barcelona v Real Madrid
LaLiga 2 - Match Day 31
After a few weeks at the top of this division, Las Palmas have now won just once in their last five matches and drop down into second spot after they were held to a 2-2 draw, at home, by struggling Málaga. On the other hand, Eibar won (1-0) for the fourth match on the spin and take over that top spot. Eibar have 59 points with Las Palmas on 58.
Levante, in joint third position, could only draw (0-0) at the weekend, and have 55 points, the same tally as Granada who were also held to a draw (2-2) at home by Ponferradina, another of the struggling sides. Alavés, in fifth place with 54 points, also failed to win at the weekend as they were held to a home draw by bottom of the table CD Lugo.
In fact, of the top 10 clubs, only Eibar managed a win at the weekend, with Albacete, in sixth, taking an draw away at Levante. They have 51 points and have a six point advantage over seventh-placed Burgos, who have 45, following their second defeat on the spin. Burgos are one point above FC Cartagena (44 points) after they too lost (0-3) at home to Andorra.
Huesca and Villarreal B couldn't manage a win between them. Both drew their respective matches and are in joint ninth position, with both clubs on 41 points. Mirandés are now up into 11th position after winning their second game in a row. Their 3-4 win away at Sporting Gijón was an amazing game. The visitors were 1-4 ahead after 56 minutes, with some cracking goals from both sides, before the home side scored twice in the final 10 minutes to set up a nailbiting final few minutes. Mirandés have 40 points, the same total as Leganés, who lost (3-0) away at Zaragoza.
Andorra are up into 13th position on 39 points, after their excellent and emphatic 0-3 away win at FC Cartagena. They are one point above both Tenerife and Zaragoza, who are both in 14th position with 38 points apiece. Racing Santander, after their 1-1 home draw with Huesca, are in 16th position with 37 points, with both Asturian sides, Sporting Gijón and Oviedo, in joint 17th place on 36 points.
Below this point, we go into the four relegation places. Ponferradina are on 30 points in 19th position. Just below them in 20th, we find Málaga with 26 points, and both Ibiza and CD Lugo in joint bottom place with 24 points each.
It is interesting to see that whilst only one of the top 10 teams managed a win, only one of the bottom nine teams could also win. In fact, there were only four wins amongst the 22 sides in this group.
R esults for M atch D ay 3 1 (M arch10-13)
Oviedo 0-0 Tenerife Eibar 1-0 Burgos Alavés 0-0 CD Lugo Ibiza 0-0 Villarreal B
Las Palmas 2-2 Málaga Zaragoza 3-0 Leganés Sporting Gijón 3-4 Mirandés Levante 0-0 Albacete FC Cartagena 0-3 Andorra Granada 2-2 Ponferradina Racing Santander 1-1 Huesca
F ix tures for M atch D ay 3 2 (M arch17-20)
Málaga v Levante Andorra v Ibiza Albacete v Granada Leganés v Oviedo Tenerife v Las Palmas Ponferradina v Alavés Burgos v Sporting Gijón Huesca v Zaragoza
CD Lugo v Racing Santander Villarreal B v FC Cartagena Mirandés v Eibar