Six weeks into the Spanish League La Liga, Real Madrid, Sociedad, Sevilla, and Atletico Madrid are in the top four of the table leading the league. With Barcelona in sixth place, Athletic Bilbao and Villarreal are in the 10th and the 11th position of the standings respectively. As La Liga advance to the 8th week, we have noted down the match review of week 7.
Barcelona vs Levante
Barcelona had a poor campaign this season but after two straight draws, the Blaugrana returned to winning ways in La Liga defeating Levante at a 3-0 match score. In only 14 minutes from the starting whistle, Barca was in a 2-0 lead with goals from Memphis Depay and Luuk de Jong. Gerard Pique had a great chance to make it three, but he missed the target on the volley.
Barcelona dominated the game for the entire 90 minutes and reached the end with a two-goal lead. However, Ansu Fati made his long-awaited comeback from injury, donning the famous number 10 jersey. The youngster hit the winning goal in a minute of extra time (90+1) registering the much-awaited victory for the host.
Valencia vs Athletic Bilbao
Valencia avoided a third consecutive league defeat after a tie with Athletic Bilbao in the 7th round of La Liga. A dramatic late point in the 95th minute from Marcos Andre rescued a defeat for Valencia. Bilbao started off actively, pressuring the home side but it was Unai Simon who was called into action first with a fine save from Maxi Gomez’s shot.
With almost 20 attempted shots neither of the team could score a single goal in the first half. Bilbao’s Iñigo Martinez scored a header from close range into the bottom left corner with 20 minutes remaining on the clock. The match went from bad to worse for Valencia when Maxi Gomez received a red card in the 82nd minute. Marcos Andre restored the parity in the 95th minute leading the scoreboard to an equalizer.
Alaves vs Atletico Madrid
Alaves ended their 5-game losing streak registering the first La Liga win of the season beating Atletico Madrid. Víctor Laguardia’s header in just fourth minute was enough to shock Atletico Madrid. Diego Simeone’s squad tried to find an equalizer at all costs with Angel Correa and Marcos Llorente’s efforts but both were denied by Fernando Pacheco.
The match between Atletico and Alaves ended in a 1-0 football result. After a convincing start, the reigning champions of Spain suffered their first defeat this season. Los Colchoneros will return to action next win as the Champions League AC Milan clash approaches, while Alaves will face Athletic Bilbao on Friday.
Real Madrid vs Villarreal
Carlo Ancelotti and Unai Emery drew for the first time across their nine head-to-head career clashes. Real Madrid took an unusual amount of time settling into what was a battle of attack-minded 4-3-3 formations. Not overawed by their mighty opponents, Villarreal made sure their presence was felt through Arnaut Danjuma, who forced Thibaut Courtois into a formidable save with a shot from the edge of the box early on.
Paco Alcacer and Arnaut Danjuma from the Yellow Submarines, once again, were wasteful failing to convert their chances. However, Los Blancos renewed spirits after the break with Eder Militão’s diving header that went wide. Villarreal themselves came close through two opportunities both denied by Thibaut Courtois. Eventually, neither of the team did enough to break the deadlock.
Real Sociedad vs Elche
In the Primera Division, the Real Sociedad players jumped to second place after beating Elche 1-0 in the seventh round. Mikel Oyarzabal scored the only goal in the 81st minute which turned into the winning goal. Real Madrid is second in La Liga with 16 points, one point less than leaders Real Madrid and two points ahead of fourth-placed last year’s La Liga winners Atletico Madrid.
