La Liga SRL Round-Up | Real Madrid held at home, Mallorca, Espanyol and Real Betis script victories and more

Mallorca prevailed in the battle between the two bottom-placed teams having piped Celta Vigo 2-1 in what was a neck-to-neck encounter. Celta Vigo drew first blood, having taken the lead in the 30th minute and managed to keep the lead for more than 50 minutes. Mallorca’s constant pressing paid off in the 81st minute when they were awarded a penalty, which they converted to level the scores. It took them seven minutes to double their scoreline and seal the deal in the vital fixture.

Both the teams had equal say in terms of dangerous attacks they created with Mallorca taking nine shots at goal compared to Celta Vigo’s five. The hosts spent an average of 16 seconds per attack while Celta Vigo remarkably clocked 19 seconds for the same. Mallorca scripted 61 dangerous attacks, which was a notch better than their oppositions’ 56 and subsequently emerged victorious.

Bottom-placed Espanyol rallied to snatch away three vital away points from sixth-placed Real Sociedad by scripting a 1-0 victory, giving them a major boost in their bid to stay in the top-flight this season. The battle was mainly between Real Sociedad’s attack and the visitors’ resistance. Interestingly, the winning goal in the dying minutes of the match was against the run of play. The hosts had outwitted Espanyol in each and every department for the entire match, but it was too much of a task to recover from the 95th-minute strike.

Osasuna gave away a three-goal lead to settle with a point in a six-goal thriller that saw all the goals in the first half itself. Osasuna’s initial thrust was too hot to handle for the hosts and eventually, they scored in the eighth minute to stride forward in the contest. Eibar’s misery continued as the visitors doubled the lead at the stroke of the half-hour mark, following up with a third one in the 34th minute.

Villarreal was shutdown by an unexpected defeat away to Real Betis, denting their chances of finishing in the top six in the league. Betis made the most out of the home advantage and took an early lead in the 14th minute to put the pressure on Villareal. Apart from the goal, the first half was largely uneventful with the teams sharing equal possession and similar shots on goal. Even though Villareal toiled hard to score the all-important equalizer, luck was not on their side.

Real Madrid’s title aspirations were dealt a huge blow as they were held 2-2 at home by fourth-placed Getafe after an intriguing 90 minutes of football. Getafe scored as early as the fourth minute and put all the pressure back on the hosts. Needing to deliver to keep their championship hopes alive, Real Madrid came back strong in the second half, scoring the equalizer in the 54th minute, while taking the lead in the 70th minute via a penalty kick.