La Liga SRL Round-Up | Barcelona and Atletico Madrid share points, Granada trounce Alaves and more
Barcelona and Atletico Madrid shared points while Granada smashed four past Alaves in their away tie to stay in the hunt for a Europa League spot on Sunday. Real Valladolid, Sevilla secured full points as Valencia grabbed a single point after an 86th-minute leveller against Athletic Bilbao.
Alaves 0 - 4 Granada
Granada outfoxed Alaves in what was a battle of unequals in the Sunday fixture by a convincing 4-0 margin. With the win, Granada stayed on the 7th position in the league table with 49 points from 33 matches. Coming to the game, the first half was a different game altogether, with neither side managing to get on the scoresheet, even though both teams managed to create chances.
Granada was awarded a penalty against the run of play and that’s when the fate of the game changed. Not only did they convert from the spot but that opened the floodgates and saw the away side score three following that, in the 69th, 80th and the 81st minute to complete the rout. Interestingly, Alaves had 7 shots on target but failed to convert a single one, while Granada netted 4 out of the 5 shots they aimed at the net.
Real Valladolid 3 - 1 Levante
Real Valladolid snatched a comfortable victory after suffering an initial jolt against Levante who were level on points with them prior to the starting whistle. Levante’s 28th-minute strike triggered an alert button for the hosts, as they levelled the scores in the dying minutes of the first half. The story of the second half was quite different though, with Real Valladolid in taking charge of the game, as they re-took the lead in the 58th minute while netting their third in the 70th.
Levante’s late resurgence did not cause any problem for Valladolid’s defence, who kept their lead intact. Overall, both the teams took 6 shots at the goal each, but the hosts’ better conversion rate allowed them to collect all the three points on offer. Real Valladolid crafted 57 dangerous attacks in the game, while Levante could manage only 57, while the former's average time in attack was 19 seconds compared to the visitors’ 13.
Leganes 1 - 2 Sevilla
Sevilla kept their Champions League qualification hopes alive after a hard-fought 2-1 victory over 17th place Leganes. The visiting side took the lead in the 8th minute after a flurry of attacks since the starting whistle was blown. They were lucky to get a two-goal cushion after Leganes scored an own goal in the 25th minute.
The away side totally dominated the game but went through a small scare after Leganes pulled one back in the 83rd minute. But Sevilla managed to hold onto the lead and snatched away full points from the away tie. Against the norms, Leganes had more shots on goal with a count of 6, compared to Sevilla’s 4 and the hosts created more dangerous attacks (63) than the eventual winners (53).
Valencia 1 - 1 Athletic Bilbao
Valencia’s late strike ensured they added a point to their tally and stayed at the 8th position in the table after 33 games. Bilbao’s 4th-minute strike put instant pressure on the hosts and they succumbed to it. Taken aback by the initial jolt, Valencia took their time to regroup even though they went to the dugout at half-time trailing by a goal.
The hosts took over the attacking route from the start of the second half itself, but the much-needed equalizer evaded them. Eventually, they scored in the dying minutes of the match to snatch away a point. Valencia was the better team with 6 shots on goal, compared to 2, while the hosts created 68 dangerous attacks, 18 more than the visitors.
Barcelona 1 - 1 Atletico Madrid
Barcelona’s title aspirations were dented as they shared a point with Atletico in a high-voltage clash on Sunday evening. It was a typical first-half home outing for the Catalan giants as they had steered the game in their favour from the moment go. The inevitable happened in the 14th minute, with the hosts taking the lead and piling up pressure on the visitors. Even though Atletico Madrid tried hard to pull one back, Barcelona maintained the lead going into the break.
The Los Rojiblancos' magical ability to make a comeback against the fiercest opponents was evident once again as they restored parity in the 58th minute to set the tone for an exciting finish to the game. Atletico’s stubborn defence hardly allowed Barcelona to penetrate into the final third and the match eventually ended in a draw. The hosts had 6 shots on target compared to Atletico’s 4, while Barcelona accounting for 62 dangerous attacks while Atletico managed 56 of them.
