It was one heck of a round in La Liga this week with more drama and controversy than anywhere else in Europe; if you took your eyes off the action for a minute…you’d definitely miss something!
Robert Lewandowski scored a first half hat-trick as Barcelona stayed top of the pile by a clear three points, thanks to a totally dominant 3-0 victory away to Alaves; Real Madrid are second thanks to two spectacular goals against Villarreal and there were penalties and red cards liberally spread around in two other high stakes matches.
Lewi’s hat-trick showcased the incredible predatory instinct which has yielded well over 600 career goals for club and country. His first was a neat header from a Raphinha free-kick, his second a cool finish past the advancing keeper, to round off a fast break, and his third was a clinical shot into the bottom corner after good work from Eric Garcia.
Madrid’s Saturday Stunners sink the Yellow Sub
Real Madrid temporarily closed the gap on Barcelona on Saturday night with a hard earned 2-0 victory over Villarreal, our SBOTOP featured clash. It was a tight game with possession shared and the Yellow Submarine edging the shot count by 12 to 11. Los Blancos only had two shots on target but what a brilliant two they were, giving Villarreal keeper Diego Conde no chance and sending the 73,000 fans at the Santiago Bernabeu into raptures.
The visitors arrived in Madrid full of confidence, in third place and with real Champions League aspirations and they made life difficult for their hosts in the opening exchanges, but a hammer blow from Federico Valverde changed the mood on 14 minutes. Croatian master Luke Modric found the Uruguayan star on the edge of the penalty area and he fired his bullet of a shot past Conde into the far corner, with the help of a cruel deflection.
The Yellow Submarine have started the season well and they very nearly hit back straight away when former Arsenal star Nicolas Pepe crashed a header against the crossbar. And early in the second half the visitors had a huge penalty shout when Aurelien Tchouameni clattered into Barry but, as the stadium held its breath expecting the referee to point to the penalty spot, he signalled an offside.
Alex Baena came close again for Villarreal but when Vinicius Junior found himself in space he unleashed another howitzer which flew past Conde and into the net. Two shots on target were enough for Los Blancos, but it wasn’t all good news as right back Dani Carvajal was stretchered off late in the game after a clash with Yeremy Pino and, on Sunday, the La Liga 2024 news revealed the Spain star had suffered a cruciate ligament injury which will require surgery.
Nine man Celta beat Las Palmas
If you think nothing could go worse for bottom club Las Palmas then it’s time to think again as, in front of 21,000 stunned home fans on the holiday island of Gran Canaria, they managed to lose 1-0 to nine men. After a frenetic opening half hour Celta striker Borja Iglesias kept his cool to score the only goal of the game. But his team-mates were anything but cool in a madcap three minutes early in the second half as referee Adrian Cordero Vega handed out second yellows to Ilaix Moriba and veteran striker Iago Aspas, both for arguing, and Celta were left to hang on two men down. With 60 per cent possession and 24 shots to eight, with five to one on target Las Palmas fans can be forgiven for wondering how they managed to lose this game. But the only shot Celta had on target hit the hosts’ net and Las Palmas remain the only team to be winless in the Primera Division. The La Liga 2024 betting odds don’t make happy reading for the Islanders and they may not get another chance like this for a while.
Spot kick nightmare for Bilbao
Athletic Bilbao’s six match unbeaten run came to a dramatic end in Girona as the Basque side lost 2-1 to a 99th minute penalty, and that after three of their own players had missed penalties. Alex Berenguer had his spot kick saved before Yaser Asprilla put Girona ahead; but Bilbao were soon on level terms as Oihan Sancet equalised, only to pick up an injury in the process. Early in the second half Inaki Williams was fouled by Arnaut Danjuma, he climbed to his feet but also had his penalty saved by Paulo Gazzinga, but the keeper was adjudged to have advanced off his line.
Ander Herrera took over the responsibility but he too couldn’t beat the Argentine goalie and, to rub salt into Bilbao’s wounds, Christhian Stuani, who had only been on the pitch for five minutes, calmly converted his 99th minute penalty to hand all three points to Girona, while Bilbao’s Aitor Paredes was red carded!
With Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad set to meet in San Sebastian on Sunday night Los Rojiblancos can go third with a win while La Real hope to begin their climb up the table after a very slow start. If that game is half as good as we’ve seen so far, the Basque locals are in for a treat.
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