Barcelona remains at the top of the Spanish league standings despite suffering a surprising 1-0 defeat at home to Leganes, a team that had not secured a victory away from home throughout the season. On the same day, Atletico Madrid claimed a 1-0 win against Getafe, propelling them ahead of city rivals Real Madrid in the table. Both teams now have 38 points, but Barcelona retains the edge based on goal difference.
Atletico Madrid’s victory against Getafe marked their sixth consecutive win in La Liga, allowing them to pull a point ahead of Real Madrid, who managed to draw 3-3 with Real Vallecano the previous day. This sets the stage for an exciting encounter between the league leaders and Atletico next Saturday at Barcelona’s home ground.
Atletico’s match at the Wanda Metropolitano was not straightforward, with Getafe challenging them significantly. The breakthrough came only in the 70th minute when Alexander Sorloth scored from a header after Atletico had been locked in a stalemate. Meanwhile, Barcelona’s missed opportunity to regain their three-point lead allowed Leganes to take an early advantage, with Sergio González scoring from a header just four minutes into the match.
Leganes played defensively for most of the game, relying heavily on their goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovi?, who delivered a brilliant performance, especially in the first half. Frustrated by their inability to penetrate Leganes’ defense, Barcelona’s coach Hansi Flick made changes, substituting prominent players such as Robert Lewandowski, Dani Olmo, and Lamine Yamal during the final quarter of the match. Despite these alterations, the visitors remained resolute, resulting in a significant win that lifted them to 15th place in the league, four points clear of relegation.
Defender Jorge Saenz expressed the pivotal nature of scoring early against a team like Barcelona, saying, “It’s dangerous to take the lead so early as they have significant attacking potential. We remained compact in defense and Dmitrovic’s crucial saves were fundamental to our success.” He further emphasized the importance of the three points, likening them to gold given their recent struggles.
In another match, Alaves and Athletic Bilbao played to a 1-1 draw in the Basque derby, ending Athletic’s impressive six-match winning streak. Alaves had not enjoyed a victory since November 1, and this draw allowed them to pick up a much-needed point. Athletic Bilbao took an early lead through Unai Gómez within the first ten minutes, but Joan Jordán capitalized on a goalkeeping error to level the score in the second half.
Despite having opportunities to clinch the win, including a disallowed goal by Dani Vivian for an infringement, Athletic remains in fourth place, trailing Real Madrid by four points and the top two by five. In discussing the match, Williams remarked on the difficulty of playing an away derby and acknowledged their lack of clear chances despite significant effort, concluding that a draw was a fair outcome.
Real Betis extended their unbeaten run to four matches with a narrow 2-1 victory over Villarreal, but coach Manuel Pellegrini was unhappy about his team’s struggle with only ten men for most of the match after Ezequiel Ávila received a red card just before halftime with the score at 1-0, courtesy of Vitor Roque’s goal. Shortly after the break, Giovani Lo Celso increased the lead to 2-0 with a spectacular free kick, although a volley from Alex Baena pulled one back for Villarreal. Nevertheless, Betis secured all three points, moving them up to ninth place.
Pellegrini voiced his dissatisfaction with the officiating, stating that incidents leading to penalties or red cards should always be reviewed by video officials. He insisted that VAR should assist referees in making accurate decisions rather than complicating matters. In another match, Real Sociedad’s recent winning streak came to an end with a goalless draw against Las Palmas, a match where both teams had opportunities but failed to capitalize.
Real Sociedad now resides in seventh place in the league, just one point behind Villarreal, while Las Palmas sits in 14th place. As the season progresses, the competition intensifies, setting the stage for more thrilling encounters.
