Barcelona’s match against Osasuna was postponed due to the death of team doctor Carlos Miñarro García, so there were only nine matches to cover in La Liga this weekend. Respectfully, let’s get to it.
La Liga Winners
Vinícius Júnior
Did you see that goal against Rayo Vallecano? The Brazilian forward made like Wayne Gretzky as he dribbled in a tight 360-degree circle to lose two defenders, then cut in front of Andrei Raţiu to score. That highlight reel-worthy solo goal was the difference in Real Madrid’s nervy win, as they and not their cross-town rivals took advantage of Barcelona’s enforced idleness.
Valencia
Even in a win over poor doomed Real Valladolid, they managed a losing moment when goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili gave the ball straight to Valladolid’s Juanmi Latasa, who immediately scored an equalizer. Still, the home team managed a winner through Umar Sadiq — that guy again! Valencia has not been relegated since the 1980s, and they’re doing their best to avoid it this season.
Athletic Bilbao
They could only manage a draw at home to Mallorca, but Villarreal’s loss means that they now have a five-point cushion between themselves and fifth place, meaning their dream of Champions League football next year is more clearly in focus now.
Alavés’ goalkeepers
Another relegation-threatened side got a much-needed win thanks to their guys in goal. Antonio Sivera made a couple of worthy saves before he was the victim of a tough call that got him red-carded — yes, the ball hit his trailing arm outside the penalty box, but since he was sliding down, I’m not sure where that arm was supposed to be. In any event, Adrián Rodríguez came in for the Alavés captain and saw out a clean sheet for the home team against Villarreal.
La Liga Losers
Atlético Madrid
Whatever happened to those Atlético games of old, where they took a lead and then squeezed the life out of the opposition? They were up 1-0 against Getafe in the 87th minute thanks to a soft penalty given by referee Guillermo Cuadra Fernández, but then the ref gave Ángel Correa a straight red card, the vaunted Atlético defense lost track of Mauro Arambarri for the equalizer, and Arambarri deflected home Sergio Rico’s shot for the stoppage-time winner. It was Atleti’s first loss at Getafe since 2011, before Diego Simeone became coach.
Diego Simeone
Speaking of whom, Simeone played his first-team players despite the Champions League match with Real Madrid looming because he figured this game was a must-win. His choice backfired in every possible way. After the Real Madrid game, Atlético will host Barcelona, so this week will determine the course of Los Rojiblancos’ season.
Diego Conde
Remarkably bad piece of goalkeeping from the Villarreal netminder when he got caught in no man’s land on Manu Sánchez’s header and then blocked the shot but allowed it to skip over his head into his net. The Yellow Submarine needed points from the game to put pressure on Athletic Bilbao in fourth place, and instead, they lost to a relegation-threatened team.
Urko González de Zárate
Espanyol was heading for a valuable win over Girona when their defender dragged his foot in the 87th minute and tripped Girona’s Viktor Tsyhankov in the penalty box. Cristhian Stuani converted the resulting spot kick to salvage the draw, and Espanyol missed its chance to put some distance between themselves and the four teams battling relegation. Los periquitos’ defense has been noticeably stingier since González de Zárate arrived on loan at the beginning of the year, but this error cost his team in the standings.
Real Sociedad
They did create a few chances early that forced some great saves out of Sevilla keeper Ørjan Nyland, but then spent the rest of the game looking curiously lethargic (especially for a home game) while the visitors took away a win off a goal from Chidera Ejuke.
Leganés and Las Palmas
They didn’t play particularly badly in their losses to Celta de Vigo and Real Betis respectively, but they lost while their relegation rivals Valencia and Alavés won. I can’t think of a positive way to spin that. The good news for Las Palmas is that they host Alavés on Friday and can climb back above them with a win.