Five matches of the 26th round of the Spanish "Primera" division were played on Saturday.
The long-awaited Madrid derby took place at the "Santiago Bernabeu" stadium, where "Real" faced "Atletico". The packed stadium must have been disappointed with what they saw - the "whites" played poorly and in a dull derby, Diego Simeone's players achieved a minimal victory.
The match started with the hosts controlling the ball. Throughout the first half, Zinedine Zidane's players dominated possession, but failed to do anything special in front of the opponents' goal.
There was no sense of high pressure and sharp attacks from the visiting team either. Eventually, the battle moved to the next 45 minutes.
In the second half, the spectators witnessed an even poorer game, and in the 53rd minute Antoine Griezmann scored the winning goal, beautifully combining with Filipe Luis to finally defeat Keylor Navas.
After the goal, "Real" showed no desire to respond in kind. Also, the fans at the "Santiago Bernabeu" stadium were surprised when Z. Zidane sent Borja Mayoral, Lucas, and Jese onto the field.
"Real" practically has no chance to compete with "Barcelona" and says goodbye to the champions' title. Meanwhile, "Atletico" still retains hope and will await the failure of Barcelona tomorrow against "Sevilla".
In other matches, Giedrius Arlauskis' absence, Barcelona's "Espanyol", won against "Sporting Gijon" after a fierce battle, and Vigo's "Celta" defeated Madrid's "Getafe" away.
Results:
"Real Madrid" 0 - 1 "Atletico" 53' [0 - 1] A. Griezmann
"Getafe" 0 - 1 "Celta" 71' [0 - 1] D. Nolito
"Sporting Gijon" 2 - 4 "Espanyol" 20' [1 - 0] C. Castro 41' [1 - 1] Burgui 48' [1 - 2] G. Moreno 58' [1 - 3] G. Moreno 62' [2 - 3] C. Castro 80' [2 - 4] L. Hernandez (own goal) 83' N. Cases ("Gijon") sent off
"Real Betis" 2 - 2 "Rayo" 14' [1 - 0] R. Castro 28' [2 - 0] R. Castro 48' [2 - 1] Manucho 51' [2 - 2] Manucho
"Real Sociedad" ? - ? "Malaga"
Tournament table:
