On Saturday, intriguing matches of the 21st round were played in the Spanish "La Liga". At the "Mestalla" stadium, the wings of the league leaders were clipped by the players of "Valencia". Maxi Gomez's strikes killed the Barcelona team, which was already their fourth failure this season. This loss could cost Barcelona dearly - if Madrid's "Real" team wins on Sunday, they will solidify their position as leaders with a three-point advantage. The start of the match was not bad for the Catalans - they completely dominated with the ball, but the problem was that they failed to create dangerous opportunities in front of the opponent's goal. In the 12th minute, the first dangerous "Valencia" attack led to a penalty kick - Gerard Pique illegally stopped Jose Gaya. However, the hosts did not take advantage of the opportunity to take the lead - Marc-Andre ter Stegen reacted to Maxi Gomez's shot. The unsuccessful episode did not disrupt the rhythm of the "Valencia" team and for the rest of the half, "Barcelona" did not concede a goal thanks to the impressive performance of the goalkeeper. However, at the beginning of the second half, luck did not smile on Barcelona - M. Gomez made a shot after a corner, the ball hit Jordi Alba and with the help of a ricochet ended up in the goal. Barcelona tried to fight back, and in the 56th minute, Arturo Vidal shot on goal, but it only added more worries to the "Valencia" defense. Barcelona's efforts did not bear fruit - in the 77th minute, the final point in this match was put by the same M. Gomez, successfully receiving the ball in the penalty area and deceiving M-A. ter Stegen with a clever shot. For the Valencia team, this was their ninth victory this season, allowing them to temporarily climb to 5th place. In other matches, Barcelona's "Espanyol" and Bilbao's "Athletic" teams ended in a draw. Results: "Valencia" 2 - 0 "Barcelona" 48' [1 - 0] J. Alba (own goal) 77' [2 - 0] M. Gomez 12' M. Gomez ("Valencia") missed a penalty kick
"Espanyol" 1 - 1 "Athletic Bilbao" 12' [0 - 1] A. Villalibre 63' [1 - 1] R. De Tomas
