Five matches of the 7th round were played on Sunday in the Spanish "La Liga" championship.
The first match took place at the "Mestalla" stadium, where "Valencia" faced Madrid's "Atletico." Diego Simeone's players showed their advantage over the "Rojiblancos" with a 2-0 result.
In this match, "Atletico" had the opportunity to score two penalty kicks, but Diego Alves saved both Antoine Griezmann's and Gabi's shots.
The first goal was scored in the 63rd minute when A. Griezmann found the net after a pass from Kevin Gameiro. The final touch was made at the end of the match - K. Gameiro scored his goal after a great run.
Securing the victory, "Atletico" briefly climbed to the top of the table.
In other matches, Madrid's "Real" faced "Eibar" in front of their home crowd. Zinedine Zidane's players are in deep trouble - it's their fourth consecutive draw in a row.
The opponents took the lead in the 6th minute, but Gareth Bale equalized in the 17th minute. "Real" dominated the rest of the match and had chances but couldn't find the second goal.
For the "Real" team, this was their third consecutive draw in the Spanish championship. After them, the "Whites" lost their top position.
In the other matches, "Malaga" won after a tough battle against Bilbao's "Athletic," and "Villarreal" drew with Barcelona's "Espanyol."
In the last evening match, there was an unexpected turn of events. Vigo's "Celta" defeated champions "Barcelona" 4-3 in front of their home crowd, which was the second failure for Barca this season.
In the first half, the hosts took the lead with a 3-0 score. Surprisingly, Luis Enrique's team started the game with a strange lineup and conceded three goals. Pione Sisto, Iago Aspas, and Jeremy Mathieu scored for "Celta."
In the second half, "Barca" was more aggressive and managed to reduce the deficit to 3-2 at one point. Gerard Pique scored with a header in the 58th minute, followed by Neymar's penalty goal in the 64th minute.
It seemed like "Barca" could turn the game around, but in the 77th minute, Marc-Andre ter Stegen dashed those hopes. Trying to clear the ball, the goalkeeper accidentally hit a "Celta" player, resulting in an own goal. This was the second glaring mistake by ter Stegen in the match.
Despite Pique scoring another goal in the 87th minute, the final result remained 4-3, and "Celta" celebrated the victory. "Barca," who suffered the defeat, dropped to fourth place, while the Madrid teams remain at the top of the standings.
Results:
"Valencia" 0 - 2 "Atletico" 63' [0 - 1] A. Griezmann 90+3' [0 - 2] K. Gameiro 44' A. Griezmann ("Atletico") missed a penalty 69' Gabi ("Atletico") missed a penalty
"Real Madrid" 1 - 1 "Eibar" 6' [0 - 1] F. Rico 17' [1 - 1] G. Bale
"Espanyol" 0 - 0 "Villarreal"
"Malaga" 2 - 1 "Athletic Bilbao" 3' [0 - 1] A. Aduriz 82' [1 - 1] S. Ramirez 83' [2 - 1] Duda 36' M. Balenziaga ("Athletic") sent off
"Celta" 4 - 3 "Barcelona" 22' [1 - 0] P. Sisto 31' [2 - 0] I. Aspas 33' [3 - 0] J. Mathieu (own goal) 58' [3 - 1] G. Pique 64' [3 - 2] Neymar (penalty) 77' [4 - 2] P. Hernandez 87' [4 - 3] G. Pique
Standings:
1. ??? 2. ??? 3. ??? 4. ???
