© EuroFootball.com
On Saturday, four matches of the 28th round were played in the Spanish La Liga competition.
Defending champions "Barcelona" defeated La Coruna's "Deportivo" 2-1 at their home "Nou Camp" stadium and maintained the first position in the standings.
For a long time, Frank Rijkaard's team struggled to break through the visitors' defense, until finally, towards the end of the first half, during a quick attack, Ronaldinho passed the ball to Lionel Messi, who stopped it with his chest and put the Catalans ahead.
In the 51st minute, Samuel Eto'o doubled the lead by being the first to the ball. However, "Deportivo" striker Adrian took advantage of Giovanni Van Bronckhorst's mistake in the 68th minute to soften the result, but they couldn't steal at least one point from the hosts.
With 56 points in the championship, leading "Barcelona" club surpasses second-placed "Sevilla" by three points, even though they have played one more match.
Meanwhile, "Deportivo" with 37 points is in 11th place.
Important 15th victory of the season was achieved by "Valencia," who won 3-2 at home after a dramatic battle against Barcelona's "Espanyol."
From the start of the match, the hosts dominated the field, while the guests most often looked for opportunities to score during counter-attacks. It is no wonder that the first goal came in the 11th minute - after a pass from Jaquino, Valencia's attacking leader David Villa sent the ball into the net.
However, Valencia's lead didn't last long. After a few moments, "Espanyol" veteran Ivan de la Pena set up Albert Riera with an excellent pass, and he scored with a low shot to equalize. The game remained active, and in the 26th minute David Villa and Vicente played a wall pass and the latter scored the second goal for the hosts in this match. Barcelona players responded with a shot from Raul Tamudo, but he lacked accuracy.
At the start of the second half, R.Tamudo threatened S.Canizares' goal, but shortly after, for the third time, the ball had to be taken out of the visitors' goal by Carlos Cameni, who was playing in the opposite half, and was stopped by Miguel Angel Angulo in the 59th minute. And that wasn't the end - after 4 minutes, the hope of stealing at least a point was rekindled by a precise shot from "Espanyol" forward Luis Garcia, but the reliable Valencia defense prevented them from doing more in the remaining time.
After this victory, Valencia's team climbed to third place with 50 points, while Madrid's "Real" club, which is in fourth place and trailing by two points, has played one match less.
Meanwhile, "Espanyol" footballers with 38 points retained 10th place.
The match between Seville's "Real Betis" and "Villarreal" teams was even more intense and volatile, ending in a 3-3 draw.
The visitors from Villarreal took the lead in the 2nd minute when Diego Forlan scored after a ricochet. However, after 8 minutes, Miguel Fernandez equalized, and the next goal came only after halftime - Diego Forlan scored for the second time by defeating the opponents' goalkeeper again.
The relentless and uncompromising battle continued - in the 75th minute, "Real Betis" defender Edu scored a goal, but a few moments later, "Villarreal" responded with an accurate shot from the recovered from an injury Roberto Pires. Just when it seemed that the visitors would secure a victory, in the 92nd minute everything turned upside down again - after a corner and chaos in the penalty area, Seville club restored parity and Juanito snatched a point.
On the other hand, the underdog match between San Sebastian's "Real Sociedad" and "Levante" clubs was won 1-0 by the hosts, with the only goal scored by Ansotegis Apellidos. It is worth noting that this was only the fourth victory for Edgar Jankauskas' former team this season, allowing them to climb out of the bottom spot in the standings.
Saturday's results:
"Real Betis" 3 - 3 "Villarreal"
1' [0 - 1] D. Forlan
10' [1 - 1] Fernando
47' [1 - 2] D. Forlan
72' [2 - 2] Edu
78' [2 - 3] R. Pires
90' [3 - 3] Juanito
"Real Sociedad" 1 - 0 "Levante"
38' [0 - 1] Ansotegi
"Valencia" 3 - 2 "Espanyol"
11' [1 - 0] D. Villa
14' [1 - 1] A. Riera
26' [2 - 1] Vicente
59' [3 - 1] M.A. Angulo
63' [3 - 2] L. Garcia
"Barcelona" 2 - 1 "Deportivo"
45' [1 - 0] L. Messi
51' [2 - 0] S. Eto'o
69' [2 - 1] L. Adrian
Standings:
