Saturday La Liga Round-Up
Saturday La Liga Round-Up
By Dylan Lebecki
Last night 3 La Liga matches were played which were highlighted with Barcelona’s win over Mallorca and Valencia’s 3-0 loss to Zaragoza
Tenerife 1 - 1 Malaga:
When they lined up at La Rosaleda, both Tenerife and Malaga were in desperate need of points to bolster their battle for survival. Malaga were 17th in the standings just one place above relegation zone while Tenerife were 19th. A win for either team would have been crucial and would distance themselves from the bottom three.
Malaga midfielder Apono, gave the hosts the lead with a header inside the box which made it 1-0. Tenerife however did not give up and battled relentlessly against Malaga. In the 85th minute Mtiliga was sent off after pulling down Martinez inside the box which resulted in a penalty to Tenerife. Alfaro coolly buried the ball from the 12 yard mark not only restoring the deadlock but also ensuring the points were shared after the game.
The draw means that Tenerife climb to 18th place, 6 points below 14th place Malaga.
Real Zaragoza 3-0 Valencia
Los Che were humiliated at La Rosaleda as, they fell 3-0 their 17th placed hosts. The match did not start well for Valencia as Gabi was unfortunate to head Diogo’s cross wide early in the first half. With their world class striker, David Villa, injured, Zigic was Valencia’s main goal threat who headed two corners wide in the first 25 minutes.
Zaragoza finally took the lead in the 40th minute when Cesar’ couldn’t punch Suazo’s shot to safety and Diogo, who was in the right place, controlled the ball with his chest before running by a defender and striking the ball into the back of the net from outside the box. Just before the break Zigic was sent off for a clumsy tackle on Contini turning the match even more into Zaragoza’s favour.
After halftime, Valencia were unable to improve on their first half display and the hosts started off in dominant fashion taking advantage of their extra man advantage. Valencia however, struggled back into the game and had a few close chances with the referee awarding them a penalty but then changing his decision to a goal kick after discussing with his assistants. Joaking headed over the bar and Valencia were beginning to press just before Zaragoza got the break they needed to put the game beyond doubt. Arizmendi fired past Cesar after a superb long ball from Edmilson.
The rout was completed in the 70th minute when Jarosik tapped in a corner which destroyed any hopes of a comeback in the Valencia minds. The rest of the game was dully dominated by Zaragoza who held on to the ball until the clock ran out. The win propels Zaragoza away from the relegation zone meanwhile Valencia hold on to their 3rd place 6points above 4th place Mallorca.
Mallorca 0-1 Barcelona
Barcelona faced a tough game at the ONO Estadi against the surprise package of the season in Spain. Mallorca’s home form had led them to 4th place with 13 wins in 14 games and they had the third best home form in the league. Barcelona, on the other hand, were in need of nothing less than three points in order to keep the pressure on Real Madrid and stay in the title race.
With Messi and Xavi out of the starting lineup, Barcelona still dominated most of the game, however it was Mallorca had most chances to score, mainly through the use of counter attacks. Barcelona were unable to produce real threats as they seemed to lose the ball whenever they approached Aouate’s goal. Both sides had a number of small chances however both Valdes and Aouate carried out their respective jobs perfectly denying the game any goals.
5 minutes into the second half Guardiola was forced to remove Iniesta from the field due to injury replacing him with the red hot Lionel Messi. Xavi was also introduced in the second half and with Barça firing on all cylinders the goal was just a matter of time. After Xavi delivered a corner which Puyol fired towards the goal forcing Aouate to make a save, Ibrahimovic pounced on the rebound striking in the ball into the goal from 2 meters out.
The game finished in a very intense fashion as Barcelona was unable to finish off the game causing Mallorca to push forward towards Valdes’s goal. The equalizer however never came and Barcelona escaped the tense evening with a slim 1-0 lead. The win puts the Blaugrana into first place while Real Madrid plays on the 28th and Mallorca remain in 4th.
Stay updated for the “Sunday La Liga Round-Up”
What are your thoughts of Saturday’s matches?
