Real Madrid’s 3-0 victory over Real Sociedad has silenced many critics, especially after both Sevilla and Barcelona dropped points. Real now have a four-point lead with a game in hand at the top of La Liga. But such is the nature of the beast at the Santiago Bernabeu that Zinedine Zidane is still facing questions over a poor January that included a stretch of one win in five matches and elimination from the Copa del Rey.
Barcelona, the defending Copa del Rey champions, are on the cusp of being able to defend their title after defeating Atletico Madrid 2-1 in Madrid. Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi put Barca up 2-0 by halftime, but Antoine Griezmann managed to pull one back for Atletico in the 59th minute.
Over 48,000 inside the Vicente Calderon witnessed a nightmare start as Suarez opened the scoring for Barcelona in the seventh minute. With Javier Mascherano returned to the defensive midfield role, his crunching tackle saw the ball roll free to Suarez.
Ukrainian international Roman Zozulya was set to move to Madrid and become a much-needed scoring threat for a struggling Rayo Vallecano side.
Rayo reached a deadline-day loan deal with Real Betis and was hoping to count with Zozulya in its battle against relegation in the Spanish second division. However, instead of a savior’s welcome, Zozulya was received with protests by fans when he arrived in Vallecas.
Now, why would fans of a struggling second division club protest against the arrival of an international-level player?
Well, it was because of stuff like this:
Real Madrid’s mini-crisis heading into the weekend was completely reversed in a matter of hours. First, Barcelona travelled to Sevilla to play Real Betis. In a match that Barca were heavy favorites in, they found themselves trailing 1-0 in the 79th minute.
Then, after Neymar had been dragged down in the box with no foul given, a Betis defender sent the ball into his own goal. It clearly crossed the line, but a desperate clearance from inside the net was adjudged to have prevented the goal by the referee.
Cast your eye over the fixture list this past week and you might be forgiven for thinking that Serie A was taking a moment to recuperate. As the Coppa Italia fixtures grew increasingly heated, with the major sides playing one another, the league featured nothing of the sort. When the highest-profile game is Udinese versus Milan, then the week’s results can probably be pencilled in before a ball has been kicked.
Barcelona’s 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal became a mere footnote as the Blaugrana thrashed their opposition in the return leg, 5-2.
Lionel Messi registered a goal and two assists, Luis Suarez added a goal and a fantastic assist of his own, while Denis Suarez benefited from the vision of his teammates to score two. Arda Turan was also on the scoresheet for Barcelona.
2017 has just begun, and it’s already been extremely unkind to both Real Madrid and 2016 Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo.
The current club world champions had their historic unbeaten streak snapped by Sevilla in La Liga, cutting into their lead at the top of the table.
Real Madrid ventured to Celta Vigo’s Balaidos stadium in Galicia needing to overturn a 2-1 deficit to advance to the Copa del Rey semifinals. In the end, Celta held their nerve to secure a 2-2 draw and advance 4-3 on aggregate.
The Celts earned a first half advantage when Danilo turned the ball into his own net, his second own goal in his last three appearances. A shot from John Guidetti was brilliantly saved by Kiko Casilla, but the rebound deflected off Danilo and into the net.
With Cameroonian international Carlos Kameni firmly established as Malaga’s No. 1, Guillermo Ochoa elected to accept a season-long loan to fellow La Liga side Granada in July. This is Granada’s sixth consecutive season in the Spanish top-flight, an achievement they haven’t bettered since a run from 1968-76. If they’re to maintain their status in La Liga, they’ll have Ochoa to thank.
Barcelona closed the gap on Real Madrid to two points, although Real still have a game in hand, following their 4-0 victory over Eibar on Sunday. Denis Suarez opened the scoring before goals from the attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar finished the contest.