La Liga action round-up - Week 5 - October 3/4, 2009
Wednesday 07 October 2009
The biggest game of the season to date was played out at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, where Sevilla hosted league leaders Real Madrid. The visitors were without the services of Cristiano Ronaldo due to an ankle injury, but were full of confidence after their 100% start to the season. At kick-off, Sevilla were three points behind their opponents, having won four consecutive matches following an opening day defeat to Valencia. Freddie Kanouté was on the bench for the home side with Manolo Jiménez instead opting to deploy former Madrid striker Álvaro Negredo alongside Luís Fabiano.
It was Sevilla who dominated the opening exchanges. Jesús Navas almost gave his side the perfect start in the sixth minute as he beat the offside trap to get in behind the Madrid defence, but was denied by the imperious Iker Casillas. Fabiano then shot wide from close range before Navas rose above Marcelo to give the home side a much deserved lead in the 33rd minute. Madrid created little in reply and, aside from a squandered chance from Karim Benzema, never looked like breaking down the solid Sevilla defence.
The home side sustained their pressure after the interval, and almost doubled their lead when Negredo played the ball across the face of goal and into the path of Diego Perotti, who was thwarted only by the miraculous acrobatics of Casillas. Pepe then equalized for Los Blancos in the 49th minute, but Sevilla continued to trouble Madrid and retook the lead when Renato found himself with the time and space to pick his spot before heading the ball into the bottom corner. The home side could have extended their lead had it not been for some further heroics from Casillas, as Sevilla completed a convincing 2-1 victory to draw level on points with the disappointing Madrid.
Barcelona capitalized on their rival’s misfortunes as they saw off Almeria 1-0 in a difficult encounter at the Camp Nou. The home side dominated possession throughout but struggled to break down their opponent’s stubborn defence. Xavi and Pedro both struck the post in quick succession, whilst Lionel Messi was denied what looked to be a certain penalty when he was brought down in the box. The visitor’s defiance was broken in the 31st minute when the increasingly impressive Pedro turned on the edge of the box before firing an unstoppable strike into the top corner. The champions continued to dominate possession and saw the win out, extending their winning streak to go three points clear at the top of the table.
Atlético Madrid gained their first win of the campaign as they saw off Zaragoza at the Estadio Vicente Calderón. The home side went ahead after just two minutes when José Jurado picked up on a miss-control by Simao before coolly curling the ball into the bottom corner. Zaragoza were almost level when 18-year old debutant goalkeeper David De Gea brought down Jorge López to give away a penalty in the 19th minute, but the youngster redeemed himself with a fine save to deny Marko Babic from the spot. Antonio López extended his side’s lead in the second half with a fine free-kick, and despite a late penalty from substitute Ewerthon, Atlético saw out the win to collect three points and climb out of the relegation zone for the first time this season.
Deportivo La Coruña and Valencia occupy fourth and fifth spots after both teams came through tough away fixtures to win 1-0 against Tenerife and Racing Santander respectively. In the battle at the bottom, Xerez and Málaga drew 1-1 at the Estadio de Chapín, and are joined in the relegation zone by Villarreal, who continue to toil after a goalless draw at home to Espanyol. Getafe and Sporting Gijón both had successful weekends, overcoming Osasuna and Mallorca, respectively, to maintain their positions in the top half of the table, while Athletic Bilbao are now without a win in three matches after labouring to a 2-2 draw away at Valladolid.
Full results
Saturday October 3, 2009
Tenerife 0-1 Deportivo La Coruña
Barcelona 1-0 Almeria
Atlético Madrid 2-1 Real Zaragoza
Sunday October 4, 2009
Xerex 1-1 Málaga
Villarreal 0-0 Espanyol
Valladolid 2-2 Athletic Bilbao
Sporting Gijón 4-1 Mallorca
Getafe 2-1 Osasuna
Racing Santander 0-1 Valencia
Sevilla 2-1 Real Madrid
La Liga action round-ups
Week 1 - August 29/30/31, 2009
Week 2 - September 12/13, 2009
Week 3 - September 19/20, 2009
Week 4 - September 22-27, 2009
Week 5 - October 3/4, 2009
See the full list of OLBG's free Football Tips here.
Related Articles
|