La Liga Week 13 action - Madrid edge thriller
The clash of the week took place at the Mestalla in the eagerly-awaited match between Valencia and Real Madrid. Los Blancos were without Kaká and Cristiano Ronaldo, giving Karim Benzema a rare start alongside Gonzalo Higuaín up front. It was this partnership which broke the deadlock between the sides after a goalless first half, Benzema shrugging off the challenge of Bruno Saltor to set up Higuaín. Valencia rallied and drew level within five minutes when Jérémy Mathieu’s pinpoint cross was headed in by the irrepressible David Villa.
Madrid, having possessed the greater attacking threat throughout the match, regained the lead after Marcelo skipped through the Valencia defence before playing the ball through to Higuaín. The Argentine took a touch and fired the ball past a hapless César Sánchez, but Los Che again reined in the deficit when Joaquín drilled a shot past Iker Casillas with ten minutes remaining. With the game delicately poised at 2-2, a winner came from the unlikeliest of sources, as Ezequiel Garay connected with a Xabi Alonso free-kick to give Madrid all three points.
The league’s fallen giants met at the Estadio Vicente Calderón as Atlético Madrid welcomed Villarreal. Both sides knew that only a win would be enough if they were to maintain their slim hopes of another top four finish. The home side took the lead in the 37th minute when José Antonio Reyes played the ball through to Simão, who coolly side-footed the ball into the bottom corner. Villarreal equalized through a David Fuster header shortly after half-time, and went on to snatch victory when substitute Joseba Llorente headed past Sergio Asenjo in the 92nd minute. A great victory for the Yellow Submarine, but s sucker punch for the sunken Atlético who must have finally felt their early-season troubles were behind them.
After last year’s shock defeat for the imperious Barcelona in the Catalan derby at the Camp Nou, this year’s encounter had been greeted with great expectation. But for all the excitement, the game failed to live up to its billing. A somewhat dubious Zlatan Ibrahimovic penalty was the match’s only goal, and despite an impressive second-half performance by Espanyol, the champions won 1-0 and maintained their lead at the top of the table.
Sevilla also won by the narrowest of margins as they beat Sporting Gijón at El Molinón. Freddie Kanouté deputized for the injured Luís Fabiano and again proved his worth, scoring the only goal of the game in the ninth minute after neatly linking up with Jesús Navas. The win sees Sevilla climb ahead of Valencia into third position.
At the bottom of the table, Racing Santander left it late to beat Xerez. The league’s bottom side went ahead in only the second minute, but were behind after goals from Medhi Lacen and Manuel Arana. Antoñito equalized for the visitors but they were undone when Xisco rose to head in the winner. Xerez remain at the bottom of the table on a lowly seven points, while Racing climb out of the relegation zone and into 15th.
Elsewhere in La Liga, Mallorca maintained their good run of form with a 1-0 away win at Osasuna. Gonzalo Castro scored the goal which keeps his side in the hunt for a Champions League place, as Mallorca are now just one point behind fourth-placed Valcencia. Deportivo La Coruña remain fifth after being held to a 1-1 draw at struggling Almería, while teenage sensation Iker Muniain came off the bench to inspire Athletic Bilbao to a 2-1 win over Real Zaragaoza, a win which keeps the side in seventh place. Meanwhile, Valladolid and Málaga shared the points after drawing 1-1 and Getafe beat Tenerife 2-1.
Full results
Saturday December 12, 2009
Valencia 2-3 Real Madrid
Barcelona 1-0 Espanyol
Real Zaragoza 1-2 Athletic Bilbao
Sunday December 13, 2009
Sporting Gijón 0-1 Sevilla
Atlético Madrid 1-2 Villarreal
Getafe 2-1 Tenerife
Valladolid 1-1 Málaga
Almería 1-1 Deportivo La Coruña
Osasuna 0-1 Mallorca
Racing Santander 3-2 Xerez
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