FCBARCELONA.CAT

04.01.2010 10:59

Spanish League Roundup: week 16

Nick Bedson

Barça remain two points clear at the top of the Spanish league table after Madrid failed to take their chance on Sunday evening against Osasuna. Meanwhile, at the bottom of the table there was no joy for Jerez as they fell to yet another defeat.

Valencia are safely tucked into third place in the La Liga table after beating Espanyol 1-0 on Saturday evening in the Mestalla. The home side struggled to find a way through against a well-organised Espanyol and the only goal of the match was scored by Serbian striker Zigic in the 93rd minute.

Another last minute goal gave Atletico all three points against a Sevilla team that has now managed just one win in their last five league outings (2-1). And life will not get any easier for Sevilla whose next game is on Tuesday evening in the Camp Nou in the Spanish Cup!

Moving on to Sunday’s matches, Mallorca continued their impressive march up the table to the Champions League positions and replaced Sevilla in fourth place thanks to a 2-0 win over Athletic Club Bilbao.

No joy for Madrid in Pamplona

Meanwhile, Real Madrid failed to take their chance to close the gap on Barça and slumped to a goalless draw away to Osasuna. The game between Zaragoza and Deportivo also stayed goalless but the point was enough to keep Deportivo in the top six. However, Zaragoza remain in penultimate position two points behind Tenerife and safety.

Getafe left it late to score at home against Valladolid but eventually sealed the three points thanks to Casquero’s 83rd minute goal (1-0). They keep up the pressure on Deportivo for the second Europa Cup place and are just one point behind in 7th place.

Malaga fight on

It was a weekend of late goals in La Liga with Almeria also waiting until the 89th minute to score against Jerez and clinch a 1-0 victory. Jerez are now 8 points adrift of safety while Almeria move up to 15th, tied on 16 points with Espanyol.

Malaga secured a 2-2 draw on their travels to Gijon, which was not enough to lift them out of the relegation zone. However, with six of their last seven league matches ending in draws, Malaga are fighting hard to retain their first division status.

Finally, Racing scored twice in five minutes to beat Tenerife 2-0.