FCBARCELONA.CAT

18.01.2010 18:53

Spanish League Round Up Week 18

Nick Bedson

Valencia’s 4-1 thrashing of Villarreal puts them just three points behind Madrid in third place, whilst Mallorca’s defeat of Depor gives them the fourth spot. At the bottom, Malaga climb out of the relegation places after their 1-0 win over Getafe.

David Villa was on target with two goals for Valencia as they saw off Villarreal who played with 10 men for more than an hour after Kiko saw red on 27 minutes. Banega and Silva got the other Valencia goals and Villa’s brace take him joint top of the Spanish League goalscorers, level on 14 with Leo Messi. Madrid’s defeat in Bilbao, thanks to an early Llorente header, means they are just 3 points ahead of Unai Emery’s team and their visit to Deportivo in a fortnight, coinciding with Valencia’s game in Seville, could be a turning point in the fight for second place behind Barca.

Mallorca keep 100% record

Mallorca kept up their 100% home record with a 2-0 win over Deportivo. Suarez and Castro were on target for Gregory Manzano’s team, who’ve now scored 24 goals and conceded just 3 in their 9 home wins in the league so far this season – an even better goal difference than Barca who’ve scored 26 and let in 6 at the Nou Camp. Bilbao’s win puts them level on points with sixth place Seville, while Getafe lost the chance to challenge going down to Malaga after thrashing them in the Cup in midweek.

Malaga out of bottom three

Malaga’s 1-0 win means they are out of the bottom three, but they left it till late to see off Getafe, who had Boateng sent off after half an hour, with Baha grabbing the winner on 84 minutes. The bottom two, Zaragoza and Jerez played out a drab goalless draw at the Romareda, whilst Tenerife and Valladolid who drew 1-1 away to Almeria and Sporting respectively, are sandwiched between Malaga and the bottom two, with just three points separating Zaragoza and Malaga. Racing’s young star Canales was again on target in Santander with a spectacular goal and the youngster is already being tipped as a possible surprise selection for the Spanish team.

Red Card Kings

In the weekend’s other games, Atletico Madrid consolidated their recent improvement with a 3-2 win over Sporting and Osasuna, despite another red card – this time for Ruper, beat Espanyol 2-0. The Pamplona team have now seen 7 red cards so far this season, the worst record in La Liga together with Valladolid and Villarreal.