29.03.2010 13:14
Spanish League Roundup Week 29
Nick Bedson
Valencia and Sevilla slipped further off the pace this weekend as the top two continued their relentless battle at the top of the table ahead of the big game in the Bernabeu.
Madrid derby goes Real’s way
Real Madrid followed on from their midweek victory over Getafe to record a 3-2 win
over Atletico, one of the three teams from the Spanish capital to feature in La Liga this season.
Atletico took the lead in the first half through former Sevilla, Real Madrid and Arsenal star
Reyes, but despite not playing at their best, Real hit back with three goals in thirteen minutes in
the second half before Forlan scored a second for Atletico from the penalty spot to leave the final
score at 3-2.
Valencia and Sevilla slip further behind
The gap between Real Madrid and Barca in first and second places, and
Valencia in third place, widened to an astonishing 21 points this weekend. Valencia crashed to a
surprising 3-0 defeat against relegation possibles Zaragoza but remain comfortably in third place
six points clear of Mallorca in fourth. The absence of injured striker David Villa will inevitably
support the view that Valencia are too dependant on the Spanish international’s goals.
Sevilla’s first match under new manager Antonio Alvaro started badly as Villarreal
stormed to a 2-0 lead after just 17 minutes. Former Arsenal star Pires added a third in the final
minute of the match to leave Sevilla in fifth place three points ahead of Athletic Club Bilbao in
sixth. Bilbao take on Racing Santander in San Mames on Monday evening so a win would put them on
level pegging with Sevilla with 45 points. As for Villarreal, they move to within two points of the
Europa League.
Deportivo seem to be going off the boil at just the wrong moment as they face the final
run-in of the league campaign. They slumped to a 1-3 home defeat against Getafe to make it three
league defeats in a row. They stay in seventh place only separated from a Europa League finish by
goal difference but manager Lotina will need to address this alarming downturn in results.
Meanwhile, Getafe now occupy joint eighth place with Villarreal.
The struggle continues for Jerez
Bottom club Jerez seem determined to fight for First Division survival right to the
end. At the weekend they demolished fellow relegation strugglers Valladolid 3-0 to pull themselves
to within seven points of Zaragoza – and safety. They’ve now accumulated 11 points from
a possible 18 over their last six league matches and a similar return from their remaining 9
matches could yet see them escape what seemed like certain relation just a few weeks ago.
Valladolid stay second from bottom on 24 points. Just above them on 25 points come Tenerife, who
secured a 1-1 draw away to Malaga in a scrappy encounter that very much reflected their positions
near the foot of the table. Tenerife remain in the last relegation spot, four points adrift of
Zaragoza while Malaga – six points clear of the relegation zone – are still not yet out
of trouble.
Finally, Espanyol drew 0-0at home to Sporting while Osasuna narrowly defeated Almeria 1-0 in
Pamplona.