FCBARCELONA.CAT

02.11.2009 11:38

Spanish league roundup: week nine

It’s pretty much as you were at the top of the Spanish league as wins for Real Madrid, Sevilla and Valencia keep up the pressure on league leaders FC Barcelona.

Two second-half goals in the space of three minutes from Gonzalo Higuain gave Real Madrid and manager Pelligrini a much needed win in the Madrid derby at home to Getafe. Real Madrid had an uphill task after Albiol was red-carded in the 28th minute, but dug in their heels to take the three points and ease the pressure on the manager.

Sevilla dominate Andalus derby

Sevilla consolidated their third place in the table with a 0-2 away win to struggling Jerez. Having taken just one point from their last two matches, Sevilla dominated throughout the 90 minutes and must be a firm contender for a Champions League finish.

Meanwhile, Valencia kept pace in fourth place thanks to 0-1 win away to Malaga. While Valencia will also have their sights fixed on a place in next season’s Champions League, the team from the Costa del Sol are now rooted firmly at the foot of the table and look set to fight a season-long relegation battle.

Mallorca face Barça on a high

Mallorca will visit the Camp Nou next weekend in good spirits. They won their home match against Racing Santander 1-0 and now find themselves in the heady heights of fifth place. They overtake Deportivo, who could only manage to take a point at home to Sporting (1-1) who have now gone four games without defeat and are sitting comfortably in seventh place, tied on 13 points with Espanyol and Bilbao. Espanyol slipped to a 1-1 home draw against Valladolid but seem to have steadied the ship after a shaky start to the season, while Bilbao added to Atletico Madrid’s woes with a 1-0 home win.

Villarreal thrashed Tenerife 5-0 to climb out of the bottom three. That’s two wins in a row for Villarreal and their supporters will very much expect them to start climbing the tale after an awful start to the season. Meanwhile, Zaragoza had a rather harder time at home to Almeria (2-1) but the three points mean that they have opened up a four-point gap over the bottom three.