28.10.2011 11:02
Spanish League Round Up Week 9
Nick Bedson
Llevant stay top after the midweek matches, but only just -after an injury time winner against Real Sociedad.
Llevant left it late on Wednesday night with a 93rd minute winner from Ruben Suarez after Real
Sociedad had put up a brave fight, going one up early on and coming back after Llevant had scored
twice in the second half to leave it at 2-2 on 90 minutes. Llevant boss Juan Ignacio Martinez said
after his team’s seventh successive win: “this is a nearly impossible run we are
on”. Real Madrid also kept up with the pace, seeing off Villarreal with three first half
goals from Benzema, Kaka and Di Maria and remain a point behind Llevant and one ahead of Barça.
Villarreal troubles deepen
That defeat for Villarreal sent them down into the bottom three, with just seven
points and only one win in the last eight games. To make matters worse, they have also lost striker
Giuseppe Rossi for the rest of the season after the Italian was operated on for a knee ligament
injury on Thursday. Villarreal are third from bottom on seven points, with Granada in last spot on
five, level on points with Racing, who got an unexpected point in Seville with their 2-2 draw. Manu
del Moral scored twice for Seville, with a 91st minute equaliser after Racing had scored twice in
the second half to come tantalisingly close to their first win of the season.
Jordi Alba gives Valencia the points
After two successive draws, Valencia were back to winning ways with a late Jordi
Alba goal giving them a 0-1 win at Zaragoza to lift them ahead of Seville into fourth place, three
points behind Barça. Espanyol are sixth after their third win on the run, beating Betis 1-0 thanks
to a Walter Pandiani goal, which means Betis have now lost five on the row and slumped down to
tenth. Another of the early season pacemakers, Malaga also lost their third game on the run, going
down 2-0 at Rayo, with Raul Tamudo on the mark for the hosts’ second. Malaga are now seventh
on 13 points, with Rayo on 12 in ninth place level with Bilbao, who thrashed Atletico Madrid 3-0 at
San Mames with two goals from Fernando Llorente.
Mallorca go down ahead of Camp Nou visit
Mallorca didn’t make the best preparation for their trip to the Camp Nou at the
weekend, going down 1-2 at home to Sporting, despite taking the lead early on through a Castro
goal. Bilic and an own goal from Joao Victor gave Sporting their win, which takes them out of the
bottom three, ahead of Villarreal on goal difference and also level on points with Getafe, who were
held 2-2 at home by Osasuna.