Salvation Saturday? LaLiga round-up
Saturday’s action treated fans to a welcome goal glut, with some eye-catching results. It wasn’t a great day for the form guide…
Espanyol 1-1 Osasuna
A relatively quiet start to proceedings but there was drama nonetheless. A red card for each side after a fracas between Ez Abde and debutant Ronaël Pierre-Gabriel required a half-time rethink from both managers, but it was Espanyol who found the answers. Martin Braithwaite stepped up in Joselu’s absence to grab another precious point for Los Pericos. They have gone behind in 15 of their 20 matches in the league this season, but have taken a point in eight of those, suggesting resilience and fortitude in their ranks.
Elche 3-1 Villarreal
The biggest shock of the round, surely? Finally, finally, the curse is over for Elche. Just like Levante last season, they earned their first win in Matchday 20. Pere Milla was the star, scoring a hat-trick, Elche’s first in the top-flight since 1977. Randy Nteka must be the talisman: he made history by beating the same team in consecutive matchdays with two different clubs. On Monday night he came on for Rayo in their 1-0 win at La Cerámica before sealing a loan move. The Frenchman then made his debut in Elche’s win, sinking the Yellow Submarine for the second time in a week.
Unquestionably, the happiest man, however, was Carlos Clerc, who ended his 39-game winless run. He had endured almost two full years (665 days) without tasting victory. Ironically, as Relevo pointed out, it was against Villarreal where that run started off.
As for Villarreal, that win over Real Madrid seems a long time ago now. After an encouraging run, they have suffered back-to-back defeats with disappointing performances. If this piece was a microcosm of their game, it would waste a lot of words without ever getting to the point. For Quique Setién’s side, it seems that the higher their possession, the worse their results are, with an ever-growing sample size to validate this. Next up is Setién’s old side Barcelona, and a third consecutive defeat would pile the pressure back onto the Cantabrian.
Atlético Madrid 1-1 Getafe
Speaking of coaches called Quique under pressure, Sánchez Flores was seemingly on the end of the tightrope after his attack on his own players in the pre-match press conference. Defeat here – having lost the previous four – would have made his position almost untenable. Enes Ünal smashed a late equaliser from the spot to keep his boss above water. It was the first time Geta had taken anything from a game away to Atleti since May 2010, when Sánchez Flores was on the Atleti bench, incidentally enough.
It meant more frustration and dropped points for the hosts, although they did feature in an unprecedented moment. Ángel Correa scored but the flag was raised. He was subsequently taken off as planned, but VAR reviewed the offside. A close call, the goal was finally given with Correa sitting on the bench in his coat, which sparked brilliant scenes of unusual celebrations.
Betis 3-4 Celta
Game of the season so far? It has to be up there. Celta took the lead, Betis led 2-1 and dominated the first half. But then Celta replied to go 4-2 up before the hosts pulled one back and really should have equalised at the death. Gabri Veiga shone once again, scoring two fabulous goals, and Betis received another red card. That’s now 10 in 20 matches, three for Luiz Felipe alone, although Iago Aspas played a significant role in convincing the referee; the replays suggest the defender was unjustly expelled.
That said, indiscipline is costing Betis dearly, preventing them from having continuity in selection or finding rhythm or form. In LaLiga, they have not won at home since October, chaining five winless home matches, their worst run since 2017.
In the context of the European race, Atleti got away with it to some extent, although the real winners are probably Real Sociedad, who can open up a double-digit gap to 5th place if they can beat Real Valladolid on Sunday.
Saturday was a series of coupon-busters with bottom-dwellers beating the side in 5th, 19th frustrating 4th and 6th losing at home to 16th. It may be too early to talk about salvation, but on Green Football Weekend there were certainly plenty of green shoots to be found.