Sam Parker rounds up a rare set of midweek fixtures in the Primera Division, as Sevilla fire sack Manolo Jimenez after a draw at home to Xerez.
REAL & BARCA RECORD COMFORTABLE VICTORIES
Real Madrid were comfortable 4-2 victors over capital rivals, Getafe, having romped to a 4-0 lead in 36 minutes of the first half. Cristiano Ronaldo got things going with a free-kick, before Gonzalo Higuain notched his 21st and 22nd goals of the season to close the gap on Lionel Messi in the race for the Pichichi. Ronaldo ‘CR9’ then grabbed his second of the game and 17th of the season to give Madrid a resounding lead.
Getafe pulled one goal back just before the break after a rare mistake from Iker Casillas. The Spanish ‘keeper raced out of his box only to be fairly challenged by Dani Parejo, who then found space between the Madrid defence to slot home. Pedro Leon then grabbed another consolation ten minutes from time, but it was too late to stage a comeback as Real retained top spot once again.
Barca had gone ahead of them their fierce rivals for 24 hours as they beat a stubborn Osasuna side 2-0. The Pamplona side put up a resistance for most of the match, but were finally undone after 73 minutes when Zlatan Ibrahimovic tapped in Maxwell’s cross. With the deadlock broken, Barca made it a more comfortable victory in the final minute of the 90game, as Bojan converted Andres Iniesta’s pull-back.
VALENCIA ALL BUT SECURE THIRD
Valencia have third place basically wrapped up now, after a shaky run of games had threatened to pull them back into the chasing pack and force them to fight for their right to compete in the Champions League. A 1-0 win over Malaga was enough to secure back-to-back wins, as David Villa scored his 18th of the season to move Valencia six points clear of 4th placed Mallorca.
FOURTH PLACE RACE FINDS NO WINNERS – AGAIN.
The standard of La Liga is being undermined by the continued ineptitude of the challengers for the final Champions League qualification position. None of the four teams involved could muster a victory against (mainly) inferior opposition. and saw no change in positions.
Sevilla’s result was the most notable, as a 1-1 draw 1-1 at home to basement side, Xerez, saw Manolo Jimenez lose his job post as manager, with Antonio Alvarez set to take over for the remainder of the season. Leandro Gioda was the man who cost Jimenez his job as he fired in a stoppage time equaliser for the minnows, cancelling out a penalty from Fredi Kanoute.
They remain two points behind Mallorca, as the Islanders couldn’t take advantage and picked up a point at Racing Santander with a 0-0 shut-out.
Athletic faced the trickiest tie of the bunch, as they were welcomed to the Vicente Calderon, only to fall 2-0 to Atletico Madrid. Athletic dominated large spells of the game, but were eventually defeated by the Rojiblanco star duo of Diego Forlan and Sergio Aguero, as they bagged a goal apiece. Atletico now sit on five points off Athletic and Europa League qualification and may well fancy their chances with the teams ahead of them displaying nothing like consistency.
Deportivo were also losers in the week, as they lost 2-1 at Sporting Gijon and finished the game with nine men. The game started badly for Depor, as Daniel Aranzubia was sent off with only 11 minutes on the clock. Sporting took the lead after half an hour as Mate Bilic put them in front. However, Depor defied their numerical disadvantage by equalising through Adrian. However, they were dealt a major blow in stoppage time, as Alberto Lopo became the second man dismissed for a professional foul, allowing Diego Castro to secure the points for Sporting from the penalty spot.
VALLADOLID & TENERIFE CLOSE GAP ON ZARAGOZA
Both Valladolid and Tenerife claimed a point, as with the gap between themselves and Zaragoza is now just two.
Zaragoza fell to defeat at Almeria, as Uche’s goal on the hour mark consigned them to defeat, with worries that their post-Christmas run of form will all be for nothing.
They will be looking nervously over their shoulder after Valladolid picked up a point at home to Espanyol, although Valladolid will be disappointed not to have picked up more against the notoriously poor travellers. The game ended 0-0 but with ten men each at the end of the game, as Diego Costa was shown red in the first half for violent conduct for the hosts. He was joined late on by Victor Ruiz, as he picked up his second bookable offence to even the teams out.
Tenerife will also be disappointed they didn’t claim maximum points as they were denied at the death by Villarreal. They had done well to come from behind after Nilmar put Villarreal ahead in the first half, with Francisco Nino and Jose Antonio Culebras turning things around for Tenerife. However, they were dealt a heavy mental blow a minute from time, as Giuseppe Rossi converted from close range to earn Los Submarinos Amarillos a share of the spoils.