The 26th round of the Spanish league opened last night (Friday) when Levante defeated Elche 0: 3, but we got the main course on Saturday with three more games. Real Madrid opened the gap at the top with a hard 0: 1 over Rayo Vallecano, Valencia won with the same result in Mallorca and in the late game Atletico Madrid defeated Salta Vigo 0: 2.
Rayo Vallecano – Real Madrid 1: 0
After a draw against Villarreal, a loss to PSG, and a 0: 3 over Alabs that came with unconvincing ability, Real Madrid also had a hard time against the rival from the suburbs of the capital. The Blancos did not lick honey either in the previous meeting between the two teams, which ended in a 2-1 draw at the Bernabeu, but it seems that today it was even more difficult. Casimiro had already managed to subdue Luca Zidane in the 39th minute, but saw the goal disqualified due to a dissent. Thibaut Courtois provided a number of saves in the second half to maintain a zero result, and then the star duo of the table leader this season – Vinicius and Karim Benzema – emerged.
A great double pass on a small area inside the extension ended when the Frenchman was left free to roll the winning goal into a bare net. Real opened a temporary nine-point gap over second-placed Sevilla, while Rayo, who made the list in the first half of the season, continues to fade with a fifth straight loss in all competitions.
the progress of the game
39th minute: Casimiro took control of a ball in the box after an aerial battle and kicked into Luca Zidane’s net, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR check which showed that the Brazilian was different.
83 min: Goal! A great double pass from Vinicius and Karim Benzema on a small area in the box ends when the Frenchman is left in front of an empty net to roll the ball into the net. 0: 1 to Real Madrid.
Atletico Madrid – Salta Vigo 0: 2
The Colchoneros are experiencing a season that is the last thing they can say about being stable, but tonight did not have a hard time against Salta Vigo, recording a second consecutive league victory for the first time since November and accumulating three points that jumped them to fourth place, even if only temporarily until Barcelona host Athletic Bilbao tomorrow. The visitors have not lost in the last five league games, but today failed to stop the duo Joffre Condogbia and Renan Ludi – twice the tie cooked for the left-back, in the 36th and 60th minutes – and so the match was decided and Diego Simeone’s side proved to recover from the late draw at home in the middle of the week From Manchester United in the first of two games in the last eight of the Champions League. For Atletico this is also the seventh game in a row without a loss to Salta Vigo, since September 2018.
Mallorca – Valencia 1: 0
Brazilian stopper Gabriel Paulista decided the match in the fourth minute, when with a huge kick from outside the box he left no chance for goalkeeper Sergio Rico and set 0: 1, a result that was maintained until the end. The midfielder Ilaish Moriva came off the bench in the 57th minute, but was sent off in extra time after accumulating two yellow cards in the 88th and 92nd minutes. For the Bats this is their first win after four consecutive games (one in the cup) and one that gives them air in the bottom battles and significantly increases the gap from the red line and bounces them towards the center of the table, while Mallorca with a second consecutive loss after two consecutive wins and remains complicated at the bottom.
More games
Levante – Elche 0: 3
ToLevante: Jose Luis Morales (37), Jorge de Protos (67), Gonzalo Mellero (90), Lalche: Gerard Gombao (removed, 73)
Hattafa – Alabs 2: 2
For Hattafa: Anas Onal (55 and 72), Jorge Cuenca (dismissed, 32). For Alabs: Gonzalo Escalante (45 + 1), Edgar Mendes (56)
The round will close on Sunday with four more games. Leading runners-up Sevilla will host Betis in the Andalusian derby, and Barcelona will host Bilbao.