Athletic Bilbao 3 - 0 Sporting Gijon
López 16’ (pen.)
Toquero 27’
Llorente 74’
Review:
Athletic Bilbao climbed to fifth place in the La Liga thanks to a 3-0 win at home to 10-man Sporting Gijon.
Both sides entered the game on the back of three successive victories and this clash looked set to be a fiercely-disputed northern derby, but the game was shaped by the 15th-minute dismissal of Sporting defender Gregory Arnolin. The centre-back, already booked for handball after eight minutes, was shown a second yellow for hauling down Fernando Llorente in the area. David Lopez stepped up to convert from the spot and give the home side the lead.
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Saragosse 1 - 1 Racing Santander
Boutahar 40’ Christian 14’
Review:
Real Zaragoza and Racing Santander fought out a tame 1-1 draw in la Romareda. In a game of few chances, the visitors will probably be the happier of the two teams while Zaragoza will think of it as two points dropped. Both sides started the game rather cautiously, playing with five in midfield and one up front. The result was a lot of battling in the centre of the park and few clear-cut chances. On seven minutes, the home side had their first real attempt on goal when Bertolo fired into the side netting after good work by Ander Herrera.
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Getafe CF 4 - 1 La Corogne
Colunga 19’, 26’
Riki 68’ (pen.)
Miku 45’
Ríos 57’
Review:
Adrian Colunga scored twice as Getafe romped to victory at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez.
The striker found the net in the 19th and 26th minutes and Miku made it 3-0 by half-time as the hosts dominated. Pedro Rios added a fourth before Riki netted a consolation penalty for Depor.
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UD Almeria 3 - 2 Espanyol
Silva 5’
Verdú 34’
Uche 7’
Vázquez 49’
Bernardello 18’
Review:
Espanyol's stirring fightback fell short as the Barcelona-based side suffered a 3-2 defeat at Almeria.
Almeria raced into a 3-0 lead after just 18 minutes, but Espanyol pulled it back to 3-2 shortly after the restart and looked set to go on and register a memorable comeback.
But the home side defended bravely and held on to record a much-needed victory which boosts their survival hopes, while Espanyol drop a place to sixth.
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Osasuna 1 - 1 Majorque
Flaño 8’
Castro 37’
Review:
The team from Pamplona could not get the three points after the 1-1 draw at Michael Laudrup's team. Miguel Flaño scored 1-0 in the 8th minute of the first half of the match but Uruguayan midfielder Chori Castro scored for Mallorca in the 37th minute. New signing Akihiro had to wait until the 67th minute to make his Mallorca debut. Osasuna missed a good chance to achieve two victories together after their shock result against Real Madrid last weekend. However, the team was unlucky not to score, but for the natural shot stopping ability of Mallorca's player Dudu Aouate. But the Israeli goalkeeper could only claw the ball away and it fell straight to Miguel Flaño who made it 1-0. The Mallorca goal came from the Frenchman Michael Pereira as he raced away down the left wing before pulling it back to the edge of the right side of the area where Chori Castro managed to place it into the goalkeepers bottom right corner on 37 minutes to make it 1-1.
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Villarreal 0 - 1 Levante UD
Valdo 48’
Review:
Villarreal slipped up in their pursuit of the top two in La Liga after losing 1-0 to Levante at El Madrigal. The visitors played a perfect tactical game from defense to attack and should have beaten Diego Lopez more than once.The relegation battlers sealed the shock victory minutes into the second-half when Valdo broke free and rounded the Villarreal keeper to place the ball into the empty net.Villarreal were not at their clinical best despite the best efforts of Giuseppe Rossi and the return of Nilmar, against the changed five-man defense of Levante.
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FC Barcelona 3 - 0 Atlético Madrid
Messi 17’, 28’, 79’
Review:
A fantastic Lionel Messi hat-trick ensure Barcelona picked up their 16th consecutive league win, in the process breaking a 50-year-old record originally set by rivals Real Madrid. The Argentinian superstar opened the scoring on 17 minutes before doubling his tally 11 minutes later. His hat-trick was completed on 79 minutes with Barcelona easing to victory over a tame Atletico side. The victory leaves the Catalan club 10 points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the table with the capital club playing tomorrow against Real Sociedad.
