La Liga Results: Analysis for Barcelona vs. Real Valladolid and All Matches
Spain's La Liga returns to action this weekend with a full slate of matches on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Villarreal hosted Granada on Friday night to kick off the weekend, and both Barcelona and Real Madrid were in action on Saturday.
In these slides, we recap all the scores from all the games.
Statistics via WhoScored.com.
Click here for the league table.
Levante 2-3 Real Madrid
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Late heroics saw Real Madrid sneak three points from under Levante’s nose, Saturday.
With Alvaro Morata having pulled Madrid level in the 90th minute after latching onto Raphael Varane’s superb through-ball, Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winner in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time after receiving the ball from Luka Modric in excellent space and drilling inside the bottom left-hand corner of the goal.
Baba had given Levante the lead in the 57th minute after a swift counter-attack, but just three minutes later Sergio Ramos brought Madrid back to temporary level terms with an effort from a tight angle to the goalkeeper’s right.
But when Nabil El Zhar restored the hosts’ advantage with just four minutes to play it looked as though an upset was on the cards—that is, until Ronaldo’s late heroics.
Shots: 13-27
On target: 5-10
Passing: 68%-85%
Possession: 31%-69%
Barcelona 4-1 Real Valladolid
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Alexis Sanchez scored twice and Neymar contributed a goal and an assist as Barcelona won their eighth successive Primera Division match to begin the 2013-14 campaign, beating Real Valladolid 4-1 at Camp Nou on Saturday.
Valladolid shocked their hosts with a goal after just 10 minutes when Javi Guerra shook off Adriano to head a corner-kick into goal, but only four minutes later Sanchez restored level terms with a thunderous drive from distance that left goalkeeper Diego Marino with no chance whatsoever.
The sides remained deadlocked at a goal apiece heading into the break, but just seven minutes after the restart Xavi poked the ball into the back of the net after a well-worked bit of buildup that saw Tello square the ball for the Barcelona skipper.
Sanchez got his second shortly after the hour-mark thanks to Neymar’s setup, and in the 70th minute the Chilean returned the favour—laying the ball back for Neymar to slam into the back of the net for the final goal of the encounter.
Shots: 21-7
On target: 8-1
Passing: 92%-74%
Possession: 73%-27%
Atletico Madrid 2-1 Celta Vigo: Diego Costa Does It with a Brace
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Diego Costa continued his fine recent run of form with two goals, as Atletico Madrid beat Celta Vigo 2-1 to keep pace with Barcelona at the top of the table.
Costa scored either side of half-time to help his side to victory, although Nolito's 71st minute effort did ensure a somewhat nervy finish at the Vicente Calderon.
Shots: 23-3
On target: 12-2
Passing: 81%-79%
Possession: 48%-52%
Villarreal 3-0 Granada
4 of 8Cani created two goals, as Villarreal vaulted above Real Madrid in the table—at least for a day—with a 3-0 home win over Granada on Friday.
Marcelino Garcia Toral's team had lost at Real Betis in their last league match, but Friday's victory—their fifth in eight matches this season—sent last season's Segunda Division runners-up into third place with 17 points.
Granada lost for the fourth time this season and remained in 12th place with eight points from eight matches.
Bruno Soriano rifled in Villarreal's first goal in the 30th minute with a left-footed strike from the edge of the box. Cani got the assist with a layoff from inside the box.
Giovani Dos Santos doubled the hosts' advantage three minutes into the second half, racing to the near post to redirect Jonathan Pereira's cross into the net before Granada goalkeeper Roberto could collect.
Tomas Pina headed in the third from Cani's cross in the 82nd minute.
Shots: 16-8
On target: 4-1
Passing: 83%-83%
Possession: 54%-46%
Malaga 0-1 Osasuna
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Osasuna won for just the second time this season, beating hosts Malaga 1-0 at La Rosaleda on Friday.
Oriol Riera scored the only goal in the 23rd minute, converting on the rebound after his first attempt from Sisi's cross was saved.
Malaga mustered 15 shots (three on target) and held 59 percent of possession, but were unable to equalize.
The victory lifted Osasuna to 18th place, level on six points with Sevilla, Celta Vigo, Real Valladolid and Elche. Malaga remained 10th with nine points.
Shots: 15-13
On target: 3-6
Passing: 88%-83%
Possession: 59%-41%
Rayo Vallecano 1-0 Real Sociedad
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A last-minute penalty helped Rayo Vallecano to a 1-0 win over Real Sociedad following a cagey affair at Campo de Futbol de Vallecas, Saturday.
Sociedad goalkeeper Claudio Bravo drew the foul on Rayo substitute Jonathan Viera, and Viera converted the spot-kick moments later to deliver his side the three points.
The victory moved Vallecano off the foot of the table and took them to within just a single point of their struggling guests.
Shots: 11-18
On target: 1-6
Passing: 78%-62%
Possession: 63%-37%
Elche 2-1 Espanyol
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A Coro brace helped Elche up to 11th place in La Liga, Saturday, as the hosts won 2-1 against Espanyol at Estadio Martinez Valero.
The attacker opened the scoring shortly before the break after receiving a headed ball from Manu del Moral and finishing inside the far corner of the net.
Espanyol managed to pull one back in the 66th minute when Thievy beat Elche goalkeeper Manuel Yague from near the penalty spot, but Coro bagged what proved to be the winner in the 74th minute with a left-footed effort to the near post.
Shots: 12-13
On target: 6-3
Passing: 72%-69%
Possession: 51%-49%
Sunday Round-Up: Getafe and Sevilla Win, Bilbao Draw with Valencia
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Getafe 3-1 Real Betis
Two strikes from Pedro Leon—the first of them a stunning free-kick from all of 45 yards—and a third before half-time from Adrian Colunga secured the points for the home side, despite a second half own goal from the unfortunate Rafa Lopez
Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Valencia
Mikel Rico scored a late goal for Bilbao, cancelling out Ever Banega's penalty shortly before half-time. Both sides created plenty of chances but will perhaps be content with a draw.
Sevilla 2-1 Almeria
Ivan Rakitic's last-gasp winner lifted Sevilla out of the relegation zone, securing the three points after Rhodri's 23rd minute strike for the visitors had cancelled out Kevin Gameiro's sixth-minute opener.
