La Liga Results 2014 Week 33: Tracking Final Scores, Top Scorers for Matchday 33
As each matchday in La Liga passes, Atletico Madrid get one step closer to making the improbable happen.
It was a decade ago that Valencia last broke up the Spanish duopoly, and Los Colchoneros are six matches away from happening again.
Near the end of March, manager Diego Simeone acknowledged that his players get too ahead of themselves envisioning the feeling of upending the current hierarchy, per Marca. After all, when a club has been beaten down by its crosstown rivals for the better part of a decade, remaining grounded can be hard to do.
"I would ask any player that may be dreaming to wake up because we have to play tomorrow and live in the present," Simeone said. "Dreams, hopes and any possible mental scenarios are for the fans. We live in the reality and to get there you have to win."
Atletico should at least maintain their one-point lead over Barcelona once Matchday 33 is in the books. They stay in the general vicinity of Madrid for their away fixture against Getafe on Sunday. Getafe are 18th in the table and have taken 18 out of a possible 48 points at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez.
Also worth noting, when these clubs met in the Vicente Calderon earlier in the season, Atletico dropped seven goals on their opponents.
Coming off a midweek European fixture and with two of his biggest stars—Diego Costa and Arda Turan—dealing with injuries, Simeone couldn't have hoped for a better fixture to help his club remain top of the league table.
Here's a look at the results for Matchday 33.
| Osasuna | 0-0 | Valladolid |
| Celta Vigo | 2-2 | Real Sociedad |
| Villarreal | 1-0 | Levante |
| Granada | 1-0 | Barcelona |
| Real Madrid | 4-0 | Almeria |
| Real Betis | 0-2 | Sevilla |
| Valencia | 2-1 | Elche |
| Getafe | 0-2 | Atletico Madrid |
| Espanyol | 2-2 | Rayo Vallecano |
| Athletic Bilbao | 3-0 | Malaga |
| 2 | Kevin Gameiro | Sevilla |
| 2 | Aritz Aduriz | Athletic Bilbao |
| 1 | Joaquin Larrivey | Rayo Vallecano |
| 1 | Yago Falque | Rayo Vallecano |
| 1 | Diego Colotto | Espanyol |
| 1 | Christian Stuani | Espanyol |
| 1 | Diego Costa | Atletico Madrid |
| 1 | Diego Godín | Atletico Madrid |
| 1 | Coro | Elche |
| 1 | Daniel Parejo | Valencia |
| 1 | Pablo Piatti | Valencia |
| 1 | Juan Carlos | Real Betis |
| 1 | Sergio Canales Madrazo | Real Sociedad |
| 1 | Antoine Griezmann | Real Sociedad |
| 1 | Nolito | Celta Vigo |
| 1 | Santi Mina | Celta Vigo |
| 1 | Jeremy Perbet | Villarreal |
| 1 | Yacine Brahimi | Granada |
| 1 | Angel Di Maria | Real Madrid |
| 1 | Gareth Bale | Real Madrid |
| 1 | Isco | Real Madrid |
| 1 | Alvaro Morata | Real Madrid |
| 1 | Ander Herrera | Athletic Bilbao |
Matchday 33 Summary
Friday
If you've ever wanted to see the football equivalent of the resistible force meeting the movable object, Friday was your day.
Osasuna and Real Valladolid played out to a scoreless draw on Friday. Going into the match, the two clubs had drawn on nine occasions since 2000/01, per Opta:
Make it 10.
The clubs combined for two shots on target over the entire match. Valladolid centre-backs Jesus Rueda and Stefan Mitrovic spent most of the match repelling Osasuna's best attacking move. They combined to make 29 clearances. Mitrovic in particular played extremely well, earning man-of-the-match honors on WhoScored.com.
Osasuna winger Alvaro Cejudo had the best scoring chance of the evening, hitting the crossbar in the ninth minute.
With the draw, neither club did much to strengthen its place in the relegation fight. Osasuna move three points clear of 18th-place Getafe, while Valladolid are only a point clear of 18th.
Especially for Osasuna, this match was a great chance to grab three points and build some distance from the drop. Both managers will look back at the match and rue the missed opportunity.
Weekend Recap
Real Madrid was in action on Saturday, and Los Blancos were dominant. Four different players scored against Almeria to give Real a comfortable 4-0 win in front of their own fans. Have a look at the goals in the below video:
Angel Di Maria opened the scoring in the 28th minute, and that was the only goal of the first half. Real put the pedal to the medal in the second. Gareth Bale added his side's second score with a strike in the 53rd minute and Isco dumped one in just three minutes later.
Alvaro Morata then added one more for good measure as the match wound down and Real secured three points with very little stress involved.
With Barcelona losing on Friday, Real was able to leapfrog Lionel Messi and company in the table and pull even with Atletico Madrid at the top.
The tie didn't last long, and I doubt Real expected it to. Atletico took on lowly Getafe on Sunday, and although Atletico were on the road, they've come too far to miss out on three points against a bottom-feeding club.
Atletico won 2-0, but it was more about the struggling form of Getafe than any excellence from Atletico.
Diego Godin scored the only goal in a very sloppy first half. Getafe saw both Angel Lafita and Alexis sent off and Atletico still wasn't able to muster any momentum.
Diego Costa ended the suspense in the match with a score in the 84th minute, but that came after he missed a penalty.
If Atletico is to hold on to their lead in the table, they are going to have to play better than they did on Sunday.
Athletic Bilbao earned three critical points in their push for the Champions League after a 3-0 victory over Malaga on Monday night. Aritz Aduriz notched a brace, and Ander Herrera iced the win with his goal in the 62nd minute.
Bilbao held Malaga to just one shot on target. Herrera and Ander Iturraspe did a great job of snuffing out most of the opposition's attacks in midfield and starting the counter.
With the three points, Athletic Bilbao move six points clear of Sevilla for fourth in La Liga.
Note: All stats are courtesy of WhoScored.com unless otherwise noted.
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