La Liga Results 2014: Tracking Final Scores and Top Scorers for Matchday 3
La Liga's top clubs will square off in a pair of pivotal bouts highlighting Matchday 3.
Reigning champions Atletico Madrid will take the pitch in an intense feud against Real Madrid, who finished three points shy of their rivals last season.
Perennial powerhouse Barcelona, the only squad to exit the first two weeks with a pair of victories, will host Athletic Bilbao, last year's distant fourth-place finisher.
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All 20 clubs can foster dreams of glory this early into the long season, but another assortment of fixtures will create distance between the strong and the weak. Six squads have let to lose while seven have still not earned a victory heading into Matchday 3. Let's see how those numbers look after the week's contests.
| Almeria | 1-1 | Cordoba |
| Barcelona | 2-0 | Bilbao |
| Malaga | 0-0 | Levante |
| Real Madrid | 1-2 | Atletico |
| Celta Vigo | 2-2 | Sociedad |
| Rayo Vallecano | 2-3 | Elche |
| Valencia | 3-1 | Espanyol |
| Sevilla | 2-0 | Getafe |
| Granada | 0-0 | Villarreal |
| Eibar | 0-1 | Deportivo |
| 2 | Neymar | Barcelona |
| 1 | Edgar Mendez | Almeria |
| 1 | Federico Cartabia | Cordoba |
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid |
| 1 | Tiago Mendes | Atletico Madrid |
| 1 | Arda Turan | Atletico Madrid |
| 1 | Fabian Orellana | Celta Vigo |
| 1 | Joaquin Larrivey | Celta Vigo |
| 1 | Imanol Agirretxe | Real Sociedad |
| 1 | Jonny | Real Sociedad |
| 1 | Edu Albacar | Elche |
| 1 | Pedro Mosquera | Elche |
| 1 | Jonathas | Elche |
| 1 | Gael Kakuta | Rayo Vallecano |
| 1 | Alberto Bueno | Rayo Vallecano |
| 1 | Paco Alcacer | Valencia |
| 1 | Daniel Parejo | Valencia |
| 1 | Pablo Piatti | Valencia |
| 1 | Sergio Garcia | Espanyol |
| 1 | Alex Vidal | Sevilla |
| 1 | Carlos Bacca | Sevilla |
| 1 | Juan Dominguez | Deportivo |
Matchday 3 Recap
Friday
In the day's only fixture, Almeria and Cordoba battled to a 1-1 draw on Friday afternoon.
The officials struggled to maintained decorum throughout the contest, emptying their pockets with several yellow cards throughout a heated showdown.
During an evenly contested matchup, the two sides split possession almost evenly, with Almeria controlling the ball 52 percent of the match. Almeria obtained just one more shot, but Cordoba registered two more shots on goal.
According to WhoScored.com, they also posted identical pass success rates at 76 percent. Although hardly the prettiest bout, it at least offered a hearty dose of competition.
Almeria's Edgar Mendez opened up the clash with a goal off a Ximo Navarro crosser on 12 minutes, but Federico Cartabia answered seven minutes later with an equalizer. The two fought to a stalemate through the remaining 70 minutes before each squad settled for a point.
Based on Edgar's pre-game comments to Inside Spanish Football's Jamie Kemp, the 23-year-old won't be pleased with the outcome.
"They are one of our direct rivals in the Primera and we will not be satisfied with anything other than a win. It's very important we do that considering we’ve only taken a point from our first two games.
"
Both squads remain winless through three weeks, each owning two points on a pair of draws. A year after narrowly avoiding relegation by a point, Almeria once again are likely to tiptoe around the cutting point during the 2014-15 campaign.
As for newcomers Cordoba, they have held their own in two consecutive 1-1 draws after falling to Real Madrid in their opening La Liga appearance. After a 42-year Primera Division absence, they still have ample time to prove they belong.
Saturday
Lionel Messi and Neymar connected on two magnificent goals to extend Barcelona's winning streak to three.
Two Messi crosses led to two Neymar scores, which was all Barcelona needed to knock off Athletic Bilbao during a 2-0 shutout. Per ESPN Stats & Info, it's the first time the pairing hooked up since Neymar joined the La Liga juggernaut this season.
Messi delivered two pinpoint passes to his new teammate, whose hammered home the clean looks for Barcelona's only goals on the day.
Through three weeks, Barclona has pummeled the competition, winning all three matches without surrendering the goal. As long as Messi and Neymar continue to gel on the pitch, everyone else will likely have to play for second place.
In the day's other star-filled clash, Atletico Madrid topped Real Madrid, 2-1, on a late winner from Arda Turan.
Real Madrid maintained possession for 64 percent of the match, but they could not cash in their opportunities on the scoreboard. They certainly had plenty, as they amassed 21 shots throughout the affair.
Cristiano Ronaldo offset an early Tiago goal with a penalty kick to even the score at 1-1, but Turan provided a winner at the 76th minute, finding the bottom left corner of the net. Per BBC Sport, Atletico has now won back-to-back Madrid derbies and all eight La Liga matchups.
Atletico now sits in second behind Barcelona with seven points while Real must overcome a disappointing 1-2, with their next La Liga fixture coming against Deportivo.
Real Sociedad looked doomed to come away with nothing against Celta Vigo, but they erased a 2-0 deficit with a pair of late goals, including one in extra time from Jonny. Celta Vigo could have drawn even in second with Atletico if they held the lead.
Not much offense occurred between Levanta and Malaga, who battled to a scoreless draw. Levante did not register a single shot on goal, but Jesus Fernandez earned a point for his club by tallying seven saves.
Sunday
There were a lot less fireworks on Sunday with the league's marquee clubs taking the pitch earlier this weekend, but Valencia and Sevilla took exception and dominated in their own right.
Valencia posted a big-time 3-1 victory at home over Espanyol, making it seven points—and seven goals—through three matches in La Liga play. Pablo Piatti, Dani Parejo and Paco Alcacer all got in on the scoring for Valencia.
They moved into second in the table following the win, while Espanyol only have one point through three matches.
Sevilla followed suit in Valencia's footsteps, winning 2-0 at home over Getafe on Sunday. A penalty conceded from Getafe goalkeeper VIcente Guaita led to Carlos Bacca's first-half penalty goal, and Alex Vidal added another late in the second to secure the win.
It marked the continuance of a streak for Sevilla, per OptaJose:
The surprises on Sunday were rare, but Elche turned some heads with their 3-2 victory on the road against Rayo Vallecano for their first win of the year. Granada and Villarreal struggled to a scoreless draw to keep Granada unbeaten.
Monday
Deportivo earned their first win of the season with a 1-0 road win over Eibar.
Juan Dominguez got onto the scoresheet early on a close finish in the box. Helder Postiga got credit for the assist after tapping a cross to his teammate.
This was a rare moment for Eibar, according to Phil Kitromilides of Real Madrid TV:
Eibar had a lot of chances to get an equalizer with the majority of possession and 14 shots, but they could not get enough of those looks on net and they ended up dropping the 1-0 match.
Deportivo moves to the top half of the table with a win, draw and loss in their first three matches of the season. On the other hand, this is the second loss of the year for Eibar as they look to move up the table in the coming weeks.
Eibar now have a short week before competing on Friday against Elche. Deportivo have a much tougher battle against Real Madrid, but they will hope to at least get a point in the competition.
