La Liga Results 2014 Week 6: Tracking Final Scores, Top Scorers for Matchday 7
La Liga's top scorers will have another opportunity to add to their tally when Matchday 7 kicks off on Friday, with Barcelona and Real Madrid facing relatively easy tasks during the weekend.
The Blaugrana will to Madrid to take on Rayo Vallecano, whose attacking philosophy will allow the Catalans to push forward at will.
Los Blancos will host Athletic Bilbao fielding the most in-form scorer on the planet in Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portugal international has netted in seven consecutive matches, per WhoScored.com, and he'll try to continue his streak on Sunday.
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Here's the schedule for Matchday 7:
| Oct. 3 | Getafe | 1 - 1 | Cordoba |
| Oct. 4 | Valencia | 3-1 | Atletico Madrid |
| Oct. 4 | Rayo Vallecano | 0-2 | Barcelona |
| Oct. 4 | Eibar | 3-3 | Levante |
| Oct. 4 | Almeria | 2-2 | Elche |
| Oct. 4 | Malaga | 2-1 | Granada |
| Oct. 5 | Sevilla | 4-1 | Deportivo La Coruna |
| Oct. 5 | Celta Vigo | 1-1 | Villarreal |
| Oct. 5 | Espanyol | 2-0 | Real Sociedad |
| Oct. 5 | Real Madrid | 5-0 | Athletic Bilbao |
The current top scorer's ranking:
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 13 |
| 2 | Neymar | Barcelona | 7 |
| 3 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 6 |
| 4 | Carlos Bacca | Sevila | 5 |
| 5 | Pablo Alcacer | Valencia | 4 |
| Nolito | Celta Vigo | 4 | |
| Alberto Bueno | Rayo Vallecano | 4 | |
| Leo Baptistao | Rayo Vallecano | 4 | |
| Gareth Bale | Real Madrid | 4 | |
| Joaquin Larrivey | Celta Vigo | 3 |
Sunday, Oct. 5 Update
Cristiano Ronaldo continued his incredible scoring run on Sunday, bagging a hat-trick in Real Madrid's 5-0 win over Athletic Bilbao.
Karim Benzema also added two goals, as Real Madrid romped to an easy win.
Ronaldo struck after just three minutes with a cheeky header at the back post, signaling the start of a long evening for the Basques. Aside from a beautiful Iker Muniain volley, it was all Madrid in the first half. The fact it took until the 41st minute for Benzema to add the team's second from a corner was a small miracle.
Gareth Bale and Ronaldo kept linking up beautifully, and the Welshman provided a pretty pass for Ronaldo early in the second half to make it 3-0. In the 69th minute, it was the Ballon d'Or winner's turn to serve as provider, setting up Benzema for his second of the night.
Los Blancos weren't done yet, pushing heavily for a fifth, and late in the match, Ronaldo completed his hat-trick with a little luck. After a wild scramble, the ball appeared to cannon off his elbow and into the goal. As shared by Squawka, it was the Portugal international's 22nd La Liga hat-trick:
Author Sid Lowe believes Ronaldo has truly gotten better with age:
Stephane M'Bia scored twice in Sevilla's 4-1 win over Deportivo La Coruna, while top striker Carlos Bacca also bagged a goal but failed to convert from the penalty spot to add to his tally.
M'Bia opened the scoring in the 24th minute, but the Galicia outfit pulled one back just seven minutes later through Haris Medunjanin. It was all Sevilla from that point, however.
Gerard Deulofeu (who had three assists on the day) set up Bacca to restore the lead just before half-time, and the hosts pressed their advantage in the second half.
M'Bia bagged his second in the 57th minute and Vitolo added a fourth minutes later, and things could have gotten even worse for the visitors if Bacca hadn't seen his penalty saved by German Lux.
Unai Emery believes M'Bia's excellent form is a result of the appreciation he feels in Spain, via Inside Spanish Football's Heath Chesters:
"Mbia feels really involved, respected and valued here. At QPR he wasn’t, but amongst us all we’ve made sure he’s happy here. Our players getting the ball to him or creating space is very important. We’re delighted with his goals and the work everyone has done to help get them.
"
Moi Gomez scored twice in the span of 60 seconds to give Villarreal a comfortable lead at Celta Vigo, and while Joaquin Larrivey was able to pull one back for his club just before half-time, a late goal from Mario Gaspar gave the visitors a 3-1 win.
The hosts saw the bulk of possession and had plenty of chances to take the lead before Gomez's double, but as shared by ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan, nothing seemed to go their way:
Real Sociedad continue to struggle, losing 2-0 to Espanyol. Lucas Vazquez scored after just seven minutes after a beautiful dummy by Caicedo, and the visitors were forced to sit back as the Catalans continued to push for a second.
Sociedad had a few small chances in the second half but never truly threatened, and Christian Stuani's late goal ensured the hosts would keep the three points.
Saturday, Oct. 4 Update
Valencia and Barcelona both took care of business on Saturday, as the top clubs in the La Liga standings continued their excellent runs.
Neymar and Lionel Messi scored just 60 seconds apart in the first half of the Blaugrana's trip to Rayo Vallecano, enough to secure the three points.
Rayo stayed true to their personality and attacked the Catalans defence, and their high defensive line was caught out of position twice. Messi pounced on a Gerard Pique long ball and Neymar was set up by youngster Munir El Haddadi, while Alberto Bueno missed several strong chances for the hosts.
As shared by Infostrada Sports, goalkeeper Claudio Bravo set a new record for the longest clean sheet to start the season:
The hosts had two players dismissed in the second half while Barcelona kept attacking, and it was almost a miracle the score remained unchanged. Messi and Ivan Rakitic both missed open sitters, but Rayo never really threatened Bravo's goal.
As shared by Barcastuff, Luis Enrique conceded Rayo gave the Blaugrana a good match:
"Luis Enrique: "It was a difficult game from the start, but I'm happy. 7 games without conceding? Win more important than records." #fcblive
— barcastuff (@barcastuff) October 4, 2014"
Valencia blitzed to a three-goal lead inside the first 13 minutes and held on to beat last year's champions Atletico Madrid 3-1.
Miranda put the ball in his own net after six minutes and Andre Gomes doubled the hosts' lead just a minute later, leaving the Atleti shell-shocked. Nicolas Otamendi added a third for Valencia, who took a three-point lead over Atletico in the standings following the win.
Mario Mandzukic' goal in the 29th minute restored some hope for the visitors, but Guilherme Siqueira's penalty miss just before half-time sunk any momentum the defending champions had.
The match was overshadowed by incidents before the kick-off, when fans of the hometown team threw rocks at the Atletico bus. As reported by Football-Espana, the club released a statement promising to find the culprits:
"Valencia deeply regret the throwing of objects at the Atletico team bus.
The club will use all measures at its disposal, working with law enforcement, to track down the perpetrators of the incident, and if identified, prevent them from entering the stadium.
The club wishes to state the great atmosphere in the stadium, the extraordinary animation and good behaviour of the supporters and it should not be tarnished by the actions of individuals who do not represent our great supporters.
"
Eibar and Levante played out a fantastic 3-3 draw which included an early contender for goal of the year. Jose Luis Morales gave the visitors the lead after just two minutes and Victor Camasara made it 2-0 just before half-time, but an own goal from Pedro Munoz Lopez one minute into the second-half restored hope for Eibar.
And then it was Saul Berjon's turn to shine. A free kick from a dangerous area was lofted into his path, and the 28-year-old blasted a volley past a shocked Diego Marino, who probably never even realised the ball had already disappeared into the back of the net when he leapt to make his save.
AS English were impressed:
Victor Casadesus restored the lead for the visitors, who appeared to have won it, but Federico Piovaccari struck deep in extra time to secure a point for Eibar.
Malaga came from behind against Granada to record a 2-1 win, with Roque Santa Cruz and Antunes cancelling out Youssef El Arabi's opener.
Almeria and Elche shared the spoils in the final match of the day with a 2-2 draw. Jose Antonio Verza and Tommer Hemed scored for the hosts, while Jonathas and Victor Romero Rodriguez found their way on the score sheet for the visitors.
Real Madrid and current top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo will look to continue their excellent run when they take on Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, the last of four total matches.
Friday, Oct. 3 Update
Friday's only match of Matchday 7 didn't offer plenty of goals, but after a drab opening 45 minutes, the second half did excite fans until the final minute. Getafe and Cordoba shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw, with Patrick Ekeng Ekeng and Babacar "Baba" Diawara finding their way onto the score sheet.
The first half saw little action between two teams struggling early in the 2014-15 season. The only real chance fell to Cordoba's Abdoul Karim Yoda, who was isolated in front of goal by a cross from Juan Valera. His shot failed to hit the target, inspiring this pun from author Sid Lowe:
The second half saw more action, as the hosts pushed forward in search of a goal. Michel Herrero and Edinaldo Gomes Naldo both had several good chances, but an excellent Juan Carlos was able to deny their efforts.
Getafe claimed a penalty after Aleksandar Pantic appeared to handle the ball inside his own penalty box, but the official ruled the action took place outside of the area. The pressure was now fully on, but the goal fell on the other end of the pitch.
Ekeng Ekeng found some space and fired a line drive into the bottom corner, and Getafe's Vicente Guaita was powerless to do anything about it. Sid Lowe approved of the quality of the shot:
The hosts now pressed forward and finally got a deserved goal through Baba, who converted from close range. Sergio Escudero hit the post with the very last kick of the match, as both teams will have been left feeling disappointed by the draw.
As shared by Lowe, Albert Ferrer was frustrated his team couldn't defend a one-goal lead with just minutes left to play:
The single point sees Cordoba move out of last place thanks to a superior goal difference, but the five-way tie will surely see some changes after Saturday's round of fixtures.
Getafe sit three points above the relegation zone, but home fixtures against direct competition are the type of matches this team has to win if they want to have any hope of having a comfortable season.
