La Liga Table 2016 Week 21: Updated Standings Following Friday's Results
Sporting Gijon hammered a hapeless Real Sociedad 5-1 in Friday’s La Liga clash, thanks to 19-year-old Antonio Sanabria's hat-trick. It's a win that propels them out of the relegation zone ahead of the rest of the weekend’s games.
The hosts flew out of the traps in this one, with goals coming from Carlos Carmona and Dani Ndi in the first and ninth minute, respectively. Carlos Vela halved the deficit for the visitors before the interval, but then Sanabria's stunning treble took the game away from La Real.
Later on this weekend, the top three sides will all be facing intriguing challenges. League leaders Atletico Madrid host an improving Sevilla, with Barcelona and Real Madrid facing trips to Malaga on Saturday and Real Bets on Sunday, respectively.
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Here’s a recap of Friday’s showdown at El Molinon, how the La Liga standings are looking as a result and a look at the fixtures to come this weekend.
| 1 | Atletico Madrid | 20 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 30 | 8 | +22 | 47 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 19 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 50 | 15 | +35 | 45 |
| 3 | Real Madrid | 20 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 57 | 19 | +38 | 43 |
| 4 | Villarreal | 20 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 26 | 16 | +10 | 40 |
| 5 | Celta Vigo | 20 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 32 | 30 | +2 | 34 |
| 6 | Eibar | 20 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 32 | 21 | +11 | 33 |
| 7 | Sevilla | 20 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 28 | 22 | +6 | 32 |
| 8 | Athletic Club | 20 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 27 | 28 | -1 | 28 |
| 9 | Deportivo La Coruna | 20 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 27 | 24 | +3 | 28 |
| 10 | Getafe | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 24 | 28 | -4 | 26 |
| 11 | Valencia | 20 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 25 | 21 | +4 | 24 |
| 12 | Malaga | 20 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 15 | 17 | -2 | 24 |
| 13 | Espanyol | 20 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 18 | 33 | -15 | 21 |
| 14 | Real Betis | 20 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 13 | 28 | -15 | 21 |
| 15 | Real Sociedad | 21 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 24 | 33 | -9 | 21 |
| 16 | Sporting Gijon | 20 | 5 | 3 | 12 | 22 | 35 | -13 | 18 |
| 17 | Las Palmas | 20 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 19 | 30 | -11 | 18 |
| 18 | Granada | 20 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 21 | 41 | -20 | 17 |
| 19 | Rayo Vallecano | 20 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 23 | 45 | -22 | 16 |
| 20 | Levante | 20 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 36 | -19 | 14 |
| Friday, Jan. 22 | 7:30 p.m. | Sporting Gijon | 5-1 | Real Sociedad |
| Saturday, Jan 23 | 3 p.m. | Malaga | vs. | Barcelona |
| Saturday, Jan 23 | 5:15 p.m. | Espanyol | vs. | Villarreal |
| Saturday, Jan 23 | 7:30 p.m. | Granada | vs. | Getafe |
| Saturday, Jan 23 | 9:05 p.m. | Rayo Vallecano | vs. | Celta Vigo |
| Sunday, Jan. 24 | 11 a.m. | Athletic Club | vs. | Eibar |
| Sunday, Jan. 24 | 3 p.m. | Atletico Madrid | vs. | Sevilla |
| Sunday, Jan. 24 | 5:15 p.m. | Deportivo la Coruna | vs. | Valencia |
| Sunday, Jan. 24 | 7:30 p.m. | Real Betis | vs. | Real Madrid |
| Monday, Jan. 25 | 7:30 p.m. | Levante | vs. | Las Palmas |
Friday Recap
Sporting Gijon began this match like a team keen to capitalise on playing first in the gameweek, flying out of the traps to grab a lead inside the opening minute.
Indeed, just 14 seconds were on the clock when Carmona gave Sporting a vital early boost, although Real ‘keeper Geronimo Rulli will feel he could have done a lot better with the strike. As noted by OptaJose, it was the quickest goal scored in La Liga this season so far:
Gijon didn’t sit back on this early goal either, sensing blood and immediately looking for a second. Just eight minutes later they were able to double their advantage, with Carmona, again involved, setting up Ndi to make it 2-0.
As noted by Yahoo’s La Liga writer Andrew Gaffney, in the early stages of the contest Sociedad, were looking rather shambolic:
They did eventually regroup and begin to exert some control over the match. Against a Sporting defence that has been frail this term, the visitors were always going to get chances too, and they seemed to have given themselves a foothold for a comeback eight minutes before the break, as Vela netted just his third goal of the campaign.
However, it merely proved to be a brief reprieve, as the excellent Sanabria, on loan from Roma, decided to make his mark on proceedings.
At the end of what was a breathless first half, the forward capitalised on more awful defending from the visitors to restore Gijon’s two-goal advantage. But he wasn’t finished there.
After the interval, his second goal made the game safe for Gijon, as Sanabria was quickest to a rebound after more questionable goalkeeping from Rulli, making the score 4-1 with 37 minutes still left in the match. Sporting did ease off a little from this point on, but there was still time for their star forward to cap a fine display.
His third goal was the best of the lot too. Sanabria broke with pace down the left flank, darted inside his man and smashed a right-footed shot beyond Rulli. As noted by OptaJose, a result like this has been a long time coming for Gijon:
At the final whistle, El Molinon rose to applaud their players, who had turned in their standout performance of the season. Much of the adulation, you suspect, was for Sanabria, who showcased exactly why he has been touted as one of the stars of the future.
While Sporting will be buoyed by this scintillating display, Sociedad are in danger of being dragged into a relegation dogfight. Manager Eusebio Sacristan now finds his side in 15th place, just four points clear of the drop zone, having played one game more than the five teams below. There’s plenty of work to do at the Anoeta if they’re to push up the table in the weeks to come.
