La Liga Results 2016: Scores and Updated Table After Saturday's Week 22 Matches
Valencia could't find their first Primera Division win under manager Gary Neville in Week 22 on Sunday, as Sporting Gijon shocked the hosts at the Mestalla, winning 1-0.
Antonio Sanabria scored the only goal of the match from the penalty spot early in the second half, and despite enjoying the bulk of possession and a host of chances, Valencia failed to grab a goal of their
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo bagged a hat-trick as Real Madrid romped past Espanyol, winning 6-0. Here's a look at Sunday's results:
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| Sevilla | 3-1 | Levante |
| Valencia | 0-1 | Sporting Gijon |
| Las Palmas | 2-1 | Celta Vigo |
| Real Madrid | 6-0 | Espanyol |
The standings in La Liga:
| 1 | Barcelona | 21 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 54 | 17 | +37 | 51 |
| 2 | Atletico Madrid | 22 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 31 | 10 | +21 | 48 |
| 3 | Real Madrid | 22 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 64 | 20 | +44 | 47 |
| 4 | Villarreal | 22 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 29 | 18 | +11 | 44 |
| 5 | Sevilla | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 31 | 23 | +8 | 36 |
| 6 | Athletic Club | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 33 | 30 | +3 | 34 |
| 7 | Celta Vigo | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 33 | 35 | -2 | 34 |
| 8 | Eibar | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 35 | 28 | +7 | 33 |
| 9 | Deportivo La Coruna | 21 | 6 | 11 | 4 | 28 | 25 | +3 | 29 |
| 10 | Malaga | 22 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 18 | 20 | -2 | 27 |
| 11 | Getafe | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 26 | 32 | -6 | 26 |
| 12 | Valencia | 22 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 26 | 23 | +3 | 25 |
| 13 | Real Sociedad | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 26 | 34 | -8 | 24 |
| 14 | Espanyol | 22 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 20 | 41 | -21 | 22 |
| 15 | Real Betis | 22 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 15 | 31 | -16 | 22 |
| 16 | Sporting Gijon | 21 | 6 | 3 | 12 | 23 | 35 | -12 | 21 |
| 17 | Las Palmas | 22 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 23 | 34 | -11 | 21 |
| 18 | Granada | 22 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 24 | 44 | -20 | 20 |
| 19 | Rayo Vallecano | 21 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 26 | 45 | -19 | 19 |
| 20 | Levante | 22 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 21 | 41 | -20 | 17 |
Recap
Paco Alcacer didn't make the starting XI for Valencia on Sunday, with Negredo starting in his place, and the absence of the star forward showed early. Valencia were all over Sporting Gijon during the opening stages but somehow failed to find a way to put the ball past goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar.
The stopper first denied Negredo after some lovely work from Sofiane Feghouli before the Algerian twice failed to put his team ahead. Feghouli hasn't enjoyed regular football in a while, and he looked rusty against Sporting.
The visitors fielded a side without the out-of-form Alen Halilovic and barely put together any chances during the first half, but they managed to keep Valencia off the scoresheet heading into half-time. Per Ed Malyon of the Daily Mirror, the goalless half had more to do with Valencia's failings than Sporting's strong defending, however:
Things got a lot worse for Neville early in the second half, as Danilo gave away a silly penalty, which was converted by teen starlet Sanabria to give the visitors a shock lead. Per Squawka, it continued a disturbing trend for Neville:
Jony nearly made it 2-0 with a superb free-kick, but fortunately for the hosts, goalkeeper Mathew Ryan produced a stunning diving stop to keep his side from going down 2-0. Negredo hit the post just minutes later, as Sporting's defence left the former Manchester City man completely unmarked inside the box.
He then missed in a one-on-one situation to the dismay of Neville. Per Malyon, the manager has put his faith in the striker, but so far, he hasn't been repaid:
Negredo's worst miss came with 12 minutes left on the clock, as the Spaniard somehow managed to miss an open goal from eight yards out, blasting the ball over after Jose Luis Gaya and Zakaria Bakkali combined to provide the chance.
A late push for an equaliser led to nothing, and Sporting Gijon celebrated a big win at the Mestalla that moved them out of the relegation zone.
Real Madrid moved to within one point of rivals Atletico Madrid near the top of the La Liga standings by beating Espanyol 6-0. Karim Benzema opened the score after just seven minutes before Ronaldo added the first of his three goals from the penalty spot.
When James Rodriguez added another goal after 16 minutes, Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe was hardly surprised:
Ronaldo would score two more and Oscar Duarte put the final score on the board with a late own-goal.
Sevilla continued their resurgence with a 3-1 win over Levante, with Giuseppe Rossi scoring his first goal for the visitors. Kevin Gameiro, Vicente Iborra and Yevhen Konoplyanka took care of the scoring for the Europa League holders, whose poor start to the season is all but forgotten following their strong run.
As shared by the club's official Twitter account, manager Unai Emery is happy with the way the team is developing:
Sevilla have won 10 consecutive matches at home and are once again contenders to finish among the Champions League spots. Their away form remains a question mark moving forward, but at least the team is still alive in the race for a place at Europe's top table.
In Sunday's other match, Willian Jose gave Las Palmas three pivotal points with a late goal, firing the team to a 2-1 upset over Celta Vigo. The Galicians, who were without the injured Nolito, took the lead through Theo Bongonda, but a penalty goal from Jonathan Viera and a late red card for Fabian Orellana proved to be the difference.
The win sees Las Palmas climb out of the relegation zone, while Celta continue to lose ground in the race for the fourth UEFA Champions League ticket.
