Author: Vishwajit Sawant
Atlético de Madrid dominate Valladolid in 5-2 win: five-star performance from Diego Simeone’s side
Atlético de Madrid secured a comfortable 5-2 win over Real Valladolid in LaLiga on Sunday. The win helped close the gap on city rivals Real Madrid, who are in second place.
Defender Molina opened the scoring for Atlético in the 20th minute and Gimenez extended the lead four minutes later with an imposing header from Antoine Griezmann’s free-kick. Morata scored the third goal with a tap-in, after another cross from Griezmann, in the 38th minute.
Valladolid scored first through Larin’s penalty in the 42nd minute and Sergio Escudero scored the second in the 74th minute with a header from a corner.
However, Atlético scored two more goals to secure their eighth win in the last nine league games. Depay secured the win with a brilliant individual goal in injury time (90’+3′). Atlético have climbed to 66 points, two behind Real Madrid, with six games remaining in the season. Barcelona remain top with 79 points.
Lucas Rosa and Kenedy, the Brazilian duo, were unused substitutes for Real Valladolid.
Villarreal stay in the fight for the Champions League with 3-1 win over Celta de Vigo
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71862336/1385626966.0.jpg)
Villarreal secured a crucial 3-1 win over Celta de Vigo to maintain their challenge for the final Champions League spot. Nicolas Jackson scored twice in the first 12 minutes of the match, with goals in the 2nd and 12th minutes to put Villarreal in control. In addition, in the 26th minute, Parejo failed to convert a penalty
– above the gate. Jørgen Strand Larsen (29′) reduced the deficit for Celta de Vigo, but Ramón Terrats (70′) scored the third goal for the hosts, putting them five points clear of fourth-placed Real Sociedad.
Villarreal have won five of their last seven games and are in fifth place. Celta de Vigo, meanwhile, have won just once in their last six matches and are still in 13th place. The result is a huge boost for Villarreal’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.
Valencia’s relegation problems continue with defeat to Cádiz: club remains in danger zone
Valencia failed to pull away from the La Liga relegation zone after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Cádiz on Sunday. The defeat ended Valencia’s run of two consecutive wins, leaving them in 17th place, just two points above the bottom three with six games remaining.
Gonzalo Escalante (39′) and Sergi Guardiola (46′) scored for Cádiz, while Brazilian Samuel Lino (51′) scored Valencia’s only goal. The latter narrowly beat Valladolid 2-1 on the previous matchday, and beat Elche 2-0 before that, ending a run of four games without a win.
Gabriel Paulista was an unused substitute for Valencia.
Valencia’s position is only safe for now thanks to Espanyol’s 1-0 win over Getafe, which left them two points behind Valencia. In the 38th minute Joselu converted a penalty to end Espanyol’s eight-game winless streak. Brazilian midfielder Vinicius Souza played 22 minutes after coming on as a substitute for Espanyol.