Barcelona’s hopes of clinching the La Liga title have grown bleaker following their shocking 2-0 defeat away at Malaga on Saturday.
Barcelona went into the game in high spirits as they were expected to cruise to victory over 14th-placed Malaga, but their plan went south as Sandro Ramirez notched the first goal of the game in the 32nd-minute to put Barca on their toes.
An immediate reply from Barcelona was anticipated, but it never came as Malaga went into the half time break with a huge goal to hold on to.
The second half resumed with Barcelona keen on scoring an equaliser, but Malaga held their ground and protected their lead.
Neymar got sent off in the 65th-minute after receiving a second yellow card, thus depleting Barca’s attacking options.
The game had already been lost for Barca when 83rd-minute substitute Jony took Malaga’s tally up to two goals in the 90th-minute.
The Madrid derby was the pick of the weekend’s fixtures as two fierce rivals went head to head in a battle for local supremacy and points, with the title race remaining undecided.
China-bound Pepe opened the scoring in the 52nd-minute after a goalless first half. The Portugal international put up a rock solid display, but he had to be taken off due to injury concerns.
Los Blancos maintained their lead for the most part of the game, but the highly sought-after Antoine Griezmann managed to draw Atletico Madrid level in the 85th-minute before the game went on the end in a 1-1 stalemate.
The draw sees Real Madrid remain at the top of the table with just three points separating them and Barcelona, along with a game in hand.
Sevilla seemingly returned to form on Saturday as they thumped Deportivo La Coruna 4-2 in an attempt to continue the fight for third place.
Stefan Jovetic opened the scoring for Sevilla before Gael Kakuta pulled one back for Depor. Pablo Sarabia notched a goal five minutes after Kakuta’s equaliser, but Depor went on to nick another goal courtesy of the same man, Gael Kakuta.
Goals from Joaquin Correa and Wissam Ben Yedder helped Sevilla to the victory.
Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao met on Friday night, but it was the former who came out victorious at Estadio de la Ceramica as Villarreal won 3-1.
Goals from Victor Ruiz, Cedric Bakambu and Adrian Lopez helped the Yellow Submarine to secure the victory whilst Aymeric Laporte was responsible for Athletic’s goal.
Pablo Piatti’s 56th-minute strike led Espanyol to a slender 1-0 win over Alaves. Espanyol currently resides comfortably in 9th-place; hence they can take their results as they want.
Celta Vigo were unable to put up an excellent attacking display, which they are usually known for against Eibar.
Eibar grabbed a 2-0 win over Celta with Kike and Pedro Leon getting their names on the scoresheet.
Goals from Vincente Gomez, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Jonathan Viera and Jese Rodrguez saw Las Palmas beat Real Betis 4-1.
Betis had to rely on Rafa Navarro’s 88th-minute strike to bag a consolation goal.
Osasuna beat Leganes in what could be the beginning of a fightback from relegation threatened teams.
Dimitris Siovas opened the scoring for Leganes in the 16th-minute before a brace from Sergio Leon saw Osasuna claim a 2-1 victory.
Simone Zaza scored a brace whilst Santi King also notched a goal as Valencia beat Granada, whose lone goal came courtesy of Ezequiel Ponce.
Sporting Gijon lost away at Real Sociedad thanks to goals from Willian, Junami and Yuri Berchiche.
Gijon’s Elderson closed the scoring as Real Sociedad grab a crucial three points in a bid to remain a spot in next season’s Europa League.
La Liga table after Matchday 31
