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Match round-up - First Division, Day 17

Villarreal ended the calendar year with a 1-0 victory over regional neighbours Valencia which takes them above Celta to fourth place. The locals dominated the first half, Jonathan Dos Santos testing Domenech early on, and Soldado, Bruno and Bakambu all failing to find the target. Dani Parejo brought two good saves out of Areola after the restart and André Gomes had a couple of efforts blocked, but Denis Suárez shot just wide, and some twenty minutes in to the second half Bruno got what was to prove the only goal with a well struck free kick. It was a first defeat for the Ches under Gary Neville, and they have now only taken three points from the four games since the new coach took over from Nuno a month ago. (31.12.15)

For the first time in over 25 years there was a round of league matches between Christmas and the New Year, with nine games taking place on Wednesday. The top three sides all won again to maintain the status quo between them, although the lead changed three times during the evening, third placed Real Madrid momentarily overtaking their two rivals after beating Real Sociedad 3-1 in the first match of the afternoon. Referee González González turned down what looked like a clear penalty by Pepe on Jonathas early on, but midway through the first half he awarded one at the other end when Yuri and Benzema clashed going for a high cross, Ronaldo firing his kick over the bar. However with the first half coming to a close González gave the locals another controversial penalty when Bale’s cross deflected off Yuri’s foot onto his arm in the area, and this time Ronaldo didn’t miss. Bruma equalized for the visitors though soon after the restart, beating Keylor Navas with an angled shot after picking up a pass from Jonathas, and a few minutes later Yuri felt he should have had another penalty when Pepe brought him down in the box. But soon afterwards Ronaldo volleyed in a Marcelo corner to restore the lead, and Rulli had to save from Benzema before Lucas Vázquez wrapped things up with a third goal, giving under pressure coach Rafa Benítez some breathing space.

Next up were second placed Atlético Madrid, and they left it late before beating neighbours Rayo Vallecano 0-2 to move back up above their city rivals. The locals had let in ten goals in their last match against Real Madrid, but coach Paco Jémez kept faith with keeper Yoel, and he made first class saves from Carrasco, Griezmann and Fernando Torres before the break. Saúl, Griezmann and Giménez all went close in the first half as well, but Oblak had to save from Javi Guerra and Lass at the other end either side of half time, and then from Manucho later on in the second half. Yoel did well again to keep out Godín, and the Uruguayan defender headed against the bar as Atlético pushed for the winner. It looked though as if the game was heading for a draw until three minutes from the end, when Thomas put fellow substitute Correa through for him finally beat the local keeper. And just two minutes later another substitute Jackson Martínez slipped the ball through for Griezmann to lift a shot over Yoel for the second. A good fight by Rayo, but a fifth defeat in a row which leaves them in next to bottom spot going in to the new year.

Barcelona though end the calendar year at the top of the table after they won 4-0 against Betis later in the evening. The visitors held their own however until the half hour mark, when referee Bikandi Garrido awarded a controversial penalty to the Catalans after Adán and Messi clashed in the area. Neymar slipped taking the spot kick and appeared to touch the ball twice, but his shot came back off the crossbar, and Westermann turned the rebound into his own net under pressure from Rakitic. Just three minutes later Messi combined with Neymar to make it two, and with central defenders Bruno and Westermann both replaced after picking up injuries, Luis Suárez ran on to a Busquets through ball to score a third in the first minute of the second half. Neymar hit the post after that, and Messi saw a first free kick well saved a second bounce off the bar, and with seven minutes to go Suárez completed the scoring after a quick passing move with Adriano and Neymar. That took Barça on to 180 goals in 2015, two more than the previous record set by Real Madrid last year.

Fourth placed Celta were beaten 0-1 by Athletic Bilbao however, and they could be out of the Champions League spots if Villarreal win on Thursday. Honours were share in the first half, Iraizoz having to save from Bongonda, Orellana and Jonny, and Sabin and Raúl García going close at the other end. After the interval though Aduríz had a strike ruled out for offside and Williams fired a shot against the bar, and with twenty minutes to go Aduríz put Raúl García through for him to score. Wass fired a shot over the top and Hugo Mallo hit the bar later on, but Muniain could have increased the lead when he shot just wide near the end.

Deportivo stay sixth, ahead of Athletic on goal difference, after a 0-0 draw at Getafe. Despite the result there was action at both ends, Lux in particular having to make first class saves from Vergini, Sarabia and Damián Suárez before the break. Víctor Rodríguez also volleyed a shot over the top, and the visitors responded with an effort from Luis Alberto which Guaita kept out, and shots from Fede Cartabia and Lucas Pérez just wide of the mark. After the restart both keepers had more work to do, but in the end the two teams settled for a point.

Sevilla are now just a point off the European spots after a 2-0 victory over Espanyol, a seventh home win in a row for Unai Emery’s side. Marco Asensio and Caicedo failed to convert early chances for the visitors, but Immobile brought a good save out of Pau López, and soon afterwards the Italian striker opened the scoring, beating two defenders to Vitolo’s deflected cross to slide the ball into the net. Pau López had to keep out Konoplyanka soon afterwards, and with four minutes to go to the break Banega made it two with a shot under the keeper after Mariano put him through. Immobile failed to convert a couple of chances either side of the break, and Reyes and Gameiro tested Pau López after that, and the visitors only troubled Sergio Rico with an angled shot from Burgui on the hour mark.

Eibar are back up to ninth after a 2-0 victory over Sporting Gijón, a relief for coach Mendilibar after his side had only picked up two points from their last five games. The Basques were celebrating their 75 th anniversary, and they had the better of the first half, Borja bringing a good save out of Cuéllar, and Saúl Berjón firing a couple of efforts over the bar. Halilovic shot wide and Rachid tested Riesgo in reply, but some ten minutes in to the second half Keko opened the scoring for the locals after controlling a cross from Verdi. Seven minutes later Borja made it two after latching on to Saúl’s pass, and Keko came cloe to extending the lead when he shot just wide later on.

Málaga are up to eleventh after they won 0-1 at Levante, the victory extending their unbeaten run to five matches. Chances were few and far between though, a shot wide from Duje Cop and a header over the top from David Navarro the only efforts anywhere near the target before the interval. After the restart Kameni had to be at his best to keep out Camarasa, and Boka shot straight at Diego Mariño when free on goal. However with ten minutes to go substitute Duda got what was to prove the only goal with a clever free kick under the defensive wall as they jumped in the air, leaving Rubi’s team three points adrift at the bottom of the table.

Las Palmas are out of the relegation spots though after they beat Granada 4-1 in the last match of the evening, the defeat leaving the Andalusians down in the drop zone in their stead. Tana put the Canary Islanders ahead with just over half an hour gone, his shot taking a deflection off Biraghi to wrong-foot Andrés, and Araujo made it two after Jonathan Viera flicked on a Vicente Pérez pass some four minutes in to the second half. Peñaranda got one back though after Rubén Pérez sent him away to cut in and beat Javi Varas, and the young striker felt he should have had a penalty soon afterwards. However the referee awarded a hotly disputed penalty to the locals after Wakaso fell over Roberto Ibáñez’s leg with ten minutes to go, Viera firing home the spot kick, and with the game in injury time Lombán headed an Araujo cross into his own net for the final score. (30.12.15)