La Liga Matchday five: Valencia soars to top spot
La Liga managed to dish up its usual dose of thrills and shocks this weekend, as Barcelona surged to second place, Sevilla was stunned by Hercules and Real Madrid stumbled against Levante.
In the biggest of Saturday’s fixtures, defending champions Barcelona faced a tricky test as they traveled to the Basque region to take on Athletic Bilbao. The home side had been in good form, having picked up two wins and a draw from their first four matches,
and with the likes of Spain international Fernando Llorente among their ranks, looked set to provide tough opposition for the Catalan giants.
That proved to be the case, as both sides played out an enthralling match, which ended 3-1 in favor of the visitors.
Barca rose to second
That led to Barca taking the lead after the break, through goals from Seydou Keita and Xavi Hernandez. Barca then lost David Villa when the 2010 FIFA World Cup winner was sent off in the 87th minute. That spurred Bilbao on, and they gave Barca reason to
worry when Igor Gabilondo netted at the end of regulation time, but a Sergio Busquets goal two minutes later settled Catalonian nerves, with Barca returning to the Camp Nou with three points in hand.
Fierce rivals Madrid were not so successful, as they failed to win when they visited Levante. Los Blancos was at the top of the league heading in to this round of fixtures.
They had worked hard to create a host of chances against Levante at the Ciudad de Valencia, but were left frustrated when Gonzalo Higuain and Cristiano Ronaldo failed to take advantage of the opportunities that were afforded to them.
Levante withstands Madrid pressure
Levante, who had set out to play defensively, was able to withstand the barrage of crosses and strikes, but was fortunate when Higuain had a goal chalked off late in the first period (he was offside).
Despite the offensive talents Madrid had on display and the tactical nous of head coach Jose Mourinho, Los Blancos could not break the deadlock and was forced to return to the Spanish capital with just a solitary point to shoe for their efforts. They have
slipped down to third place, one point behind Barcelona.
Meanwhile, Sevilla suffered a setback in their bid to once again finish in a UEFA Champions League qualification place. They travelled to take on Primera Division minnows Hercules in Alicante, but suffered the same fate as Barcelona did against Hercules
when the Blanquiazules emerged as 2-0 victors.
Veteran striker David Trezeguet was the difference-maker as he scored a penalty and pounced on a volley by Keko to earn three points for his side. The result led to Sevilla sacking their head coach, Antonio Alvarez, and bringing in former Mallorca boss Gregorio
Manzano to replace him. They are now in seventh place, five points behind Valencia, the new league leaders.
Valencia soars to top spot
Valencia ascended to the top of the standings after earning a 2-0 win over Sporting de Gijon. Mehmet Topal opened the scoring for the visitors when he headed home a cross by Manuel Fernandes after seven minutes. Soon after, Roberto Soldado doubled the advantage
when he latched on to a pass from Spain international Juan Mata and slotted home in the tenth minute.
Despite keeping up the pressure, Valencia could not add to their tally for the night. But they will be delighted with an unbeaten start to the season, which has seen them grab 13 points with four wins and a draw.
Atletico Madrid also earned a 1-0 win over Real Zaragoza to move into fourth with ten points, while Espanyol was able to keep up with the early leaders, moving up to joint fifth with Villarreal with nine points.
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