Real Madrid beat Gijon as Barcelona overwhelm Villareal to stay La Liga frontrunners
It was an exciting weekend in the Spanish La Liga as Real and Barcelona both notched up crucial wins to maintain their hegemony over the top of the table.
Two goals from Messi and One from David Villa helped the Blaugarana pile on the misery over the Yellow Submarines as they beat Villareal at Camp Nou.
David Villa opened the scoring early in the first half when he beautifully side footed the keeper after dribbling past two defenders but Villareal got back in the game through Nilmar who beautifully slotted the ball past Valdes from an acute angle.
But, Messi then turned on the style as he grabbed two goals in the second half to temporarily propel Barcelona to the top of the La Liga.
Real Madrid on Sunday reclaimed their top spot by beating Sporting Gijon away from Barnabeau.
Gonzalo Higuain scored the solitary goal of the game late in the second half to gift his side all three points and consequentially the top spot in the league.
The Argentinean tapped in from close range in the 83rd minute to help Jose Mourinho’s side register their sixth straight win of the campaign.
The victory also continued Jose’s unbeaten stint at the helm as under him, Real have gone on to win 13 of their last 17 encounters in all competitions.
But last night, Mourinho had to watch his side from the stands as he was dismissed in his team’s Copa Del Rey win over Real Murcia.
In another match, Valencia returned to winning ways after five games as they piled on the misery over a hapless Getafe side at Estadio Mestalla.
Tino Costa grabbed the opening goal of the night for Unai Emery’s side as he unleashed a sublime volley from inside the box past the keeper and David Navarro made sure of all three points when he netted in the second half.
Valencia could have won the match with a bigger margin as they dominated the entire game against their woeful opponents but their strikers failed to convert a couple of gilt-edged chances.
The victory moves the Andalusians back into the top four of Spanish La Liga while Getafe have slipped down to 11th.
Also returning to winning ways were Malaga as they earned a hard fought 1-0 win over Levante.
The match was the first for Manuel Pellegrini as in charge of the Andalusian side as Eliseu Pereira’s strike in the 64th minute made sure of a winning start for his manager.
Malaga had lost their 5 previous games at the La Rosaleda but Manuel Pellegrini made sure that the dismal run came to an end at the expense of fellow strugglers, Levante.
This victory lifts Malaga from the foot of the table to 17th in the league, just one spot clear of the danger zone.
Pellegrini only replaced Jesualdo Ferreira last week and after a losing start for his new club in the Copa Del Rey, his side returned to winning ways in the league and can now hope to build on the win.
In another match, Negredo grabbed a late winner as Sevilla continued their march towards the top four in the table with a 2-1 victory over Real Zaragoza.
The away side were given an early lead by Luis Fabiano only to be brought level by Nicolas Bertolo as he scored just within minutes of coming onto the pitch as a substitute.
But in a low key encounter, neither side showed great determination as the match lacked flare but former Real Madrid striker made sure that his side were not leaving empty handed as he grabbed the winner late in the game.
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