There wasn’t anything incredibly dramatic happening on Saturday in Spain, but there were a few good games, which kept the side moving. Whilst Athletic Club and Granada played out a thrilling draw, Celta Vigo clinched a superb 2-1 with a 70th-minute goal coming from Iago Aspas.
Alaves were desperate to steer themselves away from the relegation zone, and in such a tricky situation, they travelled to the Mendizorroza. Santi Mina responded according to need of the hour, and scored just 11 minutes into the game.
It took Celta less than 10 minutes to find an equalizer, as Luis Rioja set Joselu up nicely to make it 1-1 for the hosts. There was great end-to-end stuff between both units, but Celta Vigo conceded a late penalty, which was missed by Aspas but tucked home on the rebound. Alaves completed a priceless 2-1 victory out of nowhere, and they will be a much trickier force in the coming games.
At the San Mames, Raul Garcia scored inside 10 minutes to give Athletic Club an early lead, which was cancelled out just before the half-hour mark by Darwin Machis, who finished expertly with assistance coming from Jorge Molina. The veteran striker was in action a few minutes later, and this time, he was doing the scoring duties to put Granada ahead heading into the second half.
Luis Maximiano was at the unfortunate end of an own goal that helped the hosts draw level late in the game. The game went nearly 10 minutes in stoppage time with Inigo Martinez’s ill-time tackle getting him a red card upon VAR recommendation.
A Carlos Soler penalty just before the 20th minute put Valencia up ahead in their clash against Rayo Vallecano.
The visiting unit persevered until the second half, and Isi Palazon managed a stunning effort to make it 1-1. Valencia dropped points at home and missed a great chance to close the gap on the European slots.
There was late drama in Castellon when Barcelona collided with Villarreal. The Yellow Submarine, having suffered a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Manchester United in the Champions League, found themselves chasing right after the half-time, when Frenkie de Jong, who was at the right place at the right time to slot home the opening goal from close range.
Both sides produced some enthralling, end-to-end football, but the quality in finishing was lacking on the day. Unai Emery’s move to bring on Samuel Chukwueze proved fruitful in 11 minutes, as he scored beautifully after Arnaut Danjuma’s aerial ball in his path left two Barcelona defenders floored.
Just when the Barca shoulders were lowering, Memphis Depay found the net with excellent assistance from his keeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, which allowed the Catalans to register three crucial points by working their socks off.
Emery’s record against La Liga clubs
