La Liga Roundup
Here are the results from two of the top games that were played in La Liga this midweek
Barcelona 1-0 Osasuna
Round 33 started early for Catalan giants, Barcelona, as they welcomed Osasuna on Tuesday, as they seek to win their third consecutive home league game at the Camp Nou. Osasuna’s defence largely managed to maintain its composure and play with discipline against the home side. However, the visitors were dealt a blow when Jorge Herrando was sent off just before the half-hour mark.
The visitors’ defender’s poor challenge on Pedri left referee Javier Iglesias Villanueva with little choice but to send the defender off after Frenkie de Jong’s superb through-ball allowed Pedri to slip past their lines. The away side, then began to retreat deeper into their own half to put out a Barcelona side that was missing some good chances during the game.
Osasuna appeared poised to avoid losing at the Camp Nou with just five minutes of regulation time left but, Jordi Alba was set up by De Jong with a brilliant headed pass in the game’s dying minutes to win the game for the home side. This triumph might have effectively secured Barça’s chance to win the league for the first time since the 2018/19 season.
Real Sociedad 2-0 Real Madrid
Real Sociedad then hosted Real Madrid later on Tuesday evening as the away side sought out to win without a number of their top players. Given Vincius Junior’s suspension and the decision to rest Karim Benzema, Carlo Ancelotti was always likely to rely on unlikely candidates up front which resulted in a disappointing result.
The home side started the game in high spirits as they pressured Madrid’s goal relentlessly in the first half which yielded no goals. The hosts continued their pressure in the second half, which resulted in Kubo scoring for Real Sociedad to make amends for their first-half wastefulness.
The hosts were then blessed with a Dani Carvajal red card which reduced Madrid to ten men. Ander Barrenetxea then sealed the win with a low, drilled finish after cutting in from the left in the 85th minute to give Real Sociedad their fourth successive home win.
This win still puts Sociedad fourth, but the San Sebastian side is now seven points behind second place Real Madrid and five points behind third place Atletico Madrid. This win also gives the home side some daylight between them and fifth place Villareal, who are now eight points behind Real Sociedad despite having one game in hand.
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