La Liga was back with what in many ways was the most ordinary weekend of the season so far. Barcelona and Real Madrid both won, relatively comfortably at home. Atleti dropped points away, which sadly for them is also becoming the norm. Meanwhile all the other unlikely high-flyers failed to win. Here are the goals, headlines and stats from week 14 in the Spanish Primera Division 2018/19:
La Liga Match Day 14 Results, Expected Goals & Highlights
Friday 30th November 2018
Rayo Vallecano 1-0 Eibar (xG 0.38-1.36)
Saturday 1st December 2018
Celta Vigo 2-0 Huesca (xG 2.59-0.54)
Real Valladolid 2-4 Leganes (xG 2.12-1.92)
Getafe 3-0 Espanyol (xG 1.63-0.73)
Real Madrid 2-0 Valencia (xG 1.36-0.57)
Sunday 2nd December 2018
Real Betis 1-0 Real Sociedad (xG 1.06-1.66)
Girona 1-1 Atletico Madrid (xG 1.16-1.73)
Barcelona 2-0 Villarreal (xG 1.08-1.59)
Alaves 1-1 Sevilla (xG 0.9-1.88)
Monday 3rd December 2018
Levante 3-0 Athletic Bilbao
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Girona Frustrate Atleti
100% – Of players to have scored each of the penalties they have taken in La Liga since the turn of the 21st century, Girona’s Cristhian Stuani has scored more than any other player in the competition (13/13). Lethal. pic.twitter.com/iUlEfOgGo5
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) December 2, 2018
Dropping points away from home has been a recurring theme for Atletico Madrid. That’s already 13 that have slid away from them on the road in La Liga this term and it could have been worse on Saturday as they trailed Girona 1-0 heading into the final ten minutes.
Diego Simeone’s men may have felt hard done by after VAR awarded the Catalans a penalty rather than a free-kick in the opening period. Christian Stuani duly converted his 11th league goal of the season, more than any other player. However to give them some credit, Atleti came on strong after the interval as Simeone threw a fair deal of caution to the wind with Gelson Martins and Angel Correa both thrown on. A sublime pass from the latter created the leveller, officially credited as a Ramalho own goal despite Diego Costa appearing to finish it off. However it will still go down as a point dropped from an Atletico perspective particularly given the results of their main rivals.
Routine(ish) Wins but Unlikely Scorers for Barca & Real Madrid
What a way to introduce yourself to the world.
Carles Aleñá. Remember the name. pic.twitter.com/llkXt2L1Rv
— totalBarça (@totalBarca) December 2, 2018
On the face of it, the weekend was a routine one for Barcelona and Real Madrid, both of whom chalked up 2-0 home wins against sides that finished last term in the top six. Real Madrid put in a much more assured display to see off Valencia with Lucas Vazquez sealing the three points late on after an early Daniel Wass own goal. Santi Mina missed the best of Los Che’s opportunities but Valencia did little to merit a point and their central midfield pairing was largely overrun.
Villarreal had much more of their game against Barcelona, particularly in the 2nd Half when they were arguably controlling the play without really threatening. Two Catalans sealed the three points though for the hosts. Gerard Pique opened the scoring and 20 year old Carles Aleñá provided the finish that sealed the win after latching on to another fine Messi pass to produce the standout moment in his promising career to date.
Leganes score four on the road!
? MATCH REPORT | CD Leganés hammered Real Valladolid and achieved the first away win of the season (2-4). ➡️ https://t.co/BnMKSRifJ7 #RealValladolidLeganés pic.twitter.com/4FnmNQCnwX
— C.D. Leganés ???? (@CDLeganes_en) December 1, 2018
If one game wasn’t going to produce goals this weekend, it was surely the meeting between Real Valladolid and Leganes on Saturday. However it turned into something of a classic, at least from a Leganes point of view, with the Madrid side fast improving under Mauricio Pellegrino. A 2nd Half brace from Guido Carrillo sealed a 4-2 win for the visitors, who move to within a point of Valladolid, who are without a win in 5 league games now.
Match Day 14 in Numbers
- The highest scoring game over the weekend came in the match between the division’s two lowest scoring teams. Leganes had scored just 10 and Valladolid only 9 before the former’s 4-2 win on Saturday.
- Leganes ended a 22 game winless streak away in La Liga with the victory.
- Athletic have now gone 13 without a win, their longest ever winless streak in La Liga.
- Rayo Vallecano claimed their 1st home win of the season by beating Eibar 1-0. Huesca are now the only side yet to win at home.
- Primera Division top scorer Cristhian Stuani averages a goal every 85 minutes this season in La Liga after netting again at the weekend.
Up Next…
It’s Copa del Rey week in Spain with the last 32 ties to be concluded. The league action is back on Friday night though with the South Madrid derby between Leganes and Getafe. There’s a key clash between Valencia and Sevilla at the Mestalla with the hosts really needing a win as they try to get back into top four contention against their most likely rivals. Huesca host Real Madrid on Sunday but before that, the Barcelona derby takes place at the RCDE Stadium.
Keep tabs on our La Liga match previews for more analysis ahead of the next round of fixtures.
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