As weekends go, this wasn’t La Liga’s finest hour with some dull games and some more disappointing showings from the sides that will be challenged with taking on the best in Europe in a few weeks time. Ultimately it was a good matchday for Real Madrid who now have to be seen as the favourites to win the title this season. Here is our La Liga matchday 21 review:
La Liga Matchday 21 Results, Expected Goals & Highlights
Friday 24th January 2020
Osasuna 2-0 Levante (xG: 1.62-0.6)
Saturday 25th January 2020
Espanyol 1-1 Athletic Club (xG: 0.54-0.66)
Valencia 2-0 Barcelona (xG: 1.39-1.15)
Alaves 1-2 Villarreal (xG: 0.97-1.82)
Sevilla 2-0 Granada (xG: 0.80-0.48)
Sunday 26th January 2020
Atletico Madrid 0-0 Leganes (xG: 0.87-0.4)
Celta Vigo 0-0 Eibar (xG: 1.03-0.22)
Getafe 1-0 Real Betis (xG: 1.38-1.31)
Real Sociedad 3-0 Mallorca (xG: 2.23-0.91)
Real Valladolid 0-1 Real Madrid (xG: 0.19-0.54)
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Valencia see off poor Barça
MAXI GÓMEZ – VALENCIA ?
His doblete against Barcelona gave Los Che a massive win! He is up to 9 goals for the season!
? Only Leo Messi, Karim Benzema and Luis Suárez have scored more than him in LaLiga!#LLL
???⚽️ pic.twitter.com/U5YrFKLjoI— La Liga Lowdown ???⚽️ (@LaLigaLowdown) January 27, 2020
Barcelona’s first two games under Quique Setien suggested they may very well come unstuck when they came up against stronger opposition and that was exactly how it proved on Saturday at Mestalla. Again the Catalans dominated the ball, chalking up possession figures of 74% but even by Setien’s admission there were too many sideways passes and a lack of inspiration in the final third. Valencia were content to suck up the pressure and attack with pace when the opportunity presented and in the end they were worthy winners with Maxi Gomez the key figure.
The Uruguayan’s deflected effort broke the deadlock and was eventually credited as a Jordi Alba own goal. There was no doubts about the second though as Gomez curled home after another incisive break. Valencia also had a goal ruled out and missed a penalty in the game. Barcelona have a lot of work to do and it needs to be done quickly with some huge games coming up in a key phase in the season.
Real Madrid top after winning ugly at Valladolid
Marca player ratings for Valladolid 0-1 Real Madrid pic.twitter.com/3oP2vIAeob
— Brendy Boyle (@BrendyBoyle) January 27, 2020
Real Madrid made Barcelona pay for their poor showing in Valencia with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Real Valladolid. Nacho was the unlikely match winner in a game that mirrored much of Sunday’s action in the Spanish top flight in that it lacked much in the way of excitement. It’s on nights like these that championships are won though and Real Madrid are certainly now the favourites to win the Spanish title again with a 3 point advantage over an out of sorts Barcelona.
Getafe replace Atleti in the Top Four
? Getafe look set to take all three points!
⚽ A late penalty from Ángel gives them a 1-0 lead over Betis pic.twitter.com/RSIzteYA08
— Premier Sports ? (@PremierSportsTV) January 26, 2020
It wasn’t a good weekend for the other big Madrid club though and there is now pressure growing on both Diego Simeone and his players heading into next weekend’s derby at the Bernabeu. Atleti are no longer in the top four after their third poor result (a 0-0 home draw against bottom club Leganes) in almost certainly the worst week they’ve had under the stewardship of Cholo. They were replaced in 4th by Getafe who beat Real Betis 1-0 on Sunday with Angel scoring a late penalty.
Matchday 21 in Numbers
- Sunday saw 269 minutes of football take place in La Liga before the 1st goal – Angel Rodriguez’s penalty for Getafe against Betis.
- Barcelona have scored just 3 goals in 3 competitive matches under Quique Setien despite having 74% or more possession in all 3 games (Granada, Ibiza & Valencia)
- Real Madrid top La Liga for the 1st time since match-day 8. Not since their 2016/17 title win have they lead the league at such an advanced stage in the season.
- Atletico Madrid have scored just 1 goal in their last 3 competitive games (vs Eibar, Cultural Leonesa & Leganes), losing 2 of those matches and drawing 1.
- Only 5 teams in La Liga have scored fewer goals than the 22 Atletico Madrid have managed.
Up Next…
Real Madrid host neighbours Atleti next weekend in La Liga as Los Blancos aim to cement top spot. Before then though there’s Copa del Rey last 16 action this week with some intriguing ties including Real Madrid’s trip to Zaragoza and Cultural Leonesa’s home game against Valencia. We will have match previews for all the games from matchday 22 which includes the big Madrid derby at the Bernabeu on Saturday.
Mark Sochon is an experienced football writer and editor of LaLiga Expert. Based in Madrid, he has covered La Liga and Spanish football for many years. He also covers Spanish and European football for Goal and Betfred, while his work has previously been published by the Guardian and World Soccer.