After a difficult matchday 12, the main title contenders all bounced back with wins to restore a bit of normal order to La Liga. It still remains very tight at the top though after a weekend which also saw the likes of Sevilla and Valencia pick up important victories. Here was the best of the action from La Liga matchday 13:
La Liga Matchday 13 Results, Expected Goals & Highlights
Friday 8th November 2019
Real Sociedad 1-1 Leganes (xG 1.19-0.33)
Saturday 9th November 2019
Alaves 3-0 Real Valladolid (xG 2.85-0.28)
Valencia 2-0 Granada (xG 1.05-0.42)
Eibar 0-4 Real Madrid (xG 0.88-2.84)
Barcelona 4-1 Celta Vigo (xG 1.50-0.32)
Sunday 10th November 2019
Mallorca 3-1 Villarreal (xG 1.57-3.04)
Athletic Club 2-1 Levante (xG 1.79-0.87)
Atletico Madrid 3-1 Espanyol (xG 3.05-0.38)
Getafe 0-0 Osasuna (xG 1.07-0.07)
Real Betis 1-2 Sevilla (xG 1.56-0.99)
Links lead to Youtube highlights via the official LaLiga channel and may contain ads.
Benzema & Messi star as the ‘Big 3’ win
157 – Karim Benzema has overtaken Ferenc Puskas’s La Liga tally of 156 goals.
6th Highest League scorer in La Liga history for Real Madrid.
18th in Highest in La Liga history. pic.twitter.com/HvqJn4PW3A
— Ashish Romea (RMadridEngineer) (@RMadridEngineer) November 9, 2019
Barcelona and the two Madrid clubs were all relatively convincing winners with big individual contributions major factors in their victories. Predictably it was Leo Messi who ruined Oscar Garcia’s first game as Celta Vigo boss with the Argentine netting a couple of fine free-kicks to complete a hat-trick in the 4-1 rout at Camp Nou. The win ensures Barça are top of the pile heading into the international break but did little to ease fears about their over-dependence on Messi.
Over in the Basque Country, Karim Benzema was again in fine form as he moved top of the Spanish top flight goalscoring charts with a brace in Real’s 4-0 win over Eibar. Having been hammered 3-0 at Ipurua on this very matchday last season, it was an important three points for Los Blancos who at the very least appear as well equipped to mount a title challenge as they have been for a few seasons, admittedly in part down to Barcelona’s frailties.
Atletico Madrid meanwhile had to come back from an early scare as Espanyol took the lead at the Wanda Metropolitano. However a goal and an assist from in-form Alvaro Morata helped Los Rojiblancos turn the game around with Koke sealing a 3-1 win in Stoppage Time.
Javier Aguirre’s Lega claim a point in rainy San Sebastian
¡Final whistle ! Points are shared in Reale Arena.Real Sociedad, 1 – Leganés, 1.#RealSociedadLeganés pic.twitter.com/NxDKj9vJKA
— C.D. Leganés ???? (@CDLeganes_en) November 8, 2019
It was a decent start for new Leganes boss Javier Aguirre. The experienced Mexican boss set his new side out with the clear intention to frustrate Real Sociedad on a rainy night in San Sebastian. The Basques predictably enjoyed all the possession and finally found a breakthrough in the Second Half with Mikel Merino heading home just past the hour mark. However there was a sting in the tail as Youssef En-Nesyri responded late on with a headed equaliser for Leganes who take a useful point from the game but remain rooted to the foot of the table.
Sevilla win the Derby
?????? #WeareSevilla ??????#ElGranDerbi #BenditoVeneno pic.twitter.com/Qk6AkAmozn
— Sevilla Fútbol Club (@SevillaFC) November 10, 2019
The Seville derby is always one of the great occasions on the Spanish football calendar and as always there was a fantastic atmosphere at the Benito Villamarin as Real Betis hosted Sevilla. Rubi’s side were hoping to build on some improved recent results against their great rivals. Lucas Ocampos netted an early goal for the visitors but Loren Moron levelled the scores on the stroke of Half-Time to shift the momentum towards the hosts at the interval.
There would be no happy ending for the Betis fans or their under pressure boss though. A slick Sevilla move was clinically finished by Luuk de Jong early in the Second Half and Betis couldn’t find a route back into the game. Julen Lopetegui showcased a rare display of raw emotion at Full-Time following the sweetest of his victories so far at the helm of the Andalusian club.
Matchday 13 in Numbers
- After their weekend performances, Karim Benzema (9 goals, 3 assists) and Leo Messi (8 goals, 4 assists) lead the way with 12 goal involvements each.
- Betis have only won 1 of their last 11 home Seville derbies in La Liga following Sunday’s defeat.
- 20% of the teams in La Liga have now made coaching changes this season after Oscar Garcia and Javier Aguirre took charge of Celta and Leganes for the 1st time this weekend.
- Granada have lost all 3 league games since going top with victory over Betis on matchday 10.
- Only Barcelona have picked up more home points than Athletic (16 points from 7 games at San Mames) after the Basque giants saw off Levante.
Up Next…
An international break immediately follows this game and with Spain having already qualified for Euro 2020, there’s not much to get excited about with La Roja facing Malta and Romania at home. The next round of fixtures in La Liga should be good though with Real Madrid home’s clash against Real Sociedad perhaps the highlight as one of the season’s breakout stars Martin Ødegaard takes on his parent club. There’s also a ‘top vs bottom clash’ as Barcelona travel to Leganes (where they were beaten last season).
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