It was Clásico weekend in La Liga and it ended with the lead changing hands again after Real Madrid struck late to see off Barcelona at the Bernabeu. Elsewhere, there were few significant movements in the battles for Europe or the race to beat the drop. Here is our La Liga matchday 26 review:
La Liga Matchday 26 Results, Expected Goals & Highlights
Friday 28th February 2020
Real Sociedad 1-0 Real Valladolid (xG: 2.10-0.60)
Saturday 29th February 2020
Eibar 3-0 Levante (xG: 2.92-0.56)
Valencia 2-1 Real Betis (xG: 0.97-1.08)
Leganes 1-1 Alaves (xG: 0.96-0.72)
Granada 0-0 Celta Vigo (xG: 0.98-0.3o)
Sunday 1st March 2020
Sevilla 3-2 Osasuna (xG: 1.79-1.77)
Athletic Club 1-0 Villarreal (xG: 2.73-0.73)
Espanyol 1-1 Atletico Madrid (xG: 1.51-0.70)
Mallorca 0-1 Getafe (xG: 0.06-0.90)
Real Madrid 2-0 Barcelona (xG: 1.04-1.59)
Links lead to Youtube highlights via the official LaLiga channel and may contain ads.
Real Madrid end home Clásico Drought
Vinicius Jr. doing Cristiano Ronaldo’s celebration as he watches from the stands is everything we needed. ?? pic.twitter.com/k1pfzxIiJb
— TeamCRonaldo (@TeamCRonaldo) March 1, 2020
Barcelona have enjoyed their visits to the Bernabeu in recent years and they had the chance to take a real stranglehold on the title race on Sunday evening in Madrid. However they ended the night having surrendered top spot after a late show from Los Blancos, sparked by a 71st minute goal from teenager Vinicius Junior that broke the deadlock. Mariano added the second as Real Madrid ended a poor week with a vital victory.
It was a match that again did little to ease fears that both sides have declined in recent years and may struggle to seriously compete in the latter stages of the Champions League. However it’s a result which really sets things up nicely for what is shaping up to be a fantastic title race with just a point separating the teams now heading into the final 12 games.
Eibar the big Winners at the Bottom
FT: Eibar 3-0 Levante
Charles missed a 2nd half penalty that would’ve completed his hattrick, but Fabián Orellana struck late on to seal a huge win for Eibar ??
The win lifts the Basque side to 16th in the table, 5 points above relegation ?️#LLL
???⚽️ pic.twitter.com/VBETf1D0ay— La Liga Lowdown ???⚽️ (@LaLigaLowdown) February 29, 2020
It wasn’t a great weekend for any of the sides of the bottom with the exception of Eibar. They convincingly saw off Levante to make it 10 points from their last 4 games at Ipurua. Their home form might just save them this season as the bottom four returned to the same teams that have featured there for most of the campaign.
Mallorca were the only team in the bottom four to lose though, as they were beaten 1-0 by Getafe at Son Moix. Espanyol, Leganes and Celta Vigo all drew and also remain in deep trouble.
Trouble at both Seville Clubs
¡3 puntos importantísimos! ?? Toca recuperarse para darlo todo en el próximo partido ?? Gracias afición por el apoyo de siempre ?? Amunt @valenciacf! ?
? @lazaroftherock #ValenciaBetis #LaLiga pic.twitter.com/llB5X0w11W
— Maximiliano Gómez (@gomez_maxi9) February 29, 2020
Both Sevilla and Real Betis appointed new coaches last summer and right now, it looks very much as though we might be heading for a repeat this year. Rubi’s future at Real Betis looks in significant and perhaps more immediate doubt. Betis were beaten 2-1 at Valencia this weekend and have slipped down to 14th as a result.
Things are going considerably better for Julen Lopetegui at Sevilla, at least in terms of results. However that hasn’t been enough to win over the Sevilla fans, some of whom chanted for his resignation after the Europa League draw against Cluj on Thursday. They won that tie and they were winners in La Liga at the weekend but only thanks to a late strike from Youssef En-Nesyri which saw off a spirited effort from 10-man Osasuna.
La Liga Matchday 26 in Numbers
- At 19, Vinicius became the youngest scorer of a goal in El Clásico in the 21st Century, beating Leo Messi’s record by 26 days.
- Real Madrid have conceded 0 goals in their 4 league games this season against Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
- Only 1 team in the bottom 9 was victorious this weekend – Eibar who beat Levante 3-0.
- After their 1-0 victory over Real Valladolid, Real Sociedad are the only team in La Liga to have won each of their last 3 fixtures.
- Barcelona’s Clásico defeat was their 5th league defeat of the season. They’ve not lost more than 5 since the 2007-08 season (9).
Up Next…
It’s the 2nd Legs of Copa del Rey Semi-Finals this week. We will have match previews for both ties as Mirandes, Granada, Real Sociedad and Athletic target a place in the Final. We’ll be back with previews for all the weekend La Liga games too including Real Madrid’s trip to Betis on Sunday evening.
