MALLORCA needed to win & have Sevilla FC lose or draw to grab the 4ºth Champions League table spot. They did the job defeating ESPANYOL 2-0 with goals from VICTOR in the 23rd min & SUAREZ in the 77th min. However, Sevilla FC won their game & snatched their Champions League dreams away as they finish 5th on the table for the Europa League.
SEVILLA FC needed to win to take away the Champions League 4ºth table position from Mallorca & they did this in the very last minute when RODRI scored in the 93rd min to give Sevilla FC a 2-3 victory over ALMERIA . It was an exciting game that went to the wire with KANOUTE scoring in the 15th min & CHICO an own goal for Sevilla. Almeria kept coming back & equalized twice via SORIANO in the 43rd & ORTIZ in the 78th min. Sevilla got nervious & lost Negredo to a red card & just when everything was lost for Sevilla & Champions miles away, Rodri scored the winner in the last moment! Now it is onto the Spanish Cup Final for Sevilla against Atletico de Madrid on Wednesday.
ATLETICO DE MADRID received GETAFE with their heads in next Wednesdays Spanish Cup Final against Sevilla FC & put in a substitute team to "logically" go down 0-3. Getafe with this win make history as they reach the Europa League 6th place on the classification table. SOLDADO scored two goals in the 13th & 53rd min , along with PAREJO in the 86th min. Congratulations to Getafe!
ATHLETIC DE BILBAO won 2-0 DEPORTIVO with goals from young MUNAIN in the 19th min & JAVI MARTINEZ in the 78th min. However, the news was the "hanging of the boots" of goalie ARMANDO & veteran ETXEBERRIA (above) who both said good-bye to their crowd with tears.
FC BARCELONA won 4-1 TENERIFE in the rain to put back the pressure on Real Madrid who must win tomorrow against Mallorca if they are to keep their Liga title options alive. However, this scoreline gives a distorted image of the reality as Barcelona played an oridinary match & solved a delicate situation towards the end.
LIONEL MESSI takes his personal goal tally to 31 goals ( 44 in all competitions) & makes him a clear candidate to take this years Spanish League Top Goal Scorer - El Pichichi - & European Top Goal Scorer - Golden Boot Award. There are still 2 more Liga rounds left to further add to his goal tally.
ALMERIA won 4-2 VILLAREAL & in the process virtually assured their presence in the 1º Division of the Spanish League. The first half was all Almeria with goals from CRUSAT in the 14th & two goals from UCHE in the 28th & 42nd min. Villareal reacted somewhat in the 2ºhalf with goals from MARCANO in the 53rd min & IBAGAZA in the 67th min, but Almeria player PIATTI halted Villareal´s push with his & Almeria´s fourth goal in the 92nd min.
GETAFE & REAL SPORTING DE GIJON finished in a 1-1 draw with both side giving the spectators two "blinders". DE LA CUEVAS put Sporting ahead in the 17th min with a power-driver from long range & SOLDADO (above) equalized in the 47th min with a overhead goal.
VALENCIA CF consolidate their 3ºrd place on the ladder after defeating XEREZ 3-1 after the latter surprised going ahead in the 37th min via ARMENTEROS. However, MATA scored twice in the 45th min & 57th min to steer Valencia CF home with DAVID SILVA (above) finishing the job with his teams third in the 67th min.
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Real Madrid 3: Cristiano Ronaldo 24th & 89th min) & Marcelo (43rd min)
VILLAREAL lost 1-4 to a fully recovered FC BARCELONA who have their mind solidly on the Liga title after being knocked out by Inter Milan from Champions League. MESSI was outstanding with 2 goals ( 18th & 89th min), along with XAVI with a brilliant free kick goal in the 33rd min & young BOJAN in the 41st min. For Villareal J.LLORENTE scored their only goal in the 66th min. A clear message to all from Barça that they will be difficult to beat out of the Liga title.
Watch the VIDEO of the goal that took ATLETICO DE MADRID into its first European Final in 24 years & return them to the Europen Football elite:
They are the last Spanish Team standing in Europe. Ironical if you look at season 2009-2010 & realise how terrible things were for ATLETICO DE MADRID 4-5 months ago when Directives were “forced” to sack starting Coach Abel when the team hovered in the relegation positions of the Spanish League. With the arrival of current Coach Quique Sanchez Flores the “Liga” haemorrhage has been contained with the Club now in mid table positions & safe, plus they are Finalists in the upcoming Spanish Cup were they will compete against Sevilla FC for the title. Tonight the play LIVERPOOL FC in the 2º leg of the EUROPA LEAGUE semi-final & start with a 1-0 goal advantage from the 1ºst leg. Atletico are one game away from reaching a European Final. The last time Atletico reached so far in Europe was back in 1986 (24 years ago) when they played Dynamo Kiev in the Final of the European Cup Winners Cup which they lost. A long time for a Club with such a long Football tradition , a Club of its size & with such a loyal fan base.
However, the endeavour at the “mythical” Anfield Stadium will not be an easy affair as Liverpool will be pushed on by their warm & supporting fans which will create an uncomfortable atmosphere for their Spanish visitors. The good news for Atletico is the return of SERGIO AGUERO up front, after he served his one match suspension in the first leg, where he will form a dangerous partnership in the forward line with Diego Forlan, Simao & Reyes.
FC BARCELONA will go out with all their available big guns ( Puyol will serve a one match suspension & Iniesta is still injured).
Barça will be putting its hope in their "deadly" up-front trident of star forwards : Messi, Ibrahimovic & the new Spanish Football sensation, Pedro, to break the strong "wall" defence of the Italians
A just result with the only two real chances going the way of Athletic de Bilbao which they couldn´t convert into goals. It was a typical historical clash between two "hard" teams with a long tradition that played in not giving an inch of ground or "air to breathe" in the midfield to their opponent.
Posts, a penalty saved by Malaga Munuá (above) & a final 1-1 draw was the result of the MALLORCA - MALAGA game. The home team managed to equalize "in extremis" with ADURIZ scoring a controversial goal in the 91st min when Malaga claimed a foul on their goalkeeper. Earlier in the 86th min OBINNA scored to put Malaga ahead.
ALMERIA lost 0-1 to RCD ESPANYOL with a superb goal from LUIS GARCIA in the 54th min that secures a little bit more their place in the 1º Division next season. Almeria will be disappointed as they had their opportunities & couldn´t convert.
REAL SPORTING DE GIJON continue with their "rough patch" losing to VALLADOLID 0-2 at home. The visitors played intensely as their future in the 1ºDivision depends on it. MANUCHO put Valladolid ahead in the 80th min & BARAJA the second in the 93rd min. To highlight how tense things were, both teams lost a man to red cards in the 86th min (De Horno for Valladolid & Maldonado for Sporting). Valladolid are now 2 points from getting out of the relegation part of the table.
RACING DE SANTANDER who are in danger of relegation lost 1-2 to VILLAREAL who managed to turn the game around thanks to their midfielder Santiago Cazorla who set up the goals from GODIN (above) in the 70th min & later NILMAR in the 82th min. Earlier the new Real Madrid signing & Racing young sensation SERGIO CANALES scored a "blinder" in the 38th min that showed all his class, but it wasn´t enough.
This goal would finally turn out to be the winner. Important victory for the "Whites" & unlucky for Almeria in certain aspects as they didn´t do a bad job at all tonight.
VALENCIA CF defeated ATHLETIC DE BILBAO 2-0 with a magnificent DAVID SILVA who scored two goals, the first in the 35th min & the second - a real gem of a goal full of class - in the 62th min. Athletic had their chances but Valencia veteran goalkeeper Cesar looks more like a 20 year old with same fine saves that keep Bilbao at bay. Valencia get their 3 points to hold onto & consolidated a little more the 3rd place of the classification table, & Athletic are now a point away from Getafe who are breathing down their necks for the valueable Euro place.
REAL ZARAGOZA clawed back into their game against REAL MALLORCA managing to save a point with a 1-1 draw. RUBEN scored for Mallorca first in the 13th min with a header, to see later SUAZO equalize in the 21st min. Zaragoza still have relegation problems.
RACING DE SANTANDER & ESPANYOL are attempting to shake off the relegation ghost, & Racing managed to do some shaking winning 3-1. TCHITE scored twice for Racing in the 36th & in 50th (penalty) min along with ARANA in the 91st min. The only goal for Espanyol came from IVAN ALONSO in the 32nd min.
Second last placed team VALLADOLID managed a vital victory to keep its hopes alive of escaping relegation with a 2- 1 victory over SEVILLA FC. DIEGO COSTA scored in the 41st min & MANUCHO in the 53rd to give Valladolid two winning goals. For Sevilla CALA scored a "screamer" late in the game (83rd min) that served as a consolation.
Lovely foto by Mitxel Atrio who took the above image in the ATHLETIC DE BILBAO 4-1 victory against ALMERIA. The Basque team get into Euro table positions with goals from JAVI MARTINEZ with two with an outstanding game (13th & 49th min), GABILONDO in the 32th min & LLORENTE in the 51st min. Almeria managed a consolation goal thanks to PIATTI in the 71st min.
DEPORTIVO started off well with a 1st min goal by RIKI (above), but RACING who are fighting to stay out of the relegation zone managed to equalize & escape with a point thanks to the 83rd min goal by MORAL.
OSASUNA won 2-0 REAL ZARAGOZA mantaining the latters "problems" with relagation danger. ARANDA (above) scored early in the 2nd min & VALDOCZ the teams second in the 90th min. Zaragoza are looking at the abyss.
Great match between MALLORCA & VALENCIA CF with the former consolidating its Euro table position with an exciting 3-2 victory which nearly ended in a draw with a late come back attempt by the visitors. Mallorca started great with goals from CASTRO in the 6th min & WEBO (above) in the 21st. However, Valencia did not put its head down & pulled one back via ALBA in 47th min that experienced a set back when Valencia defender FERNANDES put in an own goal to make Mallorca more winner. Valencia threw everything in at this stage & PABLO HERNANDEZ got a second in the 85th min to open a window of chance. However, the over "excitment" of the moment saw Valencia lose Fernandes to a red card & Mallorca hold them off for the home team to take the 3 points.
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MALAGA lost to SEVILLA FC 1-2 with the latter regaining the "right path" after a "rocky" last 2 weeks. Malaga scored first in the 16th min via CAICEDO, but Sevilla regained control & managed to score two goals in the latter part via COLA in the 66th & LOLO 85th min.
There is no stopping VILLAREAL lately as they won 1-0 REAL SPORTING DE GIJON. The goal came early in the 15th min via a header from GODIN which was enough; 3 points thank you very much!
The two are bottom placed teams - TENERIFE VALLADOLID - who are in deep trouble with relegation clear for both who gave us only a 0-0 draw. No surprises.
Finally, the last placed team XEREZ lost 0-1 to GETAFE & this loss may be too much for them as they have virtually lost all chances of getting out of the 2 º Division "black hole".
The game between both was conservative tonight & both were very aware of each other throughtout the match. Atletico had more chances in the first half , but overall things were equal as it looked like Valencia were hiding their cards for the second half of the game.
Atletico de Madrid wanted to score in the 2º half & nearly did via DIEGO FORLAN who missed real "sitters" with one hitting the post when Valencia goalie Cesar - who had a great match - tipped the ball away from a certain goal. Then Valencia Coach Emery changed strategy in the last 20 mins putting his bets in the aeriel game with "giant " Zigic coming on. From here Valencia went all out, & were not given a clear penalty when Zigic was held in the penalty square & had his shirt ripped. The protests from Coach Emery earned him a red card. Then David Villa hit the bar & Atletico de Madrid goalkeeper De Gea saved a "shot barrel" header from Zigic that would have eliminated Atletico.
Great match with tense moments, plenty of opportunities & saves, plus bad luck for Valencia who were denied a penalty. Atletico now will meet Liverpool in 2 weeks & without Aguero who got a yellow card towards the end for time-wasting during his substitution; although I think he looked for it to clear his yellow card cycle & guarantee a final appearance if Atletico can knock out Liverpool. We will have to wait & see.
