La Liga SRL Round-Up | Real Madrid win La Liga, Real Betis win thriller, Getafe seal Champions League and much more
by SportsCafe DeskGranada 1-0 Athletic Bilbao
A tough fight for Granada but in the end, their fight for European football ended with a mere seventh place finish but for the hosts that is a sensational feat given their financial situation. However, you wouldn’t realise that many would expect Bilbao to finish amongst the top six after their first half performance. It saw the visitors struggle to perform with just three shots in the opening 45 although Granada shone. The hosts, on the other hand, had seven shots on goal with two on target and still failed to score.
That would eventually change in the second half as El Graná found the net twenty minutes into the second half although Bilbao struggled to enforce themselves. The Los Leones failed to touch Granada with the hosts putting up a defensive masterclass that frustrated their visitors. However, despite that Bilbao finished with 55 dangerous attacks and managed to fire 8 shots on goal but luck simply wasn’t on their side.
Real Valladolid 2-3 Real Betis
Nothing but mid-table finishes for both sides although at one stage of the season Real Betis were threatening to finish in a European spot. That dream quickly vanished as inconsistency set in for the club but in a sensational first half, they proved that they’ve still got it. Not one or two or even three but five goals found the net before the first half whistle was blown. Betis opened the scoring less than 15 minutes into the game but within the next 15, Valladolid had not just equalised but moved ahead as well.
That lit a fire under the away side and they found their groove, netting two goals before the half-time break and put Valladolid on the back foot. But those expecting another five goal thriller were immensely disappointed as the second half gave us no more goals. Instead, we had nine shots on goal but just two found the target and that handed Betis the win. That is despite Valladolid taking more shots on goal (11-10) and putting more on target (7-4) as they settled for another loss.
Levante 1-2 Getafe
They didn’t even need to win and that first half performance from Getafe proved why complacency hurts a club so much and why managers do everything they can to fight against it. It did hand Levante the advantage and they made sure that the first half ended with them ahead by just the lone goal. However, for their luck, Getafe showed that they could be dangerous when they wanted to and the half-time team talk changed things.
It saw the away side walk out for the restart in much better shape with them scoring the equaliser ten minutes into the second half. That wasn’t enough for the fourth-place side in La Liga as they dominated proceedings after that and even took the lead 15 minutes from full-time. However, a late fight-back from Levante did put the fear of god into Getafe although in the end lady luck was watching over them and they walked away with their record intact.
Leganes 2-2 Real Madrid
A guard of honour was given to Real Madrid after the La Liga giants were confirmed as winners last week despite Barcelona winning this weekend. The Los Blancos had an unsurmountable seven-point lead over their Catalan rivals and with the league title all wrapped up in a neat little bow, they made hard work of the game vs Leganes. It saw the away side pull their foot off the pedal ever so slightly and yet they finished the first half ahead.
Two goals at either end of the half meant they had a lead, but Leganes’ opener meant that the lead was just one goal and given the hosts’ form in this particular game, they were up for the challenge. It would see Lega finish the opening 45 with eight shots on goal as they matched Real Madrid shot for shot. But with their foot off the pedal, the second half was a different story as Leganes made the most of their chances and eventually made Real Madrid pay by equalising. It would mean nothing, however, with both their fates sealed as the hosts could do nothing to stop their relegation.
Sevilla 4-2 Valencia
In the end, it proved to be the furthest thing from easy for Sevilla although one quick look at the form guide for both sides could have told you that. Both teams walked into the game with shockingly similar records although the hosts (3W 2D) had a slightly better record than their visitors (3W 1D 1L) and that found it’s way onto the field. A great start meant that 15 minutes into the first half and Sevilla had the lead with Valencia taking their own cool time to find their footing.
They eventually did and scored in the 36th minute but only after Sevilla had doubled their lead four minutes earlier. That did mean that the hosts went into the break ahead and they stayed ahead after the restart with Valencia again taking their time to find their footing. This time it hurt them as Sevilla found the net twice by the 70th minute effectively putting the game to bed. Los Murcelagos did pull one goal back but it meant nothing in the end and the stats tell you the same one-sided story. Sevilla had 14 shots on goal to go with their 65 dangerous attacks and Valencia had 9 to go with their 41 dangerous attacks.