Another pulsating round of La Liga matches have come to an end, with plenty of talking points and exciting action. Rafinha Alcantara scored a brace as Celta Vigo put six past Alaves.
Elsewhere, Barcelona were held to a goalless draw with Sevilla. Real Madrid saw off Real Sociedad and, as a result, have gone top of the table. There were also vital wins for Athletic Bilbao, Atletico Madrid and Villarreal.
Rafinha Alcantara Inspires Celta Vigo To Vital Win
Celta Vigo Collect Their Biggest Win of the Season in Style
Celta Vigo enhanced their La Liga survival prospects with a thunderous win against Alaves. Goals from Jeison Murillo, Iago Aspas, Rafinha, Nolito and Santi Mina helped Celta Vigo secure their biggest win of the season.
Alaves slump back down to earth after their terrific win against Real Sociedad on Thursday. A heavy defeat which Asier Garitano would not off expected.
Celta Vigo started brightly and opened the scoring through defender Jeison Murillo. The Colombian centre half met Denis Suarez’s corner. Things soon got better for Celta when they were awarded a penalty. The penalty came when Ljubomir Fejsa handled the area. Mr Celta Vigo, Iago Aspas, stepped up and brilliantly converted the penalty.
Visitors Alaves were having a torrid time. Soon things got worse when Martin Aguirregabiria was given a straight red card. The young defender went in late on Rafinha and was soon given his marching orders.
A rampant first half was completed with two goals in a minute from Rafinha. His first was an excellent curling effort. His second was a great finish inside the area which Roberto couldn’t get near.
As the second half progressed, Celta continued to press and their fifth goal soon arrived. The home side were awarded another penalty when Javier Lopez fouled Kevin Vazquez. Nolito stepped up and finished expertly from the spot. The rout was completed when Santi Mina latched onto Nolito’s through ball and coolly finished.
The result sees Celta Vigo climb to 16th but more significantly, pull five points clear of the relegation zone. Alaves drop to 13th in the La Liga table.
Rubi Departs Real Betis After Defeat to Athletic Bilbao
Athletic Bilbao secured a crucial victory to maintain their hopes of securing European football. Centre back Inigo Martinez scored the only goal as Bilbao sealed victory. However, defeat proved to be Rubi’s final game in charge. After just under a year in charge, he left the club after the match.
The only goal in the contest came after just seven minutes. Inigo Martinez met Inigo Cordoba’s cross and planted a header past Joel Robles.
Real Betis responded well to going behind and created several opportunities. Striker Borja Iglesias had the best forcing an excellent save from Unai Simon.
Unai Simon continued to perform heroics in the goal denying Borja Iglesias a further three times. Real Betis’ golden chance to steal a point came with just four minutes to play. Nabil Fekir won Betis a penalty when he was fouled by Inigo Martinez. Sergio Canales stepped up but fired the penalty over the bar.
Defeat proved costly with Real Betis announcing Rubi would leave his role as manager with immediate effect. The club have confirmed Alexis Trujiillo will take charge of the side for the remainder of the season. He inherits a team low on confidence and side which has collected just one win from their last ten games.
Athletic Bilbao climb to ninth but, more importantly, they keep their hopes of European football alive. Real Betis remain 14th but need to spark their season into life and fast.
LWOF’s La Liga Predictions
LWOF’s original predictions are in bold on the left, while the actual results are on the right.
Granada 2-1 Villarreal – Granada 0-1 Villarreal
Mallorca 1-0 Leganes – Mallorca 1-1 Leganes
Sevilla 1-2 Barcelona – Sevilla 0-0 Barcelona
Athletic Bilbao 1-0 Real Betis – Athletic Bilbao 1-0 Real Betis
Atletico Madrid 1-0 Valladolid – Atletico Madrid 1-0 Valladolid
Espanyol 0-0 Levante – Espanyol 1-3 Levante
Getafe 2-0 Eibar – Getafe 1-1 Eibar
Celta Vigo 1-0 Alaves – Celta Vigo 6-0 Alaves
Real Sociedad 1-3 Real Madrid – Real Sociedad 1-2 Real Madrid
Valencia 2-0 Osasuna – Valencia 2-0 Osasuna
Up Next
Round 31 kicks off on Monday 22nd June and the games will be spread across the next four days.
Monday’s Games
Leganes vs Granada – 21:00 pm
Villarreal vs Sevilla – 18:30 pm
Tuesday’s Games
Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao – 21:00
Levante vs Atletico Madrid – 18:30
Valladolid vs Getafe – 18:30
Wednesday’s Games
Alaves vs Osasuna – 18:30
Real Madrid vs Mallorca – 21:00
Real Sociedad vs Celta Vigo – 18:30
Thursday’s Games
Eibar vs Valencia – 18:30
Real Betis vs Espanyol – 21:00
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