Real Sociedad moved back to the top of La Liga yesterday despite only managing a 1-1 home draw with Eibar in San Sebastian. The Basque club are level with Atletico Madrid on 26 points after the capital club fell to a 2-0 defeat to local rivals Real Madrid on Saturday evening.
Ander Barrenetxea gave the hosts the lead with a thumping strike in the 20th minute, but Sergi Enrich turned home with 25 minutes remaining to send his team eighth on 15 points. Sociedad would have had a bigger gap between them and Atletico had Igor Zubeldia’s 80th-minute tap-in not been ruled out by VAR for an extremely tight offside.
Yesterday’s draw was Sociedad’s sixth is as many games in all competitions, and came after another 1-1 draw at Napoli on Thursday which saw them squeeze into the last 32 of the Europa League. Atletico however have two games in hand on Sociedad while Real Madrid, who are now just three points behind the leaders, have played one less.
Villarreal are four points off the lead in fourth after drawing 1-1 at Real Betis, who move up to seventh on 16 points. Barcelona meanwhile were playing late night yesterday against Levante in 10th place, just three points above their opponents who are in the relegation zone. Ronald Koeman’s troubled side have three games in hand on Sociedad but are coming into their match at the Camp Nou off a humiliating 3-0 home defeat to Juventus in the Champions League.
Real Madrid take
derby honours
On Saturday, Real Madrid reignited their La Liga title push beating leaders Atletico 2-0 as their city rivals suffered a first league defeat of the season. It was a disappointing night for Diego Simeone’s side who had boasted a 26-match unbeaten run in the league, stretching back to February. That was a run which consisted of 17 wins and nine draws. Real had been the last team to beat Atletico in the league. Zinedine Zidane’s team were in front after 15 minutes when Casemiro headed home a corner from Toni Kroos. That was reward for Real’s early pressure which had seen Karim Benzema denied by a fine save from Jan Oblak moments earlier.
Atletico, who also made the Champions League knockout round in midweek, struggled to make any impression and star striker Luis Suarez was an anonymous figure up front. Real went 2-0 up after 63 minutes with Kroos again the provider.
His pass eventually fell for Dani Carvajal who unleashed a 30-metre drive which hit the post but was diverted into the net by the helpless Oblak. The ‘keeper was credited with an own-goal for his troubles. It was only the fourth goal conceded by the usually water-tight Atletico defence in 11 league games this season.
It was a night of frustration with Simeone’s men managing just one shot on target. “We didn’t have the courage to attack, now we have to work and improve. They were better. They were forceful, precise, and when they had their chance, they put them away,” said the Argentine. “We can have a bad game, we can. That hurts, yes it hurts.”
Egos too were hurting. Portuguese star Joao Felix showed his displeasure at being replaced by Saul on the hour. Suarez allowed himself an ironic smile when he too was benched in favour of Geoffrey Kondogbia in the 73rd minute. “Joao Felix, if he plays, he wants to contribute more, he wants to finish the 90 minutes,” said Simeone. “But I can’t explain his behaviour.”
In stark contrast, Zidane could be especially pleased for Casemiro who had returned from Covid-19 quarantine while Carvajal had recovered from a right leg injury. It was a night to remember also for captain Sergio Ramos who was playing in a Madrid derby for the 43rd time,
La Liga results
Real Sociedad 1 (Barrenetxea 20) Eibar 1 (Enrich 65); Real Betis 1 (Ruibal 51) Villarreal 1 (Pau Torres 5)
Played Saturday: Valencia 2 (Soler 26-pen, Vallejo 83) Athletic Bilbao 2 (Villalibre 55, Garcia pen-79); Getafe 0 Sevilla 1 (Etxeita 81-og); Huesca 1 (Ontiveros 66) Alaves 0; Real Madrid 2 (Casemiro 15, Oblak 63-og) Atletico Madrid 0
Friday: Valladolid 3 (Weissman 7, 76, Orellana 56-pen) Osasuna 2 (Budimir 27, Torres 43)
Today: Celta Vigo v Cadiz (2000)
Real Sociedad’s Ander Barrenetxea (centre) vies for the ball with Eibar’s Martin Merquelanz (left) and Pape Diop during the La Liga match in San Sebastian, Spain, yesterday. (AFP)
