La Liga Round 14 : Second Manager Sacked!

Hola a todos!!!

Hope you are all well and of course looking forward to Christmas!! (If you celebrate it of course! :)) I always enjoy this time of the year even though it can be quite stressful with all the rushing around and of course present panic buying!

We shouldn’t forget the real meaning behind it though but am not here to preach to anyone, am here to bring you another update in round 14 La Liga! Wow time goes fast as we race to the winter break with plenty of high scoring games and a few shocks involving Valencia who became the second team in Spain to remove a manager after Mauricio Pellegrino was sacked after a  few months at the club, the decision seems even more strange after losing confidence in former manager Unai Emery who had steered Valencia brilliantly as they sold all there star names.

He too was also sacked this week from Spartak Moscow and might be in-line for a sensational return to his former club. Darren and I discussed a little about the situation at Real Oviedo so I will keep an eye on any new coming from there I did find this interesting article about those who helped save the club which you may find interesting, just click the link! and you can read about how former players also helped their former club and you can see they are a fantastic little club.

Anyways onto the round-up as always tonight’s games will not be updated as it usually finishes too late for me to type it up that game is between Sevilla and Valladolid so lets start with Rayo’s trip to struggling Osasuna :-

(16th) Osasuna 1 — 0 Rayo Vallecano (9th)

Osasuna climbed out of the relegation zone for the first time this season with a narrow victory over Rayo, they are improving the home team and were good value for the win in a tight and scrappy game. It was a welcome three points for Osasuna who I now expect to start to climb up the table.

Gol de Kike Sola (Osasuna — Rayo) 1-0… by mundocorner

(6th) Getafe 1 — 0 Malaga (5th)

Finally the home side are around where they should be after a terrible start to the season, Getafe have been playing well over the past few weeks and are starting to earn the points they have deserved as Malaga again payed for missed chances. It wasn’t a thriller but Lopo’s goal was enough to steal the points and amazingly Getafe go level on points with Malaga.

Gol de Lopo (Getafe — Malaga) 1-0 MUNDOCORNER.COM by mundocorner

(12th) Valencia 2 — 5 Real Sociedad (8th)

So the game that cost Pellegrino his job as rampant Sociedad ran rampant against a pretty poor Valencia display, Valencia had been so inconsistent all season so it was no real surprise that they were defeated by an improving Real Sociedad side who have really clicked the past few game and are now looking like a side that could be challenging for a place in Europe.

VALENCIA 2 REAL SOCIEDAD 5 by acosart

(1st) Barcelona 5 — 1 Athletic Bilbao (15th)

So Barca’s best start to a season continued with big victory over struggling Bilbao, that now makes it 40 points from a possible 42 as Lionel Messi closed in on the magical 85 with a couple of goals as the home side eased to an easy victory. Bilbao worked hard but were carved open by a fantastic looking Barca midfield as they struggled to cope with the home side and the scoreline was reflective of the game. That pulls Barca now six clear of second place as they continue to work hard to win back the Spanish title.

La Liga: FC Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao 5-1 by MRLooka

(3rd) Real Madrid 2 — 0 Atletico Madrid (2nd)

A petulant Madrid derby was won easily by the home side as Atletico showed nothing of their counter attacking brilliance as they rolled over tamely to arch rival Real who also twice hit the frame of the goal as the scoreline should have bigger. Mourinho who had felt some fan backlash for their league deficit to Barca being eleven points brushed aside in form Atletico who seem to freeze when they had a chance to show they could be eventual La Liga winners, the derby was poor and scrappy at times which suited the home team and they close the gap to five points to Atletico.

Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid 2-0 1.12… by ourmatch

(18th) Granada 0 — 0 Espanyol (20th)

New coach Javier Aguirre couldn’t inspire bottom of the table Espanyol as both sides played out a futile draw, little quality or action in the game and a point each doesn’t help either side who both look destined for the drop and must improve. (No highlights as nothing really happened!! :))

(19th) Deportivo 2 — 3 Real Betis (4th)

A stunning Joel Campbell late on stole all three points in an incredibly entertaining game at Deportivo, the home side are in free fall right now but one things in certain is goals when they play as Betis built on their victory last week against real Madrid to climb into fourth an incredible season so far. Just to note that the winning goal is definitely worth a look! :)

Deportivo Coruña 2 Betis 3 by jordixana

(14th) Celta Vigo 1 — 1 Levante (7th)

A late equaliser earned Levante a point as struggling Celta, the game wont be regarded as a classic but it was a solid point for each team in a pretty poor game.

Celta Vigo 1 Levante 1 by jordixana

(17th) Real Mallorca 1 — 1 Real Zaragoza (13th)

So to finish a point each but a far better point for Zaragoza who had to play almost 75 minutes with only 10 players as an early sending off look like it would give Mallorca a chance to claim a victory after their dismal run over the past few weeks. Mallorca will feel like a chance of a much needed win has just pass them by while Zaragoza will be delighted with a point.

Mallorca vs Real Zaragoza 1:1 MATCH HIGHLIGHTS by UCL2410

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Phew and that’s that!! :)

I am a little disappointed with Atletico’s performance against Real Madrid maybe expectation in getting to them somehow with such a poor performance but Barcelona continue to look strong as Messi closes in on that 85 goal record.

Espanyol will have to improve quickly under Aguirre but I guess a point in your first away game isnt too bad as Depor who started the season so well also drop into the relegation places. The whole table can be seen here
with all my other updates here.

So as always thank for reading! Some really good goals to enjoy and also some praise for the smaller teams like Real Betis! Up to fourth after a fantastic result against Real Madrid and into the champions league places so good for them! :)

Any comments or questions as always just leave them below and I will respond to them, not many shocks this week but still an entertaining weekend of Spanish football so until next time take care and bye for now!!