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La Liga Round 8 : Almost A Brilliant Comeback

Hola a todos! :)

Hope you are all enjoying the new football manager or at least the pre-version thingy! (am so technical! ;)) and all of the very useful guides that have already been posted. I so far have stuck to my guns in not buying it as of yet, that may change of course! But for now am quite happy with watching others get excited over it. :)

As you may remember I am writing regular La Liga updates which have been on hold due to the long international break, which saw my team Spain claim four points in the beating of Belarus and a home draw against France.

So with a few days on holiday and a mini break from rel life stuff, lets have a look at how round eight went :-

(3rd) Malaga 2 — 1 Real Valladolid (10th)

So another victory for Malaga who have put to rest the mini selling spree which began the season after coming from behind to beat Valladolid. Manucho had scored early for the away side to give them a shock lead but was later red carded as one the stars of La Liga so far Isco pulled Malaga back into the game with a fine finish from the edge of the area. Joaquin latched onto a fumble from the keeper to tap in the Malaga winner to stay in third position.

Goals : Isco 37′, Joaqin 87 — Manucho 9′, Manucho S/O 81

Ana’s Man of the Match : Isco (Malaga)

———-

(4th) Real Madrid 2 — 0 Celta Vigo (13th)

Real Madrid remain eight points behind leaders Barcelona with a victory over Celta, Gonzalo Higuain’s fluke opener had them ahead and a penalty for Ronaldo sealed a home victory as Real were far from there best as they chase the leaders and are currently fourth.

Goals : Higuain 11′, Ronaldo 67′

Ana’s Man of the Match : Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid)

———-

(9th) Valencia 3 — 2 Athletic Bilbao (17th)

Valencia produced a final flurry to steal all three points late on against Bilbao, the away side had began the better and took the lead when a sublime strike for Aduriz beat the helpless Guaita in the Valencia goal. Scoring goals hasnt been that much of a problem so far for the Basque side however conceding poor goals has and so that struck again when Soldado leveled from the penalty spot, but they were back in front with half an hour gone when Aduriz headed in from a corner. Cue a famous Bilbao collapse as Ander Herrera was red carded allowing Tino Costa to look to have stolen a point after a scrappy bit of play, Bilbao were stunned and stunned again when a cross was whipped in and substitute Valdez grabbed the winner a terrific fightback for the home side.

Goals : Soldado 26′, Costa 88′, Valdez 90′ — Aduriz 19′, 30′, Herrera S/O 67

Ana’s Man of the Match : Artiz Aduriz (Athletic Bilbao)

———-

(18th) Deportivo 4 — 5 Barcelona (1st)

No I havent miss typed anything you are reading in correctly! An amazing game was shared at the Riazor as Deportivo almost fought back twice but ended with nothing as Barca’s looked a little shaky. Nothing to worry about early on as Fabregas found Jordi Alba who slotted past the keeper to give Barca the lead with only two minutes gone, four minutes later and Messi found Tello who passed in the second through the keepers legs before Messi smashed in the third inside of twenty minutes as the game looked won.

A debatable penalty allowed Pizzi to get the scores to three one, as Alex Bergantinos smashed Depor back into the game as Valdes fumbled it a little, but before half time a delightful through ball from Fabregas found Messi  who struck back across the keeper and back into a more comfortable lead. Cue yet another fight back as Pizzi struck a freekick which maybe Valdes could have done better with but Deportivo were once again back in the game.

Things though got worse for Barcelona when Mascherano was shown a pretty harsh second yellow card and had to play the remainder with ten players, cue a mazy unstoppable run and finish from Lionel Messi for his hat trick and again what looked like all three points until a crazy piece of play from Jordi Alba has he looped his clearence over Valdes and into his own goal but Barca held firm to win an amazing game. Phew!! :)

Goals : Pizzi 26′, 47′, Bergantinos 37′, Alba O/G 80′ — Alba 3′, Tello 8′, Messi 18′, 43′ , 77′, Mascherano S/O 49

Ana’s Man of the Match : Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

———-

(11th) Getafe 0 — 1 Levante (6th)

Levante moved into sixth with a narrow away victory at Getafe, Michel’s stunning 35 yard strike was enough to win a pretty poor game.

Goals : Michel 87′

Ana’s Man of the Match : No one! :)

———-

(19th) Espanyol 3 — 2 Rayo Vallecano (12th)

So finally Espanyol claimed their first victory of the season in a game that had everything including two red cards, Rayo opened the scoring when Leo latched onto a horrendous pass to race clear and finish with his looped header as the linesman said the ball had gone over the line, Espanyol levelled when two players broke the offside trap but it was the more composed Verdu who scored making in one each. The home side then took the lead after Rayo failed to clear a corner and Verdu striking again before a fortunate break allowed Leo to control and finish to make it two two.

With moments left Sergio Garcia guided in a fantastic cross which was met by Christian Stuani giving Espanyol their first three points of the season, good for them! :)

Goals : Verdu 37′, 48′, Stuani 93′ Colotto S/O 81 — Leo 12, 63′ , Labaka S/O 69

Ana’s Man of the Match : Joan Verdu (Espanyol)

———-

(16th) Granada 1 — 2 Real Zaragoza (14th)

Good away victory for Zaragoza who had first Helder Postiga to thank after a great ball played in found his head to open the scoring, Victor Rodriguez doubled the scoring with a an easy finish as Zaragoza looked good. Iriney was shown a red card as El Arabi headed in from a corner but Granada fell to defeat as Zaragoza took the points.

Goals : El Arabi 77′ , Iriney S/O 72 — Postiga 3′, Rodriguez 27′

Ana’s Man of the Match : Helder Postiga ( Real Zaragoza)

———-

(20th) Osasuna 0 — 0 Real Betis (6th)

Lackluster game with no real talking points except for Osasuna legend Patxi Punal’s record breaking 463rd appearance for the home side. :)

———-

(15th) Real Sociedad 0 — 1 Atletico Madrid (2nd)

A game sealed with a brilliant goal from who else but Radamel Falcao, his late freekick was enough to finally get the goal there play deserved as they close to level on points with Barcelona and are looking a real title threat this season.

Goals : Falcao 90′

Ana’s Man of the Match : Radamel Falcao (Atletico Madrid)

———-

(5th) Sevilla 3 — 2 Real Mallorca (8th)

Sevilla twice battled back to seal a victory over Mallorca to claim fifth place, Bigas scored first for Mallorca but Alvaro Negredo leveled minuted later as the home team dominated. However Tomer Hemed scored a good goal for the away side as Sevilla payed for miss chances. Chances they eventually took as Negredo headed the game level again and Cicinho’s stunning volley sealed an impressive win in the end.

Goals : Negredo 29′, 55′, Cicinho 74′ — Bigas 26′, Hemed 30′

Ana’s Man of the Match : Alvaro Negredo (Sevilla)

———-

As always that was that! Its still Barca and Atletico leading the way with Malaga and Real Madrid in hot pursuit with Sevilla going along nicely so far also. Depor’s heroics saw them drop into the relegation zone alongside main stays Espanyol and Osasuna but the full league table can be found here and well as my other updates which live here!

As always any questions or thoughts you have then feel free to pop them below and I will do my very best to respond to them, and now a question that will always spark debate but I have been asked it so many times I feel its right to ask others! So here goes (and no arguments please just an opinion) who do you think is better and why Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi?

I have said my opinions so will be nice to hear yours, and a final question Falcao will he stay or will he go??

As always thanks so much for reading and see you soon, take care everyone!! :)

13 комментариев

13 Comments

  1. Celticbhoy

    23 октября, 2012 at 04:56

    Hey Ana! Great job as always, but I have a small request, would you be able to post a video that has the highlights of the games? Being in North America its not exactly the easiest to get to watch the Spanish games! Keep up the good work and we will see you at the Camp tomorrow ;)

    • Ana Garcia

      24 октября, 2012 at 18:35

      Hello and thanks!!

      Its a good idea and one I have been trying to do, problem is getting the highlights can be tricky I had tried it in an earlier post but next time I will try and include all highlights if I can. :)

      Oh, so sorry for yesterday! Still can be proud of your team though. :)

      • Celticbhoy

        24 октября, 2012 at 20:39

        Wasn’t anything but proud of the bhoys, but still gutted just doesn’t describe the feeling nearly well enough how it ended!

  2. saltwater

    23 октября, 2012 at 07:54

    I couldn’t believe the 4-5 scoreline when I saw it on Sky Sports News, but yet its there. Credit to Deportivo.
    How long do you thing Athletico Madrid can mantain this challenge?

    • Ana Garcia

      24 октября, 2012 at 18:39

      Agreed!

      My brother was texting me the scores as was working and I thought he was trying to wind me up! Amazing effort from Deportivo even if most of the goal were preventable I guess.

      Honestly I think they can go all season, winning the Europa league last season has lifted spirits and the hammering of Chelsea the current champions league winners has show on their day they can beat anyone.

      Problem is Falcao, if he stays fit all season then they are real contenders if he gets injured/sold its hard to see who can step in and do what he does. With him fit they will be there or there abouts I feel.

  3. Johnny Karp

    23 октября, 2012 at 07:59

    Messi is my favourite, not only because of his amazing skills but also because of his attitude, a lot more modest and humble than Ronaldo.

    As for Falcao, I don’t think Atletico will be able to keep him much longer, he will probably leave next summer I guess.

    Last but not least, amazing comeback by Barca but the defence seems a bit shaky to be honest, I hope they will sort things out at the back sooner rather than later.

    Great update Ana, thanks ;)

    • Ana Garcia

      24 октября, 2012 at 18:48

      I tend to agree, but as you know most Barca players are a lot more down to earth I guess like Xavi, Iniesta, Valdes etc Its rare to see scandal stories involving those players I think its more how they are brought up in Catalonia its a modest place with normal everyday modest people.

      I agree again unfortunately, I guess Atletico can at least decide with Falcao they could be possible La Liga winners or do they cash in and hope to find a replacement like with the loss of Aguero.

      I guess the difference now is they are genuine title contenders and Falcao seems to be loving life in Spain, plus he is the main man there so I hope he stays but am not too hopeful.

      A third agreement in a row! :)

      Am sure things will improve when Pique and Puyol return and hopefully we will see more of Marc Bartra who definitely has potential to be a great defender he did well yesterday in the champions league (my boyfriend switched channels when Chelsea went behind LoL!) so I got too see bits and pieces of him but I think he is one for the future.

  4. TheZiggy

    23 октября, 2012 at 17:51

    I totally agree with Johnny about Messi. Proof that you can be massively talented, without being arrogant.

    The Barca match sounds pretty insane, although a great game I guess if for neutrals. Amazing to see Malaga still right up there bagging plenty of points.

    • Niels Theis Bendtsen

      23 октября, 2012 at 19:55

      Both Messi and Ronaldo are players which can decide a match on their own but they do also have world class players around them.

      Personality wise Messi wins though. Apparently he likes to drive by young Danish kids, stop and sign an autrograph.

      • Ana Garcia

        24 октября, 2012 at 18:58

        Agreed but surely having world class players around you elevates you to an even greater player.

        Both are match winners though and am sure most fans would have them in there team I guess! :)

        He seems really nice, like a proper person if you know what I mean such a great role model for young people to have.

    • Ana Garcia

      24 октября, 2012 at 18:54

      Thanks Ziggy. :)

      Yeah I agree, its refreshing to see a player let his ability do the talking rather than his mouth no doubt the greatest to have ever played for Barcelona in my opinion.

      Yeah great for neutrals!! :)

      Typical crazy La Liga game though, what looks like a routine victory turns into a goal mad game with so many talking points but a win is a win I guess!

      Malaga are going along really nicely, I guess last year they had massive amounts of pressure to succeed now its a lot more relaxed and they are a very good team. Isco is the stand out he has stepped up in the absence of Santi Cazorla and they dont miss him which if a massive compliment to him, the next big thing I reckon. :)

  5. Darren Smith

    24 октября, 2012 at 12:03

    I caught the Barcelona match over the weekend, now that was entertaining…great effort by Deportivo and some incredible attacking displays from Barcelona.

    • Ana Garcia

      24 октября, 2012 at 19:05

      Thanks Darren. :)

      Yeah Depor are providing a real test for teams but are losing lots of points at the moment after such a good start. They have just slipped into the relegation positions so they need to start holding onto leads and picking up points for all there hard work they put in.

      Going forward Barca have been fantastic I would say more down to Fabregas, he has been amazing the past few games. I think he was missed yesterday with his craft he has improved so much he seems to have an excellent understanding with Messi.

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