La Liga Gameweek 22: Five Talking Points

Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad and Valencia: It always looked like being a tricky weekend for the top three, but few could have expected it to be as explosive as it turned it out.

There were goals, shock results, red cards and, by the end of it all, there was a new leader in La Liga.

Meanwhile, at the bottom, there were three points for a team who needed them more than anyone else.

Here are the main talking points from a fascinating weekend in Spain.

Atletico go top of La Liga

Atletico Madrid paid tribute to Luis Aragones on Sunday night, their former player and manager who died on Saturday, before beating Real Sociedad 4-0 to move top of the table. Their timing couldn’t have better.Diego Simeone will have been pleased by the four names on the score sheet too.

David Villa and Diego Costa scored the first two—it’s always nice to see your forwards on target—then defender Miranda scored the goal his consistently brilliant performances had deserved. Finally Diego Ribas, who returned to the club on Friday, added the fourth.

Madrid’s second club (can we still call them that?) are now three points clear at the top. Even the reluctant Simeone might have to start taking his side seriously as title challengers now.

Valencia shock Barcelona

The last time Barcelona lost at home in the league was in April 2012 when Cristiano Ronaldo “calmed” Camp Nou. Before then, they hadn’t lost since September 2010., when Hercules beat them 2-0.On Saturday afternoon, though, Valencia shocked Camp Nou, ending Barca’s 25-match winning streak on their own patch in La Liga.

It certainly didn’t look like they would lose after Alexis Sanchez gave them an early lead, nor did it when Lionel Messi—ending an eight match wait for a goal in La Liga—equalised from the penalty spot.

However, lose they did.

Dani Parejo, Pablo Piatti and Paco Alcacer scored Los Che’s goals, as Pizzi’s reign in charge at last brought a smile to the club’s fans.

Red Ronaldo

Real Madrid had the chance to move second on Sunday night, although it always looked like it was going to be a tough task away at Athletic Bilbao.When Jese Rodriguez, unselfishly teed up by Cristiano Ronaldo, gave them the lead midway through the second period it looked as though they were to become the first away team to win at the new San Mames in La Liga.

Everything changed in a couple of minutes, though.

Ronaldo is sent off

First of all, Ibai Gomez scored with the sweetest of strikes within one minute of coming off the bench and then, moments later, Ronaldo was receiving his marching orders from the referee.

What was it for? It was possibly half for scratching his hand down Carlos Gurpegi’s face and half for playing a game of foreheads with Ander Iturraspe moments after—all because his side weren’t awarded a penalty.

In the end, Carlo Ancelotti will have been happy to leave with a point. They’re now level with Barcelona, three back from Atleti.

Four months and two managers later, Betis win

If Real Betis had been able to count on Ruben Castro before, they would almost certainly not be in the position they find themselves in at the moment—Pepe Mel might even still be in charge.Unfortunately, they haven’t had Castro. Until now.

The striker scored a brace against Espanyol on Sunday as Betis picked up their first league win in four months. He’d already scored a few since returning, the difference this time was that his goals meant points.

Betis are still in a precarious position at the bottom of the table, but there’s reason to believe again at the Benito Villamarin.

Malaga edge five-goal thriller

Just before Christmas Bernd Schuster was under a little bit of pressure at Malaga. Considering the circumstances, though, he’s actually doing a decent job in Andalusia.His latest achievement saw his side beat Sevilla, who had lost just one game in nine, during an enthralling match on Saturday evening.

Led by Duda, who scored twice, Malaga netted three times from their 14 shots on goal, en route to a 3-2 victory over Unai Emery’s men. Samuel Garcia, with a cracker, scored the other goal, while Carlos Bacca and Federico Fazio were on target for Sevilla.

There were also important wins for Elche and Celta Vigo this weekend.