He Barcelona He refused to wait for the next game and mathematically proclaimed himself champion of Santander League 2022/23 in the absence of four days with a clear victory in the derby against Espanyol (2-4)forged in the first twenty minutes with goals from Pole Robert Lewandowski and Alejandro Balde.
Xavi Hernández’s team had the twenty-seventh matchday in their pocket given their great difference over Real Madrid, the previous champion, and Atlético de Madrid. It remained to know what day he would certify it. If he had played his two rivals, he would have celebrated without even playing at the RCDE Stadium. Since Carlo Ancelotti’s team won on Saturday, he needed to prevail over the parakeet team if he didn’t want to wait any longer.
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No sooner said than done. It took him barely twenty minutes to seal the victory with goals from Lewandowski and Balde and to certify the championship, the first Xavi has achieved as coach of the Barça team. Not even the need for Espanyol, penultimate four points from safety, was any obstacle.
Lewandowski delivered the finishing touch after 40 minutes and completed his sixth double of the league campaign to further strengthen his lead in the scorer’s table. Barcelona no longer gave an option to the attempts of Espanyol. Even the French defender Jules Kounde completed the win, slowed down by Xavi Puado with a quarter of an hour to go and by Joselu in extra time.
Atlético de Madrid did not know how to retain second place, which returns to Real Madrid. Diego Pablo Simeone’s team lost to bottom club and relegated Elche de Sebastián Beccacece 1-0 in a bad game.
The duel of Argentine coaches opted for the side of the coach from Elche, whose team was more intense than Atlético, although their defeat was not without controversy, since the only goal, the work of Fidel Chaves at minute 41, came after a Serious mistake by the Croatian goalkeeper Ivo Grbic after Lautaro Blanco introduced his left foot into the field of play when taking a throw-in.
The ball reached the area and, after Grbic’s clearance failure, Fidel finished it off, scoring the goal. Neither the linesman nor the referee saw Lautaro’s illegal action, and the VAR did not warn him of anything punishable.
The Frenchman Antoine Griezmann did not shine as in previous days, Álvaro Morata was not lucky against Edgar Badía and Elche did not take advantage of the other options either, but they did win a victory that, in their situation, helps them see green shoots, as Beccacece acknowledged.
Atlético, who went to the Martínez Valero with the endorsement of their good progress after the World Cup except for the defeats against Barcelona, therefore falls to third position, two points behind Real Madrid, who beat Getafe on Saturday (1- 0) thinking more about the second leg of the Champions League semifinals in Manchester against City.
Sevilla, also like Real Madrid with numerous rotations due to the accumulated wear and tear from their Europa League semifinal against Juventus, continues its spectacular progression since José Luis Mendilíbar’s arrival on the bench. Not only has the Basque coach achieved salvation, but he is already one point away from the European tournaments set by Girona, tied with Athletic and Osasuna.
He didn’t play well. He even suffered in Valladolid, but ended up thrashing (0-3). There was also controversy, when the referee decreed the end of the first half at the moment in which Sergio Escudero was going to hook a long shot that ended in a goal. It would have meant 1-0 for the needy set of Uruguayan Paulo Pezzolano.
This action, which provoked the angry protests of the Valladolid team and its fans, began to be the beginning of the end for his claim to add a victory that will bring him closer to salvation. Sevilla took only five minutes in the second period to open the scoring with a chest shot from Rafa Mir to the center of the Argentine Gonzalo Montiel.
And between the interventions of the Serbian goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic and the lack of precision of the Pucelano team, Sevilla put the punch to add their fourth consecutive victory as a visitor leaving a clean sheet. He did it thanks to two of the players who needed him the most, the Argentinian ‘Papu’ Gómez and the Mexican ‘Tecatito’ Corona.
Both had not scored since April 2022. Even for Corona it was the game of his comeback after a long injury suffered in August. Both smiled again and confirmed the victory of the Sevilla team, which is leading a spectacular reaction.
Valladolid remains tied with Cádiz, whom they will visit next Friday in a tremendous match, with just one point of margin compared to the relegation zone set by Getafe, while Espanyol remains in the penultimate place four save points.
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On the other hand, Valencia breathes a little calmer, who added an essential victory in Balaídos (1-2) against a Celta that still cannot take a breather, signed again in extra time by a youth player, this time Alberto Marí.
The young striker sealed the seal after 88 minutes, with a header at the near post, a victory that caused delirium in Rubén Baraja’s team, who after taking an early lead through the Dutchman Justin Kluivert (m.8) wasted several transitions clear and paid for it with the local goal, the work of the Swiss Haris Seferovic (m.60).
The victory offers the Valencian fans an income of three points, a figure that is not decisive, but it is important as the competition is, and the defeat, third in a row, of Celta keeps them uneasy.