Real Madrid was not able to beat Real Sociedad (0-0) at the Bernabéu Stadium and let the leader Barcelona escape by five points, after 19 games played in the Spanish championship, that is, just half of the tournament.
Both teams have one game less than their pursuers and in the middle of this next day they will meet again in the distance: Barça has a complicated trip to Seville on Wednesday to face Betis (6th), while the white team will receive at home one day then to a Valencia (14th) that is dangerously close to relegation.
The white team played one of their best games of the season, with many scoring chances, but the ‘txuri-urdin’ goalkeeper Remiro put in a magnificent game and was the architect of the point that his team took, third in LaLiga with a five-point advantage over Atlético de Madrid.
“We have played one of the best games (…), with a lot of pressure, good with the ball, a lot of commitment without the ball and we have been very close to the goal, but we were unfortunate”, analyzed the Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, who was asked about the disadvantage with respect to Barça, recalled that “the season is very long”.
The match at the Bernabéu started off entertaining and the Brazilian Casemiro, with a one-on-one that he missed, and Asier Illarramendi (14), with a powerful shot that went off the side (17), enjoyed their first scoring chances.
Vinicius denied before the goal
But it wasn’t until after the first half hour of play that the first shot on goal came, with a low shot from German Toni Kroos that Remiro sent for a corner (32).
Karim Benzema (35) and Dani Ceballos (45) tried again for the locals before the break, but the clearest one was again for Vinicius, who stood up again to Remiro and the red-and-white goalkeeper cleared the ball with his body ( 45+1).
The Seleçao winger is not with the finishing efficiency he showed last season and it became clear again after returning from the locker room, with another one-on-one that Remiro won again (49).
Real Sociedad put Thibaut Courtois to the test for the first time after the hour of play, with a shot from the Japanese Takefusa Kubo that the Belgian saved (61).
The Real Madrid goalkeeper was once again decisive shortly after, saving a shot from Robert Navarro that could have been the realistic goal (70).
The goalkeepers’ work was essential to explain the score, as Remiro once again beat Vinicius in another one-on-one (71).
Atleti consolidates in ‘Champions’ positions
With a goal from Saúl Ñíguez with a quarter of an hour to go, Atlético took all three points (1-0) in their visit to Osasuna and consolidates in the Top-4 of LaLiga, synonymous with qualifying for the next ‘Champions’.
Threatening fourth place for Atlético are Villarreal, 5th with 31 points before hosting Rayo (9th) on Monday, and Betis, 6th with the same points after beating Getafe (19th) on Saturday, but who has one game less.
Led by a great Antoine Griezmann, Atlético conceded several chances to Osasuna in the second half, before finding the fault in the ‘rojillo’ wall, with a through ball from Rodrigo de Paul that Saúl sent into the net with a powerful right hand (74).
Osasuna, qualified this week for the Copa del Rey semifinals, is seventh in the standings.
For its part, Athletic (8th) continues to decline in the race for European places. This time they lost 1-0 in Vigo against Celta (16th), who thus left the relegation zone, thanks to a solitary goal from Iago Aspas (minute 71).
The Athletic attacker Iñaki Williams also missed his first league game for the team in more than six years this Sunday when he was left off the list due to “physical discomfort”.
The Ghanaian international had played all of Athletic’s league games since April 20, 2016, that is, a total of 251 consecutive games, a record for the Spanish championship.
In the other game played on Sunday, Valladolid (17th) achieved an important 1-0 victory -with a goal from Canadian Cyle Larin- against Valencia (14th) that is getting closer and closer to the abyss.
Both teams have 20 points, just one above the relegation zone.