Madrid (EFE) of the journey.
The exhibition at the Camp Nou has nothing to do with the visit of Villarreal that Carlo Ancelotti’s team faced with a revolution in their eleven, with their minds divided between a lost league, the accumulation of efforts in the Cup and the forecasts and plans for Europe, against Chelsea on Wednesday.
So much calculation failed the Italian coach who crashed, again at the Santiago Bernabeu, against Villarreal, who left Madrid with the three points, his European expectations skyrocketed and certain doubts generated in the white box that may feel the threat of Atlético Madrid in his second place.
The rojiblanco team can get two points behind its neighbor if they beat Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.
In the middle of the street, in an open match, without respite, it was Villarreal who enjoyed themselves again at the Bernabeu. Real Madrid is choking on the strategy of Quique Setién who usually gets income from his visits to the white fiefdom, whatever the team.
Real Madrid made their defense evident, taking the lead with an own goal from Pau Torres and later with another from Vinicius but who suffered with the spaces that allowed the yellow attack where Samu Chukwuece stood out and also, later, Jose Luis Morales, executioners of the block white.
The third win in a row takes Villarreal to fifth place and is within reach of the fourth one protected by Real Sociedad, the winner against Getafe.
Cup aftermath
The other Cup semifinal had a soothing effect on Athletic, who eased up against Espanyol, and euphoric for Osasuna, who continued the dynamic to beat Elche and win again in LaLiga.
Once happily resolved for their interests, the Navarrese team ended the cup distraction that had conditioned them in their last commitments. A lot had to do with the calm after qualifying and the fragility of the opponent, Elche.
Osasuna rounded off their spectacular week with a comeback led by the Moroccan Abde who responded to the visitors’ initial goal signed by Tete Morente (2-1). Jagoba Arrasate’s team won again in LaLiga a month and a half later.
“It has been a great week. It was a game not to fail”, indicated the Osasuna coach who received Elche still with the cup hangover in his body and who reactivates his bid for the first places.
For Athletic, the reunion with LaLiga was a relief. Especially for the Williams brothers and, above all, for Nico, affected by the missed goals in the semifinal.
The Spaniard, in the relegation zone
But the two complied, the two marked and spoiled the debut of Luis García as the new coach of Espanyol (1-2) who conceded a new setback and who remain anchored in the relegation zone.
Iñaki opened the scoring at minute 22 and Nico sealed the match with a quarter of an hour to go. In the added time, with almost no time for more, Darder closed the gap.
The parakeets, who have chained five defeats, are still in the relegation zone of the standings, while the Basques turn the page after the cup elimination last Tuesday, at the hands of Osasuna. In addition, Athletic managed to win in the Catalan fiefdom, something that had not been achieved in LaLiga since the 1997-98 season.
“The crash was a test and it supposes more than three points”, acknowledged Ernesto Valverde. “The team needed an answer and it came at a key moment. This game was essential to face these ten days with desire and enthusiasm. Everything will be decided. We started discounting and there is no margin anymore”.
Espanyol is going to leave one more day in decline. Even so, the new coach, Luis García, saw the positive side. “There remains a feeling of hope. I see a committed team with progress, enthusiasm and responsibility”.
La Real, Champions mode
Real Sociedad insists on the Champions League. It is the obvious objective of the team from San Sebastián that intends to rediscover the regularity of the first section of the course and the accommodation in the upper part. That is why he insists on fourth place, the closest vacancy given the growth of Atlético Madrid and the siege to which he has submitted, at least, to third place.
Imanol Alguacil’s group has not reached the brilliance of yesteryear. He did not need it either to break Getafe, which he hardly disturbed and who focused on containing more than proposing. The San Sebastián team did not let up despite the failure of the penalty taken by Mikel Oyarzábal in the final stretch of the first half. David Soria stopped him.
The international retaliated before the intermission and opened the scoring in the added time of the first part. Later, the Japanese Takefusa Kubo secured the victory in the second part.
With the victory, Real Sociedad is three behind Atlético Madrid, which on Sunday plays with Rayo Vallecano and takes six away from Betis, also with the game pending against Cádiz.
Getafe, close to the relegation zone
Getafe takes a step back. Four games later he was met with defeat. A warning for the team of Quique Sánchez Flores even with the permanence to be approximated. Only three points separate him from the descent.
“They have been better and there is nothing more to say. There are rivals that are out of our reach”, assumed the coach of the Madrid team that is approaching a relegation zone from which Sevilla does not finish escaping, which on Friday let slip, in the final stretch, two points against Celta in the Sanchez Pizjuan.
He played for more than an hour with one less player from the Sevillian team due to the expulsion of Pape Gueye who reached the final stretch with two goals ahead signed by En Nesyri and Marcos Acuña but who were neutralized in four minutes by Miguel Rodríguez and Gonzalo Paciencia.
By Santiago Aparicio
