After last week’s fireworks at the Nou Camp, which saw Barcelona do the unthinkable and silence Jose Mourinho, this weekend’s La Liga action was in danger of being something of an anti climax.
However, come Saturday, the weekend’s first subplot was in full swing, with the current leaders Barcelona, facing a race against time to reach their game against Osasuna. A mix up on the club website led to some confusion over the day of the game with Barca forced to travel on the day to arrive in Pamplona to face Osasuna.
Once there though, the Catalans showed little fatigue from their day of excursions with Pedro giving the away side the lead in the first half. The second half saw the man dubbed the world’s best player, Lionel Messi, add a double to complete a comfortable 3-0 win.
Elsewhere, Messi’s nearest competitor for the title of top player in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo, enjoyed a brace of his own following a disappointing display last week. Madrid hosted Valencia at the Bernabeu in a tight and entertaining game.
The turning point of the contest came just after the hour mark as David Albelda saw his second yellow card and Los Che were reduced to ten men. With Ronaldo and co. taking full advantage, Real scored twice in the final 18 minutes to keep the gap to just 2 points between themselves and Barca.
In contrast, the team from across town, Atletico Madrid, endured a miserable night away from the capital. Goals from Nano and former Manchester City forward Felipe Caicedo, saw the red and whites suffer a third straight defeat at lowly Levante.
With Valencia and Atletico dropping points the previous day, Sunday saw Villarreal and Espanyol consolidate their positions in third and fourth in the league respectively.
Villarreal had arguably the tougher task, with the visit of Sevilla. But a well taken goal from Brazilian forward Nilmar on the half hour mark was enough to see off the visitors, who have now suffered four straight defeats in all competitions.
It was a similar story in Barcelona, though Espanyol were made to work hard for the three points against plucky Sporting Gijon. Just after half time the home side were reduced to ten men, as midfielder Raul Baena was dismissed for a second yellow card.
However, in the 69th minute the home side were gifted a goal as a through ball saw Sporting keeper Juan Pablo Colinas charge out, only for striker Luis Garcia to go round him and score easily for what was a priceless win.
There was no such luck for similar overachievers Real Mallorca, who crashed to a 3-0 defeat at Getafe. In truth, the game looked beyond the visitors within the first half hour as Pedro Rios scored twice for Getafe. The third goal came late on, with forgotten Madrid star Dani Parejo adding the final goal of the game.
Meanwhile, relegation threatened Malaga enjoyed a similarly high scoring win over rivals Racing Santander. Manuel Pellegrini’s side raced into a two goal lead with Pereira Eliseu and Jose Recio scoring, before Swedish international Markus Rosenberg pulled one back for the visitors.
However, a three minute second-half brace from Salomon Rondón gave Malaga room to breathe. The result was all the more crucial given that La Liga’s bottom two, Almeria and Zaragoza, met at the former’s fabulously named Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos.
And it was Zaragoza with new coach Javier Aguirre who took the lead via a Fernandez Gabi penalty on 67 minutes. But just ten minutes later Almeria’s Argentine forward Pablo Piatti hit back to earn the side second from bottom a draw which ultimately did little to help either side’s situation.
Sunday’s final match saw the return of the famous Basque derby to La Liga, following Sociedad’s promotion back to the division last year. And it was the newly promoted team who took the lead on 26 minutes through a Xabi Prieto penalty.
With Bilbao and Sociedad level pegging in the league, the home fans cheered on their Sociedad team, who then grabbed a second goal just after the break when San Jose Dominguez put through his own net. The final score of 2-0 gives the blue half of the Basque country the bragging rights and saw them leap up to sixth.
Another week, another derby, another round of drama but most enduringly of all, another win for Barca and Real – can anyone stop them?