Real Madrid lost on Saturday and Barcelona drew on Sunday, and those around them made them pay.
Sevilla and Atletico Madrid took over the top two spots in the La Liga table with Sunday victories, pushing Barcelona and Real Madrid back to third and fourth.
Atletico Madrid went first and topped Real Betis 1-0, an impressive feat given that Betis had conceded just two goals over its last eight matches, including seven clean sheets. Atletico held just 36% possession, but they still managed to out-shoot Betis 13-5, including 5-0 on target. The goal came in the 74th minute as substitute Angel Correa, who had come off the bench just before the hour mark, burst through the middle and shot a speculative effort towards the far post which Betis goalkeeper Pau Lopez somehow wasn’t able to reach.
While that momentarily brought Atletico to the top of the league table, Sevilla took that spot hours later as they topped Celta Vigo 2-1 at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium. Pablo Sarabia got things started in the 39th minute with a bullet header on a corner. Celta Vigo then went a man down as Mexican international Nestor Araujo picked up two yellow cards just two minutes apart and was off. He fouled Andre Silva by pulling him back on the break, and then just ticks later he chopped Silva down to earn an early shower. Sevilla then doubled its lead on a beautiful play as Silva expertly chipped the back line to a free Sarabia down the right, and he crossed to Wissam Ben Yedder for an easy tap-in at the far post. Former West Ham forward Sofiane Boufal scored a consolation for Celta just minutes before full-time to make things interesting but it wasn’t enough.
The pair of victory saw Sevilla move to the top of the La Liga table on 16 points, with Atletico right behind them at 15. Barcelona and Real Madrid each have 14 points, only ahead of Espanyol and Alaves on goal differential.
Espanyol got to that position by beating Villareal 3-1 in Barcelona thanks to Sergi Darder’s game winner in the 79th minute. It came on a bad mistake by Villareal’s Manu Trigueros who completely whiffed on his clear, allowing Melendo’s cross to reach Darder near the penalty spot. The home side pummeled Sergio Asenjo’s net, finishing the match with 28 shots, including 12 on target.
Barcelona had the late kick, visiting Valencia needing a win to re-take the La Liga lead, and they were unable to make it happen, only rescuing a 1-1 draw thanks to Lionel Messi’s equalizing goal. Barcelona had 76% possession during the match and out-passed Valencia 901-232, but were only able to get 10 shots off, putting five on target. Meanwhile, Valencia also managed 10 shots, with three on target, and scored just two minutes into the match. 31-year-old Argentinian defender Ezequiel Garay directed a near-post header on net off a corner, and Valencia had a stunning lead. Messi leveled in the 23rd minute on a one-two with Suarez, shooting into the bottom-right corner from outside the top of the box. Still, Barcelona fell back to third in the table thanks to the draw.
