La Liga Matchday 21 – Storms disrupt the title race as emotions whipped up at Camp Nou

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The real story at the Camp Nou was Athletic Bilbao defender Yeray Alvarez. At 22-years-old, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer just before Christmas but made a return to first team action this weekend in Barcelona. Unfortunately for him, he was unable to stop the power of the Catalan’s attack. Paco Alcacer registered his first La Liga goal in Barcelona colours, before Lionel Messi caught out Gorka Iraizoz with a smart free-kick just before half-time, with Aleix Vidal adding a third goal in the second half to put them just one point behind Real Madrid.

The title race is now up in the air after Real Madrid were one of the four clubs to suffer from the weather this weekend. Terrifying storms have hit the north-east of Spain, leading to both Celta de Vigo and Deportivo A Coruna having games postponed with their stadiums both damaged by strong winds. With no feasible date yet found for the game to be replayed between the league leaders and Copa del Rey semi-finalists due to European and cup commitments, it is hard to see when the game will be played. It will undoubtedly have consequences though, with Alaves, Celta’s opponents in the Copa del Rey semi-final, said to be far from pleased about their opposition getting an extra few days rest ahead of their second leg in midweek.

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Alaves themselves were in impressive form on the field, with a 4-2 victory away at Sporting Gijon. Sporting have won just once since matchday three, but have not conceded more than three since defeat to Barcelona in September.

Elsewhere, goals were in the headlines at Mestalla as Valencia were humiliated by Eibar. The La Liga minnows made it look easy and secured their biggest ever win at the stadium, with many claiming it is one of the biggest results in their history regardless of los Ches’ current plight. Young prospect Carlos Soler was sent off for Valencia, with Sergi Enrich earning the man of the match award with his brace.

Another tiny club playing in the top flight suffered from the skill of a former Premier League star as Fernando Torres was at the double to secure a well fought 2-0 victory for Atletico Madrid in a Madrid derby against Leganes. That helped them to gain security in fourth place, with Villarreal held to a draw on their visit to second placed Sevilla, with Samir Nasri costing his side dearly with a woeful penalty easily saved by Sergi Asenjo.

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That result allowed Real Sociedad to consolidate their position in fifth place, coming from behind to beat second from bottom side Osasuna by three goals to two, with Espanyol also keeping pace with the top eight with their convincing win over Malaga on the south coast thanks to a smart finish from Valencia loanee Pablo Piatti.

This weekend’s results in full:

Deportivo A Coruña P-P Real Betis

Malaga 0-1 Espanyol

Barcelona 3-0 Athletic Bilbao

Atletico Madrid 2-0 Leganes

Valencia 0-4 Eibar

Sevilla 0-0 Villarreal

Sporting Gijon 2-4 Alaves

Real Sociedad 3-2 Osasuna

Celta Vigo P-P Real Madrid

Granada vs Las Palmas (to be played on Monday)

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