Antoine Griezmann’s late goal won Atletico Madrid a five-goal thriller against Celta Vigo as Sporting Gijon defeated Leganes in a relegation six-pointer.
Villarreal 1-1 Malaga
Villarreal and Malaga both failed to stop their run of poor results in 2017 after a 1-1 draw to kick off Sunday’s La Liga action.
However, it was a point gained in Villarreal’s case as they were second best to Malaga for most part. Charles’ powerful header from a pinpoint Roberto Rosales delivery gave the Andalusians a deserved lead early on.
Rosales then became his side’s villain when he conceded a penalty on Nicola Sansone midway through the second half.
Bruno Soriano sent Carlos Kameni the wrong way for a share of the spoils, but controversy followed as the captain’s namesake Roberto saw straight red for what appeared to be no more than a clumsy foul on Ignacio Camacho.
Leganes 0-2 Sporting Gijon
Sporting Gijon trumped in ‘the match of fear’ as they beat Leganes 2-0 to move within two points of the 17th-placed Madrid minnows.
Leganes had the best of the early chances, however, as ex-Sporting striker Miguel Guerrero glanced a header a whisker wide and Porto loanee Alberto Bueno failed to nod home from a yard out.
Sporting subsequently capitalised through captain Roberto Canella, whose shot squirmed through goalkeeper Iago Herrerin, before a first win under Rubi was confirmed by Burgui’s fine finish.
Las Palmas 0-1 Sevilla
Sevilla retained their grip on third place thanks to Joaquin Correa’s late strike in a 1-0 victory over Las Palmas.
However, the Andalusians owed just as much to Sergio Rico. The goalkeeper stopped Jese Rodriguez from giving the islanders an early lead in a one-on-one, before keeping out David Simon’s volley at his near post just after the break.
Franco Vazquez similarly should’ve scored when he was threaded through but failed to angle his shot sufficiently across former Sevilla custodian Javi Varas.
Correa was subsequently brought on and netted three minutes after his introduction from close range. Fellow substitute Stevan Jovetic then came the wrong side of the far post away from a sensational solo finish to wrap up the win.
Atletico Madrid 3-2 Celta Vigo
In a quite fitting end to the weekend, Atletico Madrid staged a dramatic comeback to beat Celta Vigo 3-2 and move back up to fourth.
Gustavo Cabral profited from Miguel Moya’s awful punch to clear a corner in just the sixth minute as the ball cannoned off the defender’s forehead and into the back of the net.
Yet just four later, Fernando Torres scored one of the goals of the season when his bicycle kick from near the edge of Celta’s box looped over Sergio Alvarez.
Torres then had a glorious chance to pull Atleti ahead after Pablo Hernandez and Facundo Roncaglia colluded to take down Yannick Carrasco, but his penalty smacked Alvarez’s crossbar.
Carrasco then fluffed a one-on-one with Alvarez and failed to guide a volley past the goalkeeper at his near post, allowing John Guidetti to punish the Belgian at the other end, diverting Iago Aspas’ cutback past Moya.
However, with just four minutes of normal time remaining, Atleti had time for a smash-and-grab. Carrasco hit a sweet volley into the top-right corner from outside the Galicians’ box, before Kevin Gameiro cushioned the ball for Antoine Griezmann to emphatically sweep home.
