Barcelona, Dec 16: Barcelona stayed top of the Spanish league despite a shock 1-0 home defeat to lowly Leganes, a team that had not won away all season.
Atletico Madrid beat Getafe 1-0 to leapfrog city rival Real Madrid and go second. Both Barcelona and Atletico have 38 points but Barcelona has a better goal difference.
Playing in the first of five La Liga matches on Sunday, Atletico won its sixth consecutive league game to move a point clear of Real, which could only draw 3-3 with Real Vallecano on Saturday.
The results set up a mouthwatering clash between the top two at Barcelona next Saturday.
The Madrid side will go into the match with the momentum after recording its 11th straight victory in all competitions on a chilly afternoon at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Visitor Getafe had taken just two points from its seven away games so far this season but it made life difficult for Diego Simeone’s side. It took Atletico until the 70th minute to get the winner from Alexander Sorloth’s header.
Barcelona then missed the chance to restore its three-point cushion when it lost to Leganes.
Leganes went ahead with Sergio González’s header after four minutes and spent most of the match defending its lead.
Leganes keeper Marko Dmitrovic was superb, especially in the first half, and Barcelona’s front players were so ineffectual that coach Hansi Flick withdrew Robert Lewandowski, Dani Olmo and Lamine Yamal in the final quarter.
His changes, however, had little effect and Leganes, promoted from the second tier in May, celebrated a win that lifts it into 15th, four points clear of the relegation zone.
“Taking the lead so early against teams like this is dangerous because they have so much potential,” said Leganes defender Jorge Saenz.
“We were able to defend together and keep them away from our area. Dmitrovic made three saves that were life-saving for us.”
“It’s only three points, but for us they’re like gold. Things were getting tight and this gives us a little breathing room.”
Basque Derby ends all square
Alaves and Athletic Bilbao shared the points in a 1-1 Basque derby that snapped Atheltic’s six-game winning streak.
Alaves hadn’t won since Nov. 1 and was knocked out of the Copa del Rey by lowly Deportiva Minera.
It was on the defensive for much of the match and went behind after 10 minutes when Unai Gómez hit the net after taking a nice pass from Iñaki Williams.
But Joan Jordán took advantage of a goalkeeping error midway through the second half to level the scores.
Athletic had chances to win – a late goal from Dani Vivian wasn’t allowed because of an infringement – but the draw leaves it in fourth place, four points behind Real Madrid and five behind the top two.
“Winning today would have put us in a better position, but coming here for a derby is always tough,” Williams said. “In terms of effort, we can’t be faulted, but we lacked clarity up front.”
“Overall, a draw is a fair result for both teams.”
Betis stretch unbeaten run
Real Betis stretched its unbeaten run to four games with a 2-1 win at Villarreal but coach Manuel Pellegrini was angry at playing with 10 men for most of the game after Ezequiel Ávila saw red.
The Argentine forward was sent off for a cynical foul 11 minutes before halftime with Betis 1-0 up thanks to a goal from on-loan Barcelona striker Vitor Roque.
Giovani Lo Celso made it 2-0 a minute after the break with a superb free kick and, although Alex Baena got one back with a superbly taken volley, Betis left with all three points to take it to ninth place.
Pellegrini was angered that Ávila’s foul, committed in the center of the pitch to stop a counterattack, was not reviewed by the video officials.
“Penalties, red cards, they should always be reviewed,” Pellegrini said. “They unbalanced the match today unfairly. VAR reduces the chance of these eventualities. VAR should be an ally, not an enemy.”
Also, Real Sociedad failed to win for the first time in five matches with a 0-0 draw at home to Las Palmas.
Both sides had chances to win the match but poor finishing and good goalkeeping at both ends meant a share of the points.
Real Sociedad is in seventh, a point behind Villarreal, while Las Palmas is in 14th. (AP)
