Barcelona Close Gap On Real Madrid In La Liga Standings

Barcelona close gap on Real Madrid in La Liga standings (Image Source: IANS)

UEFA Conference League: Robert Lewandowski confirmed his return to full fitness with a hat-trick as FC Barcelona won 4-2 away to Celta Vigo.

The Polish forward scored a ninth-minute penalty and restored the lead after Sergio Carreira had canceled out his opener in the 10th minute.

Borja Iglesias made it 2-2 in the 41st, and Lamine Yamal put Barcelona ahead on the stroke of halftime with an individual goal.

Barcelona controlled the second half, and Lewandowski completed his hat-trick with a header that went in off the post after a corner, reports Xinhua.

Real Madrid was held to a 0-0 draw away to Rayo Vallecano on Sunday to drop points in La Liga for just the second time this season.

Xabi Alonso's side failed to create clear chances after its midweek Champions League defeat to Liverpool, while Rayo pressed effectively to keep the leaders at bay and limit Kylian Mbappe.

Rayo's display drew extra credit given the side coached by Inigo Perez played a UEFA Conference League match on Thursday night and had just 65 hours (48 fewer than Real Madrid) between that fixture and Sunday's kickoff.

Fifth-place Betis drew 1-1 away to Valencia in an intense game. Cucho Hernandez put Betis ahead in the 74th minute, and Luis Rioja curled in an equalizer eight minutes later to lift Valencia out of the bottom three.

Mallorca claimed a 1-0 win at Getafe thanks to Vedat Muriqi's 14th-minute goal.

Nico Williams scored a spectacular winner as Athletic Club Bilbao beat bottom-of-the-table Oviedo 1-0. Williams beat three defenders before finishing off the underside of the bar to decide a game in which Athletic missed chances to make the score more comfortable, while Oviedo had a goal ruled out for a very close offside.

Antoine Griezmann scored twice as Atletico Madrid defeated Levante 3-1 on Saturday. Atletico led when a save from Matt Ryan rebounded in off defender Adrian de la Fuente, and although former Atletico defender Manu Sanchez leveled with a header, Griezmann's second-half goals settled the game.

Gerard Moreno scored against his former club as Villarreal beat Espanyol 2-0, with Alberto Moleiro adding a second after the break.

Antoine Griezmann scored twice as Atletico Madrid defeated Levante 3-1 on Saturday. Atletico led when a save from Matt Ryan rebounded in off defender Adrian de la Fuente, and although former Atletico defender Manu Sanchez leveled with a header, Griezmann's second-half goals settled the game.

Girona beat Alaves 1-0, with Viktor Tsygankov scoring from a Bryan Gil cross, while Elche and Real Sociedad drew 1-1 on Friday.

Article Source: IANS