Barcelona continued their impressive winning streak with an emphatic victory over Sevilla, while their arch-rivals Real Madrid have lost further ground in the title race after a shock defeat against Mallorca.
Here is the summary of La Liga games on Matchday 20.
Barcelona 3-0 Sevilla: Catalans continue hot streak, go eight points clear at the top
Barcelona steamrolled Sevilla 3-0 at Camp Nou to record three points and establish an eight-point lead at the top of the table.
The visitors’ sturdy defence kept Barca at bay for the entire first half, only for the latter to launch an assault after the break.
The hosts put relentless pressure on Jorge Sampaoli’s men, with the first goal arriving from Jordi Alba following a brilliant team effort inside the box.
That was the pattern for the remainder of the game – Barca working in harmony to dismantle Sevilla.
Gavi doubled the lead with the help of Raphinha’s precise ball before the Brazilian found the winning strike, finishing off Alba’s low cross.
The goal also meant that Raphinha scored for the second consecutive game in La Liga. He appears to have revived his form post the World Cup, playing a more prominent role than ever for Xavi’s side.
Mallorca 0-1 Real Madrid: Nacho and Asensio the culprits in the shock away defeat
Nacho and Marco Asensio found themselves culpable in a shock 1-0 defeat against Mallorca, with the former scoring an own goal and the latter missing a penalty.
Things looked ominous for Madrid in the build-up to the game as Thibaut Courtois was withdrawn at the last minute with an injury, with Andrey Lunin replacing him.
Despite the numerous individual errors, Los Blancos were below par and failed to find a way through the hosts’ disciplined defence.
Karim Benzema’s absence was also clearly felt as the attack was toothless without the 2022 Ballon d’Or winner.
The defeat was a massive setback for Madrid’s title ambitions as arch-rivals Barca are eight points clear at the top of the table.
Atletico Madrid 1-1 Getafe: Correa’s goal cancelled out by Enes Unal
Atletico Madrid were prevented from grabbing three points against Getafe, who were handed a penalty at the death.
Los Rojiblancos dominated most of the game and broke the deadlock through Angel Correa at the hour mark.
However, a penalty to Getafe courtesy of a handball from Saul Niguez in the final minutes threw a spanner in the works of Atletico.
Enes Unal, the Turkish striker who was reportedly a transfer target of Atletico in January, made no mistake from the spot to earn Getafe a crucial draw.
With the defeat, Diego Simeone’s men failed to close the gap with third-placed Real Sociedad.
Athletic Bilbao 4-1 Cadiz: Oihan Sancet’s hat-trick helps Lions end winless drought
Athletic Bilbao returned to winning ways in style with an emphatic 4-1 hammering of Cadiz, having previously gone five matches without a win in La Liga.
Oihan Sancet took centre stage with a stellar hat-trick as the Spanish youngster further affirmed his status as one of the highly-coveted midfielders in Europe.
Real Betis 3-4 Celta Vigo: Celta win a frantic thriller, Veiga and Strand Larsen stand out
It was a goal fest at Benito Villamarin as Celta Vigo edged out Real Betis 4-3 to take home three points.
Betis were 2-1 ahead at a point before the visitors pulled off an incredible comeback, with Gabriel Veiga (3), Jorgen Strand Larsen and Joseph Aidoo scoring.
Following their victory against Athletic Club, Celta have now recorded back-to-back impressive wins, which has seen them move to 12th in the table.
Other results
Espanyol 1-1 Osasuna
Elche 3-1 Villarreal
Girona 1-0 Valencia
Real Sociedad 0-1 Real Valladolid
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