The world order in La Liga was turned upside down this weekend as the Spanish League’s Big Two both suffered defeats on a weekend of shocks for some, and sheer delight for others.
For Los Blancos and the Blaugrana, both to succumb by a 1-0 margin is quite something, and a look at the SBOTOP odds before the weekend would have given you a three-figure offer on an acca of the two! These things simply don’t happen in normal times, but this was an exceptional weekend.
And that’s what makes football the best game in the world!
Winners: Cadiz
Of all the La Liga 2020 results logged so far, surely a victory for newly promoted Cadiz at the Santiago Bernabeu ranks the highest. Real Madrid were at 1.22 to win the game but a goal from Anthony Lozano stunned the lacklustre Los Blancos and they never actually recovered.
The win took the new boys up to fourth place, on ten points and just behind Real and Getafe on goal difference. The Andalusians showed all the defensive skills they needed to hold off Los Blancos as Real striker Karim Benzema struggled to make headway from start to finish.
This could be a good season for Cadiz fans, but a weekend to forget for Real head coach Zinedine Zidane.
Losers: Barcelona
Having watched Los Blancos lose at home to Cadiz, Barca boss Ronald Koeman was determined to show that Barcelona mean business when they travelled to Getafe on Saturday afternoon.
But Getafe striker Jaime Mata had other ideas as he scored the only goal of the game to take his team level with Real Madrid. Head coach Jose Bordalas led his side to an eighth-placed finish last term and they was unlucky not to end up higher, but a loss of momentum following the break caused by the spread of coronavirus took the wind from Getafe’s sails.
Barcelona captain Lionel Messi looks dejected after their 1-0 defeat to Getafe
On Saturday, Koeman’s team dominated possession with 73 per cent of the ball but they only mustered one shot on target in the entire 98 minutes played. Lionel Messi missed a final chance deep into injury time but a 1-0 defeat for the Blaugrana means that they will meet Real Madrid in next Saturday’s El Clasico with identical results, a miserable one-goal loss.
Winner: Luis Suarez: Atletico Madrid
The Uruguayan striker has had a mixed start to his career at the Wanda Metropolitano so far. He put in a stunning performance as Atleti thrashed Granada 6-1 but was firing blanks the following week against Huesca.
Last week Suarez said he was reduced to tears by the treatment he received at Barcelona before his departure; but he was all smiles away to Celta Vigo this weekend as he got Los Rojiblancos off to a flyer, taking a pass from Manuel Sanchez and firing a clinical shot into the bottom right corner to give Atleti a sixth-minute lead. They eventually ran out 2-0 winners and at odds of 7.50 for the title, this was a good weekend for Diego Simeone’s men.
Loser: Joan Jordan, Sevilla
Sevilla could have gone top with a win at Granada in the opening game of the weekend. The hosts were sitting in lower mid-table at the kick-off and were there for the taking for Julen Lopetegui’s high flyers. Everything was going roughly to plan as Los Sevillanos had the better of the first half; they were just short of a goal to take them into the break in front. So what on earth was going on in Jordan’s head as the half time cup of tea approached is anybody’s guess. Three minutes into first-half stoppage time he earned a yellow card for a bad foul. A bit silly at that stage in the match you might think.
But Jordan still had time (in the 48th minute) to pile into Angel Montoro and collect a red card.
Granada took advantage as Yangel Herrera headed home the winner and I bet Jordan was sitting on his own on the coach ride home!
Winners: Villarreal
The Valencia derby on Sunday ended in a 2-1 win for Villarreal which took the Yellow Submarine top of the league on 11 points. Villarreal at 1.63 to win looked short to beat their more illustrious neighbours, though investment at the Mestalla has been in short supply.
Paco Alcacer and Dani Parejo were on target to win the points and start the celebrations for Valencia’s smaller club.
Losers: Valencia
And that, of course, makes Valencia the losers on a weekend where bigger surprises were to be seen elsewhere. But nobody likes to lose a derby…particularly fans at the Mestalla!
So that’s it, folks. The La Liga 2020 betting odds still have Real Madrid and Barcelona as the joint-favourites to lift the title next May, but as Cadiz and Getafe proved on Saturday, they are both beatable.
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The post La Liga: Real and Barca Suffer Shock Defeats appeared first on SBOTOP.
