The LFP treated their loyal viewers in Asia to a set of relegation-level battles today, as recently promoted, and recently-almost-relegated sides did battle across Spain Sunday afternoon. It’s the we-changed-the-schedule-to-broadcast-WHAT? bowl here in Spain, so let’s check out the action!
La Liga Sunday Afternoon Recap: Betis Grabs Share Of First As Bottom Feeders Battle For Points
- In the early game, recently-promoted Real Betis grabbed a share of the Liga lead (absurd) with a 1-0 win at home to Mallorca. The game was dominated in equal parts by a very fit-looking Betis side, and the heat, which reached 37 degrees Centigrade (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit). Roque Santa Cruz made his debut for the Sevilla side, though his presence was overshadowed by Rubén Castro, whose two goals in two games have amounted to six points for Betis. I'm guessing that Mallorca looked so tired because they didn't practice once during midday all week. That's gotta have something to do with it.
- In the second round of the we're-really-broadcasting-these-games-internationally? bowl, Racing Santander and Levante battled to an exceedingly boring 0-0 draw. The "highlights" include a dubious non-call on a possible penalty when Racing's only creative player, Acosta, tripped in the area after possibly being touched by Levante's defender Ballesteros (who was, ironically, the consensus man of the match). Oh, and Diop was sent off, deservedly, after picking up his second yellow (no, not even a fight...sad, really).
- In a shocking display, Osasuna managed to score twice at home, and defeat Sporting Gijón 2-1. This game was actually surprisingly fun to watch as a neutral, as Osasuna scored twice in two minutes (Nino's first--in the 28th minute--was pretty routine, but Cejudo's--in the 30th--was a golazo, a volley after a nicely-played short corner), then hung on for dear life as Sporting rallied. Sporting's Barral grabbed one back in the 75th minute--not nearly as pretty as Cejudo's--and then almost tied it up a couple minutes later with a long drive from out of the box. Osasuna stuffed their entire team in the box for a long stretch, and the strategy paid off, as Sporting were unable to find an equalizer.
- Finally, Rayo Vallecano and Real Zaragoza earned a hard-fought 0-0 draw that I have almost nothing to say about because I was watching Osasuna-Sporting. I'm being told that Raúl Tamudo missed a couple of opportunities, and that Zaragoza almost scored a few times. I'm not shocked. I'd lay down some pretty heavy cash that these two and Granada will be the teams to drop down at the end of the year. The main highlights came at the very end, when, within the span of a minute, both teams had goals called back for offsides. Unfortunately, both goals were scored by players in offsides positions, which made the referee's decision to call them back understandable.
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