All of the fun in La Liga today was not in the big two. Real Madrid and Barcelona both won, but it wasn't in their usually brilliant manner. Their wins came in a couple of sloppy matches that nobody could have been particularly entertained by. Elsewhere though, there was plenty of fun.
La Liga Saturday, Week 21: Mallorca Win, Two Other Matches End In Draws
Athletic Bilbao 3-3 Espanyol
Juan Albin scored in the waning seconds to snatch a point for Espanyol in a thrilling match against Athletic Bilbao at San Mames. With it looking like a sure win for the home side, Albin got free thanks to a pass from Kalu Uche and rocketed a shot off the underside of the crossbar and in to secure a draw for Espanyol in the 90th minutes.
It was Athletic who dominated the early portion of the match and Oscar de Marcos made the scoreboard show it with a 26th minute goal. That lead lasted only seven minutes though as Ndri Romaric equalized then a Vladimir Weiss wondergoal put Espanyol in front just before the half. Fernando Llorente got the home side level again at the hour mark before a Javi Martinez goal put Athletic on the road to a win with 25 minutes to go, but Albin's last equalizer ensured that the points would be split.
Levante 1-1 Racing Santander
Levante no longer look like the Levante side that started the season so incredibly. They continue to drop points and now they look unlikely to even keep pace with Valencia for third place after failing to get a home win on Saturday against Racing Santander. Around Kone headed Levante in front in the first half, but they wasted several other good opportunities and they were made to pay for it Manuel Arana equalized in the second half for the 1-1 draw that will help Racing's bid to avoid relegation.
Mallorca 1-0 Real Betis
Mallorca were sent down to nine men, but they still managed to hang on for a 1-0 victory at Son Moix. Chori Castro proved to be the hero as his brilliant free kick struck the post and went across the line for a first half Mallorca lead. It looked like Real Betis’ chances of winning were gone when Mario was sent off in the 75th minute, but then red cards to Ivan Ramis and Victor Casadesus made it 10 vs. nine with Betis a man up. They couldn’t find an equalizer though and Mallorca earned all three points.
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