Atlético Madrid and Athletic Bilbao couldn't manage to win their home matches against against Celta and Granada, making the European and title races a bit more interesting. Real Madrid earned an easy 8-2 win at Riazor while Málaga were able to score the equalizer against Espanyol in added time.
La Liga scores: Real Madrid thrash Depor, Atlético and Bilbao drop points at home
Brilliant 8-2 win for Ancelotti and his men, Simeone and Bilbao can’t get the three points at home against Celta de Vigo and Granada, and Málaga rescued one point in added time.
Deportivo La Coruña 2-8 Real Madrid / Full match report
The comfortable win for Ancelotti's men featured some beautiful goals scored by Cristiano Ronaldo, James Rodríguez, Gareth Bale and Manchester United loanee Chicharito Hernández. Ronaldo's header put Madrid ahead and James confirmed the lead. The match was pretty much over at halftime, with Real Madrid leading 3-0, but Deportivo scored from the penalty spot shortly after to get on the board. Ancelotti inserted Illarramendi, Isco and Chicharito, and all three allowed Real Madrid to enjoy the rest of the game and score five more goals. Cristiano Ronaldo completed his first hat-trick of the season, while Bale and Chicharito both scored braces.
Athletic Bilbao 0-1 Granada
Bilbao struggled against Shakhtar this Wednesday but at least collected a point. This time, Joaquín Caparrós’ Granada did enough to get the win against a Bilbao side who might be in desperate need of depth now that the European season has started. The Basque side tried their best, but Jhon Córdoba’s goal was too hard to overcome against such a solid Granada squad built by Caparrós.
Atlético Madrid 2-2 Celta de Vigo / Full match report
Offensive set pieces seem to be working just fine for Atlético, but the problem is their offensive line is not producing enough. Even so, Simeone decided to take off Griezmann and Jiménez when los rojiblancos were trying to score the winning goal. Mario Mandzukic missed the game with a nose fracture, and Atlético missed some firepower other than two good set pieces taken by Koke and finished by Miranda and Godín. Celta kept most of the possession and knew how to frustrate Atleti’s tries, so one could say the Galician side deserved the point at the Calderón.
Espanyol 2-2 Málaga
Espanyol dominated the whole match and Málaga looked clueless when Caicedo scored in the 16th minute. Still, Camacho tied the game up in the 53rd. When the match has heading to a 1-1 finish, Stuani brought a free-kick home with a brilliant header in the 87th minute. Los periquitos looked forward to getting their first three points of the season, but Duda shocked the Power8 Stadium with a goal in added time to equalise. Espanyol are struggling, and this late draw will only make things more difficult for them as they sit in the relegation zone.
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