Robert Lewandowski scored a first half hat-trick as Barcelona won 3-0 at home to Alaves, ensuring they go into the international break as La Liga leaders with a three-point advantage over Real Madrid.
Barcelona faced an injury setback when Ferran Torres left early with a suspected torn hamstring. Lewandowski then capitalized on two assists from Raphinha, scoring on six, 21 and 31 minutes, with the third goal resulting from a through-ball by Eric Garcia.
Julian Alvarez scored within 55 seconds after excellent play from Antoine Griezmann, giving Atletico Madrid an early lead against Real Sociedad with their only shot on target.
Atletico’s Jan Oblak denied Martin Zubimendi and Nayef Aguerd in the first half, while Real Sociedad failed to create sufficient chances. The home team pushed forward in the second half, and Luka Sucic equalized in the 84th minute with a lovely shot after Mikel Oyarzabal’s pullback. Atletico held on as Oyarzabal and Brais Mendez threatened in the closing moments.
Sevilla won the Sev
ille derby 1-0 against Real Betis with a 49th-minute penalty from Dodi Lukebakio after Diego Llorente was penalized for handball. Sevilla finished the match with 10 men after Tanguy Nianzou received a late red card for two rough fouls.
Cristhian Stuani scored a dramatic 99th-minute penalty to secure Girona a 2-1 home victory over Athletic Bilbao. Athletic’s Alex Berenguer Remiro missed an earlier first-half penalty, before Yaser Asprilla opened the scoring for Girona with a deceptive cross.
Athletic equalized quickly through Oihan Sancet, who then left the field with a hamstring injury. Inaki Williams missed a second-half penalty for Athletic, which was retaken after the keeper had moved off his line.
Ander Herrera’s subsequent penalty was saved by Girona keeper Paulo Gazzaniga, and Stuani’s late winner came after Aitor Paredes was penalized and sent off.
On Saturday, Real Madrid defeated Villarreal 2-0, with goals from Fede Valverde and Vinicius Jr. Although Villarreal had opportunities, Madrid’s efficie
nt finishing secured the win.
However, Madrid suffered a significant setback with a cruciate knee ligament injury to right-back Dani Carvajal, sidelining him for the rest of the season.
Espanyol ended Mallorca’s three-game win streak with a 2-1 victory, thanks to a first-half goal by Marash Kumbulla and a second-half strike by Jofre Carreras. Antonio Raillo netted for Mallorca with 22 minutes remaining.
Getafe and Osasuna drew 1-1, with Bertug Yildirim putting Getafe in front in the first half, and Ante Budimir equalizing for Osasuna after the break.
Las Palmas lost 1-0 at home to Celta Vigo, despite the visitors playing over 30 minutes with nine men after harsh red cards for Ilaix Moriba and Iago Aspas. Borja Iglesias scored in the first half, dropping Las Palmas to the bottom of the standings with only three points from nine games.
Real Valladolid are also in the bottom three, with coach Paulo Pezzolano under pressure after two goals from Jorge de Frutos overturned Selim Amallah’s opener to give Rayo V
allecano a 2-1 win.
Leganes and Valencia ended in a goalless draw on Friday.
Source: The Namibia News Agency