La Liga round-up: Cristiano Ronaldo taken off in tactical move for first time in in his Real Madrid career while Neymar’s double leads Barcelona romp
Zinedine Zidane's leaders are held to draw but Barca make up for Lionel Messi's absence in style
For the first time in his Real Madrid career Cristiano Ronaldo was substituted in a tactical move, and the Portuguese was less than impressed with Zinedine Zidane as he trudged off.
The Frenchman’s own mood worsened just a few minutes afterwards, Las Palmas’ Sergio Araujo equalising in the 84th minute to ensure a share of the points.
Marco Asensio had given Los Blancos the lead but they were pegged back before half time by Quique Setien’s resolute XI, Tana sending the home fans wild. Karim Benzema looked to have won it for the visitors until ex-Barca man Araujo’s intervention.
Real’s performance without anchor man Casemiro was in stark contrast to Barcelona who romped to victory at El Molinon. Sporting Gijon gave a poor account of themselves against the champions and the eventual 5-0 scoreline flattered the hosts somewhat.
Sergi Roberto was a clear man of the match for the Catalans, providing two assists and so much more down the right flank.
Talk of a move for Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin is hugely premature when Roberto is on this form.
Neymar had to be, and was, purposeful in Lionel Messi’s absence and his two goals were a reward for his endeavour. Luis Suarez, Arda Turan and a flying Rafinha header completed the scoring to leave Luis Enrique delighted.
Diego Simeone will be counting the cost of Atletico Madrid’s slender 1-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna. The loss of Augusto Fernandez – for at least six months - and Jose Gimenez, could hamper their chances against Bayern Munich in midweek.
Despite being down to 10 men for the entire second half, Depor put up a spirited fight and only Antoine Griezmann’s 70th minute winner separated the sides.
The search for an away victory goes on for Sevilla. Samir Nasri’s equaliser after Mikel San Jose’s opener was the only bright spot for the Andalusians in a match where Balenziaga scored his first goal in 270 professional games and an Aritz Aduriz penalty sealed the points for Athletic Bilbao.
In the Basque derby, little Eibar again proved to be too strong for Real Sociedad. Asier Illarramendi’s comical own goal swiftly followed by Bebe’s calm finish ensured a 2-0 victory for the hosts.
Malaga’s third loss from six league games was probably their worst. Six yellow cards was more than the shots they had on target at Real Betis, Joaquin rolling back the years with a 25th minute winner.
Voro’s midas touch as manager of Valencia continues, although he has keeper Diego Alves to thank for making it two wins out of two at Leganes.
Alexander Szymanowski had given the hosts a 21st minute lead before Nani and Mario Suarez tipped the scales in Los Che’s favour. Szymanowski looked odds on for a second but Alves saved his penalty (and set a new all-time La Liga record) to seal a 2-1 victory.
Alexandre Pato finally got on the scoresheet for Villarreal after five minutes of their game against Osasuna. Bruno Soriano added to the tally midway through the first half and Nicola Sansone with his third in two games took the game out of reach. Roberto Torres’ 45th minute strike was just a consolation in a 3-1 defeat.