MADRID, 15 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
RC Celta and Athletic Club won this Sunday in the fifth round of LaLiga EA Sports against Valladolid (3-1) and Las Palmas (2-3), respectively, managing to get back to winning ways after two consecutive days without getting the three points, thus rising to the top spots in the standings and entering fully into the fight for European positions.
Celta returned to winning ways after two consecutive defeats. Giráldez’s men were far superior to Valladolid from the start of the match, and monopolised possession of the ball. An initiative that was rewarded before reaching the halfway point of the first half with the first goal of the match. Hugo Álvarez advanced down the left wing and after a combination with Pablo Durán he received the ball inside the area, got away from his defender and beat Hein with a cross shot.
The lead would be doubled before the break. Iago Aspas received a great pass from Hugo Álvarez on the left side of the area and did not hesitate, finishing with force and forcing Hein to save, which denied him the goal. But the rebound from the Pucelano goalkeeper was collected by Borja Iglesias who, with a header and getting ahead of the defender, scored the second for Celta.
After the break, Pezzolano introduced three substitutions in an attempt to get the team to react. One of them was Raúl Moro, who needed just five minutes on the pitch to leave his mark on the match. The winger received the ball on the left wing and after a quick run he got inside the area and finished on the right side to beat Guaita, who could have done more.
Despite reducing the gap, Celta were able to contain the reaction of the Valladolid team, which would end up breaking down completely with ten minutes to go due to the expulsion of Mario Martín. And with one more player, Giráldez’s team would get the final 3-1 in added time thanks to a goal from Douvikas, who took advantage of a great pass from Aspas to score his first goal in the League.
Athletic Club secured their first away win of the season at the Gran Canaria stadium. Valverde’s men took the lead in the opening minutes of the game. In the 7th minute, a good move down the right flank ended with a low cross from Iñaki Williams, which Guruzeta brilliantly let through for Sancet, in an unbeatable position, to beat Cillessen.
Despite the goal, the red-and-whites continued to threaten the home goal, and Sancet would score again before the half-hour mark, but the goal would not be allowed on the scoreboard due to offside. The goal that would go on to go on the scoreboard was Nico Williams, who a minute later took advantage of a mistake by Cillessen when bringing the ball out to, after a combination with his brother, sent the ball into the back of the net after a great finish from the bottom left corner of the goal.
The score at half-time was 0-2, bringing the red-and-whites closer to victory. However, a foul by Jaureguizar on Sandro when he was the last man led to the Athletic player being sent off, leaving his team with one less player with a long game ahead of them. Furthermore, the blow would be double for Athletic, as the free kick ended in a goal for Las Palmas after a great strike by Sandro himself.
The goal gave wings to the Canaries who bottled up Athletic in their own half, although the next goal of the match would come for the Basques. A good cross from Berenguer was taken advantage of by Iñaki Williams to give his third assist of the match, a pass that Paredes only had to push in to make it 1-3. It would not be the last goal of the match, as the yellow team would once again reduce the difference with a header from Álex Muñoz. But the score would not change any more and the victory would go to the visitors.