Barcelona, Real march on as Levante, Atletico stutter: Liga F Week 15 Round-Up
The Barcelona juggernaut continued as they demolished hosts Real Betis 6-0 at the Ciudad Deportiva Luis de Sol on Sunday afternoon.
It took three minutes for the visitors to announce their intention, opening the floodgates through midfielder Bruna Vilamala, who was well positioned to drive home a low cross from midfielder Patri Guijarro.
Young Dutch forward Esmee Brugts doubled her side’s advantage after 23 minutes before she laid one for forward Caroline Graham Hansen to make it 3-0 on the half hour mark. Attacking midfielder Vicky López and forward Clàudia Pina combined for the fourth goal, with the former finding the back of the three minutes before the half-time break.
Graham Hansen was back to haunt the hosts six minutes into the second half, striking a beauty from an acute angle to make it 5-0 to the visitors, taking her season goal tally to 12. Substitute midfielder Aitana Bonmatí rounded off the scoring to make it 6-0 with a quarter of an hour remaining having been set up by Pina with her second assist of the match.
The win moved the visitors to 42 points and maintained their 100% record in the league whilst the hosts remained on 13 points having now gone on a seven match losing streak.
Watch Real Betis vs. Barcelona highlights:
Meanwhile, Real Madrid had to work hard for their narrow 1-0 win over hosts Athletic Club at the Lezama Facilities on Saturday evening.
The visitors found the breakthrough with two minutes remaining before the half-time break through midfielder Naomie Feller, off an assist from defender Oihane Hernández.
The visitors were presented with an opportunity to double their lead when they were awarded a penalty on the hour mark after midfielder Athenea del Castillo was fouled by Nanclares who was booked for the challenge. Del Castillo took the spot kick but it was saved by the goalkeeper.
The hosts were denied what appeared like a clear penalty in the closing moments of the match when forward Nahikari García was fouled from behind in the box ready to strike but the referee waved away the calls.
The win moved the visitors to 33 points whilst the hosts remained on 20 points, ending their five match unbeaten run.
Watch Athletic Bilbao vs. Real Madrid highlights below:
Levante were held to a two-all draw by relegation-threatened visiting Granada CF at the Ciudad Deportiva de Buñol - Campo 1 on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts were playing without their reliable forward Mayra Ramírez who signed for Barclays Women’s Super League giants Chelsea on Friday.
It was the visitors who opened the scoring just two minutes into the match through midfielder Laura Requena Sánchez before Gabi Nunes levelled the scores seven minutes later when she headed home a cross from defender Paula Tomás.
The hosts took the lead for the first time in the match after 16 minutes through last season’s Liga F top goal scorer forward Alba Redondo, off a lay-off from fellow forward Nataša Andonova.
Substitute Edna Imade deflected a clearance by the hosts’ defence into the net to level the scores with five minutes remaining to secure a point for her team.
The draw moved Levante, who were displaced from second position by Real Madrid, to 31 points and whilst the visitors gained a valuable point in their relegation fight as they moved to seven points.
Watch Levante UD vs. Granada CF highlights below:
Atlético Madrid were dealt a huge blow in their quest for a top-three finish as they shared the points in a one-all draw with hosts Levante Las Planas at the Camp Municipal Les Planes on Saturday afternoon.
The visitors opened the scoring after 32 minutes when forward Rasheedat Ajibade converted a neatly weighted pass from defender Xènia Pérez. The visitors looked set for maximum points until substitute midfielder Anissa Lahmari equalised for the hosts nine minutes later to ensure a share of the spoils.
The draw put the visitors on 30 points whilst Las Planas moved to 17 points.
Watch Levante Las Planas vs. Atlético Madrid highlights below:
Visiting Villarreal eased their relegation worries when they narrowly beat bottom-placed hosts Sporting Huelva 1-0 at the Ciudad Deportiva Decáno del Fútbol Español on Saturday afternoon.
The visitors took a 32nd lead through their player-of-the-moment Claudia Iglesias after she headed home a corner kick from fellow midfielder Raquel Morcillo Aparicio.
Defender Laia Ballesté almost caught the visitors’ goalkeeper Carmen Carbonell Gil off guard after she spotted her off her goal area a few moments into the second half but the latter made a fingertip save to concede a corner kick.
The win put the visitors on 12 points whilst the hosts remained on four points, rooted at the bottom.
Watch Sporting Huelva vs. Villarreal highlights below:
Real Sociedad left it very late to throw a sucker punch at visiting Madrid CFF in a one-all draw at the Instalaciones de Zubieta on Sunday evening.
The visitors took the lead after 18 minutes through midfielder Lee Young-ju, who reacted quicker to tap home a rebound after the goalkeeper had made a save.
The hosts equalised in the second minute of second half added time through forward Synne Jensen, who found space in the penalty box to punish the visitors.
The draw meant that Madrid CFF move to fourth place on 31 points whilst the hosts moved to 22 points.
Watch Real Sociedad vs. Madrid CFF highlights below:
Sevilla resurgence continued with a 3-0 win over visiting SD Eibar at the Ramón Cisneros Palacios on Sunday night.
The hosts drew first blood 11 minutes into the second half through midfielder Pamela González who rose highest to head home a corner kick from midfielder Rosa Otermín.
The hosts’ morale was boosted by the goal and upped their tempo which resulted in forward Cristina Martín-Prieto doubling her side’s advantage after 69 minutes before she came back to haunt the visitors six minutes later to make it 3-0 and put it beyond Eibar’s reach.
The win moved Sevilla to 28 points whilst Eibar remained on 13 points.
Watch Sevilla vs. SD Eibar highlights below:
Valencia were on the cusp of collecting maximum points when they were heartbroken with a last minute equaliser from visiting UDCA Tenerife in their one-all draw at the Ciudad Deportiva de Paterna on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts took a 31st minute lead through forward Macarena Portales who converted a pass from midfielder Fiamma Benítez.
The visitors equalised on the stroke of full-time through substitute Peña coolly who slotted home a pass from fellow defender Thaís.
The visitors had lost midfielder Yerliane Moreno to injury in the 28th minute and had been replaced by defender Raquel Peña.
The draw moved Valencia to 15 points whilst Tenerife moved to 19 points after recording three draws in a row.
Watch Valencia vs. UDCA Tenerife highlights below:
Results (Saturday): Valencia 1-1 UDCA Tenerife; Levante Las Planas 1-1 Atlético Madrid; Sporting Huelva 0-1 Villarreal; Athletic Club 0-1 Real Madrid
Results (Sunday): Levante 2-2 Granada CF; Real Betis 0-6 Barcelona; Real Sociedad 1-1 Madrid CFF; Sevilla 3-0 SD Eibar