Barcelona, Real run riot as Tenerife tame Athletic Club: Liga F Week 18 Round Up
Log leaders Barcelona were in a no nonsense mood as they thrashed visiting Real Betis 7-0 at the Estadi Johan Cruyff on Sunday evening.
The hosts opened the scoring in the 14th minute through forward Geyse before midfielder Keira Walsh doubled their lead after 38 minutes to make sure they went to half time leading.
Clàudia Pina added her name on the scoresheet for the Blaugranes three minutes into the second half off a pass from Fridolina Rolfö to make it 3-0.
The hosts made a triple change in the 59th minute bringing on midfielder Patri Guijarro, forwards Asisat Oshoala and Mariona Caldentey for Walsh, midfielder Ana-Maria Crnogorčević and defender Nuria Rábano respectively to add some energy.
Oshoala made an instant impact, scoring two minutes after coming on in the 61st minute to make it 4-0, converting a pass from Rolfö before Caldentey added a fifth goal for the visitors in the 64th minute.
Rolfö completed her hat trick of assists when she released Oshoala who scored her second of the match and made it 6-0 to Barcelona in the 77th minute. Oshoala completed her hat trick in the second minute of added time after she was released by defender Mapi León to make it 7-0 to the hosts and there was no coming back for Betis.
The win firmly put the hosts in control of the title race as they now have 54 points and are yet to lose or draw whilst Betis are one point from relegation.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid showed their intent to challenge Barcelona’s dominance with 6-1 rout of hosts Valencia at the Ciudad Deportiva de Paterna on Saturday evening.
The visitors took a 19th minute lead through midfielder Caroline Weir after she received a placed pass from fellow midfielder Sandie Toletti.
The hosts quickly responded and restored parity eight minutes later through midfielder Marta Carro with a shot on the turn before Weir doused their celebratory flames five minutes later to restore her side’s lead with an easy finish after she intercepted defender María Molina Molero’s half clearance.
Weir was back with her third goal contribution two minutes before the half-time break when she selflessly set up midfielder Claudia Zornoza for her team's third goal.
Both teams went for fresh legs at half time with the visitors bringing on midfielder Teresa Abelleira for midfielder Athenea del Castillo whilst the hosts responded with a defensive change which saw defender Linda Bakker making way for defender Sara Tamarit Verdeguer.
The visitors went on to score through defender Kenti Robles five minutes after the restart with a rebound after her initial effort had been saved by goalkeeper Enith Salón to put her in control of the match.
Real’s top goal scorer forward Esther González registered her name on the scoresheet in the 59th minute to make it 5-1 after being set up by substitute Abelleira. With 18 minutes left to play on the clock Weir completed her hattrick and fourth goal contribution of the day when she made it 6-1 to the visitors to complete the rout.
The hosts were denied a second goal when Pauleta was wrongly adjudged to have been in an offside position.
The win reduced the gap with Barcelona to five points having played the same number of matches whilst Valencia suffered back-to-back defeats after facing the top two teams in a row and remain seventh with 24 points.
Third-placed Levante kept their top three finish aspirations intact with a 2-0 victory over hosts Alavés at the Ciudad Deportiva José Luis Compañón on Saturday afternoon.
Liga F top goal scorer Alba Redondo opened the scoring in the 55th minute when the hosts’ defence failed to clear their lines and the forward scored her 16th goal of the season. Substitute midfielder Érika González made her presence felt with just five minutes on the field when she provided a pinpoint pass that was bundled home by forward Mayra Ramírez to double her side’s lead in the 71st minute.
The win kept Levante in third position on 44 points whilst the hosts remained anchored at the bottom with 12 points.
Real Sociedad held hosts Madrid CFF to a two-all draw in a thrilling match at the Estadio Fernando Torres on Sunday afternoon.
The visitors opened the scoring in the ninth minute through forward Sanni Franssi who pounced on a pass from midfielder Nerea Eizagirre.
The visitors doubled their lead 18 minutes later when forward Mirari Uria converted a pass from forward Synne Jensen.
Midfielder Karen Araya pulled a goal back for the hosts in the 32nd minute when she coolly finished a pass from forward Gabi Nunes.
The hosts equalised 10 minutes into the second half through midfielder Florencia Bonsegundo off a pass from forward Lucia Pardo setting up a pulsating finish to the match.
The draw meant that Madrid CFF remain fifth on the standings, three points off fourth-placed Atlético Madrid whilst Sociedad are sixth with 26 points.
Atlético Madrid finally remembered how to win with an emphatic 3-1 victory over hosts Sporting Huelva at the Campo Federativo de la Orden on Sunday afternoon.
The visitors broke the deadlock three minutes before half-time with forward Ludmila scoring her first goal after coming back from injury to give her side the lead.
Both teams made some half-time changes with the visitors bringing on forward Andrea Stašková for Eva Navarro and the hosts bringing on forward Patrícia Hmírová and midfielder Anna Sofia Ulrika Hagman for midfielders Elsa Amanda Edgren and Vanesa Santana.
The visitors went on to double their lead five minutes into the second half through forward Estefanía Banini off a pass from midfielder Irene Guerrero before substitute Stašková made it 3-0 to the visitors on the hour mark off a pass from midfielder Leicy Santos.
The hosts got a consolation goal in the 94th minute through forward Anna María Therese Simonsson off a pass from Hmírová.
The win moved Atlético to 33 points whilst it was Huelva remained 11th on 17 points after their fourth defeat in a row.
UDG Tenerife collected three hard-earned points after their 1-0 victory over hosts Athletic Club at the Instalaciones de Lezama Campo 1 on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts were on the front foot in the early stages of the match with midfielder Clara Pinedo denied from close range by a magnificent stop from goalkeeper Noelia Ramos in the 10th minute after she had received a well placed pass in the 16-yard box from defender Oihane Hernández.
The visitors then took a 23rd minute lead when Nigerian midfielder Gift Monday shook off the challenge of defender Oihane Hernández before squaring it for forward Jassina Blom who broke her goal drought giving her side a deserved lead.
Ivory Coast winger Koko Ange was a constant menace to the hosts’ defence with her mazy runs in between the defenders but was let down by her counterparts who couldn’t finish all her pinpoint passes in the final third.
The defeat was the fourth in a row for the hosts. As for Tenerife, it was an opportunity to overtake their opponents and move to ninth on 20 points, three ahead of Athletic.
A rejuvenated Sevilla continued with their superb form with a 1-0 win over visiting Villarreal at the Ramón Cisneros Palacios on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts had an opportunity to take the lead from the penalty spot in the 19th minute but midfielder Amanda Sampedro missed the resultant spot kick to give a lifeline to the visitors.
The hosts scored in the 55th minute when forward Ana Franco pounced on a pass from midfielder Cristina Martín-Prieto to and it was all that they needed to collect maximum points.
The win put Sevilla on 23 points whilst Villarreal remained two points from the relegation zone.
Alhama CF ElPozo took another positive step towards their survival after their nil-all draw with visiting Levante Las Planas at the Campo de Fútbol José María Soriano Muñoz on Saturday afternoon.
The draw moved Las Planas to 16 points whilst Alhama are on 13 points.
Results (Saturday): Athletic Club 0-1 UDG Tenerife; Alhama CF ElPozo 0-0 Levante Las Planas; Alavés 0-2 Levante; Valencia 1-6 Real Madrid
Results (Sunday): Sevilla 1-0 Villarreal; Madrid CFF 2-2 Real Sociedad; Sporting Huelva 1-3 Atlético Madrid; Barcelona 7-0 Real Betis