Primera Iberdrola Week 12 Round-Up: Invincible Barcelona marches on as Alaves moves to fourth
Reigning champions Barcelona stretched their unbeaten run by thrashing Athletic Club 4-0 at the Estadi Johan Cruyff on Saturday.
The log leaders looked tired in the first half and went to the break goalless. They finally came to party in the second half to win 4-0 against the visitors.
Forward Jenny Hermoso opened the scoring in the 50th minute from defender Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic’s cross from the right before adding the second for the home side in the 75th minute to complete her brace.
Substitutes Claudia Pina and Aitana Bonmati ensured that the home side collected maximum points by scoring in the 87th and 91st minutes respectively.
The away side, on the other hand, could not break the Barcelona defence as they sought to collect maximum points and challenge for top three finish.
The win took Barcelona’s season tally to 36 points to keep vast distance from the chasing pack.
Elsewhere, the El Gran Derbi between Real Betis and Sevilla ended goalless at the Ciudad Deportivo Luis de Sol on Saturday.
Betis had a goal disallowed in the 85th minute after striker Mari Paz was adjudged to be offside.
It was a typical derby with seven bookings with Betis’ returning defender Grace Asantewaa being the first in the referee’s book in the 26th minute.
The home side had goalkeeper Gaelle Thalmann to thank in the 79th minute after she made a crucial save to deny the visitors three crucial points.
Granadilla Tenerife saw off the challenge of visiting Rayo Vallecano to win 3-2 at the Estadio La Palmera on Saturday.
The home side raced to a two-goal lead in the first four minutes through a brace from forward Cristina Martin-Prieto Gutierrez in the second and fourth minutes.
The visitors pulled one back just three minutes into the second half through the boot of defender Pilar Garcia.
The home side quickly reorganised and restored the two-goal cushion 10 minutes later through forward Maria Jose Perez Gonzalez.
The visitors kept fighting and were rewarded two minutes from time scoring through forward Isadora Damasceno Freitas.
The win saw Tenerife move to sixth on the log standings with 19 points while Rayo remains 15th on the log.
Visiting Real Madrid beat hosts Villarreal 2-0 at the Ciudad Deportiva on Saturday.
It was a late show by the visitors who opened the scoring in the 79th minute through forward Athenea del Castillo after having been frustrated by a struggling Villarreal side for the greater part of the match.
Real Madrid killed all the hopes of an equaliser by the home side doubling their lead in the 88th minute through forward Esther Gonzalez.
The win took the visitors to ninth on the log while the home side remained anchored at the bottom of the log.
Sporting Huelva and visiting Eibar shared the spoils in a one-all draw at Campo Federativo de la Orden yesterday.
The home side took the lead after eight minutes through midfielder Fatou Kanteh before the visitors equalised a minute before the break through forward Ana de Teresa.
There was not much in the second half to separate the two teams after 90 minutes.
The two teams remaining at risk of relegation.
Alaves continued with their fine form beating Valencia 3-1 at Ciudad Deportiva José Luis Compañón yesterday to move to fourth place on the log standings with 21 points.
The two teams failed to score and went to the break deadlocked at nil-all.
It was the home side that took the lead five minutes after the break through a Miriam Dieguez penalty.
Defender Osinachi Ohale doubled the home side’s lead in the 54th minute before forward Marta San Adrian Rocandio made it 3-0 in the 67th minute.
The visitors got their consolation goal in the 69th minute through the boot of forward Oriana Altuve.
Levante slipped to seventh after losing 2-1 to hosts Atletico Madrid at Estadio Wanda Atlético de Madrid Alcalá de Henares yesterday.
The win by the home side took them to 24 points just three points behind second placed Real Sociedad.
Defender Aissatou Tounkara gave the home side the lead in the 22nd minute before Levante equalised through forward Giovana Queiroz four minutes before the break.
The visitors fought hard to get a goal but all pressure was neutralised when the home side hit the back of the net through midfielder Barbara Latorre in the 62nd minute to make it 2-1.
Second-placed Real Sociedad maintained their place after seeing off the challenge of hosts Madrid CFF to win 2-1 at Centro Deportivo Municipal Antiguo Canódromo yesterday.
The match kicked-off with Sociedad defender Amaiur Sarriegi’s ninth minute penalty being saved by goalkeeper Paola Ulloa.
The visitors then opened the scoring in the 38thminute through defender Manuela Vanegas.
They doubled their lead in the 87th minute through defender Amaiur Sarriegi. The hosts got their consolation goal at the stroke of full time with winger Silvia Rubio pulled one back.
Results (Saturday): Real Betis 0-0 Sevilla; Barcelona 4-0 Athletic Club; Granadilla Tenerife 3-2 Rayo Vallecano; Villarreal 0-2 Real Madrid
(Sunday): Sporting Huelva 1-1 Eibar; Alavés 3-1 Valencia; Atletico Madrid 2-1 Levante; Madrid CFF 1-2 Real Sociedad
(Photo by Thiago Prudêncio/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)