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Matchday 4 of La Liga started on Friday with Athletic Bilbao visiting Iberostar Stadium to face RCD Mallorca. After a slow first half, the game picked up pace in the 82nd minute when the hosts were awarded a penalty. However, Abdon Prats pulled his shot wide and the game continued to be goalless. In the 96th minute, Bilbao was awarded a penalty, but Aritz Aduriz’s shot was saved by Manolo Reina. Mallorca had a penalty appeal turned down in the 9th minute of injury time and the game eventually ended 0-0.
Saturday started with an early kickoff, as Levante came to the Santiago Bernabeu to face Real Madrid. Los Blancos went into half time with a three-goal advantage, after two goals from Karim Benzema in a space of 6 minutes and a third from Casemiro five minutes before half-time. However, the home side stormed back into the game, after goals from Borja Mayoral and Gonzalo Melero in the second half. It led to an intense final few minutes, but the Spanish Giants held on for a hard-fought 3-2 win at home.
Next, Leganes hosted Villareal at the Butarque Stadium for a battle at the lower end of the table. Gerard Moreno put the away side ahead in the 26th minute before Jonathan Silva’s own goal in the 39th minute gave them a 2 goal advantage. Moreno scored again in the third minute of second-half injury time to help Villareal win 3-0.
The biggest shock of the day arrived at the Reale Arena. Atletico Madrid visited Real Sociedad hoping to keep their 100% record in La Liga intact. The first half ended 0-0, but Diego Simeone’s side was rocked when Sociedad took the lead in the 58th minute through Martin Odegaard. Within 3 minutes, the home side was 2-0 up through Nacho Monreal. Atletico Madrid tried hard to get back into the tie, but the game ended 2-0 in Real Sociedad’s favour. This meant the Atletico Madrid’s unbeaten run in the league was over.
In the last game of Saturday, Barcelona hosted Valencia at the Nou Camp in a repeat of last year’s Copa del Rey Final. And the Catalans went ahead as early as the 2nd minute through Ansu Fati. Frenkie de Jong doubled the score in the 7th minute and it looked like Barcelona would run away with the game. However, Valencia reduced the deficit in the 27th minute through Kevin Gameiro, which gave the game a competitive edge. 6 minutes into the second half, Gerard Pique made it 3-1. Luis Suarez came off the bench and scored Barcelona’s 4th of the game in the 61st minute. In the 82nd minute, the Uruguayan scored again to all but confirm three points for his team. Valencia got a goal back through Maximiliano Gomez in the 2nd minute of injury time, but it was too late for a fairytale comeback as the game ended 5-2.
Here are all the results:
RCD Mallorca 0-0 Athletic Bilbao
Real Madrid 3-2 Levante
Leganes 0-3 Villareal
Real Sociedad 2-0 Atletico Madrid
Barcelona 5-2 Valencia
