Rayo pull off shock win to beat Barca, Elche on the precipice after Celta defeat
Celta Vigo 1 Elche 0
Celta Vigo ended a run of four games without victory with a last-gasp winner against Elche. A 90th minute goal from Joseph Aidoo was enough to give Celta the win against Los Franjiverdes who could be relegated in the next round of LaLiga fixtures.
Celta Vigo were relatively safe from the dropzone going into the game with a six-point gap on 18th place Valencia, but knew this would be a great opportunity to give their survival hopes a major boost, coming up against an Elche side that had won just twice all season.
Despite being heavy favourites, the home side struggled to break the visitors down in a disappointing first half of football.
The closest Celta came to scoring was from a long-range freekick by Renato Tapia that was dipping in but Edgar Badia managed to tip the ball over. Neither side managed to create any significant goalscoring opportunity in a quiet opening 45 minutes.
The home side came out and dominated the second half right from the off, but just like the first period, they struggled to break a stubborn Elche rearguard down.
They thought they would have an opportunity to open the scoring from the penalty spot after Carles Perez was brought down in the box but after a lengthy VAR review, and the referee rewatching the incident on the pitchside monitor, he decided not to award the spotkick.
Pérez continued to threaten the Elche goal and it was one-way traffic throughout the second half but the midfielder clipped the post with a shot from the edge of the box. Jorgen Strand Larsen was next up to strike the woodwork after his deflected shot bounced off the crossbar.
It looked like it was going to be a frustrating evening for Celta Vigo, with no breakthrough.
That was until the 90th minute when centre-back Aidoo popped up in the box with a sublime diving header - giving his side a well deserved three points after dominating for 90 minutes.
Victory for Celta Vigo over a poor Elche side, puts them in 12th place, with their LaLiga status almost confirmed, as they sit nine points above the relegation zone. Where Elche remain rooted to the bottom of the table with a disappointing 13 points.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Carles Perez (Celta Vigo)
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Rayo Vallecano 2 Barcelona 1
Despite being within touching distance of the LaLiga title, Barcelona continue to flounder, scoring just a second goal in five competitive fixtures as they fell to a 2-1 league defeat against Rayo Vallecano at the Estadio de Vallecas.
While Andoni Iraola’s side went into the clash with just one win in their previous 10 LaLiga outings, the more optimistic Rayo fan would point out that they had avoided defeat in five of the last six meetings with Barca on home soil.
And it was those with rose-tinted spectacles who were proven right, with Rayo taking a one-goal lead into the interval. After Sergio Camello was denied by Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Alvaro Garcia broke the deadlock around the 20-minute mark, firing a fierce drive into the bottom corner from the left of the 18-yard box.
Real Madrid’s shock 4-2 defeat to Girona on Tuesday gave the Blaugrana the opportunity to extend their lead at the summit to 14 points with just seven games remaining, but although only a matter of millimetres denied the offside Robert Lewandowski an equaliser shortly before the break, Xavi’s men were clearly off the pace in the opening period.
Barcelona’s sloppy performance continued after the restart, and they found themselves further behind within 10 minutes. Fran Garcia was this time the goalscorer poaching possession from Frenkie de Jong before slotting beyond ter Stegen with aplomb.
For the rest of the encounter, the league leaders huffed, and although Lewandowski halved the deficit with a clinical finish late on, they never really looked like snatching a share of the spoils.
Los Franjirrojos’ poor recent form had threatened to derail their European push, but this result has breathed new life into the club’s continental charge, as this LaLiga campaign approaches its closing weeks.
Barcelona will know they were far from their usual standards tonight, but the equation remains unchanged, with just three wins still enough for them to secure the title and wrest it away from their eternal nemesis Real Madrid.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Isi Palazon (Rayo Vallecano)