Relegation-threatened Valladolid beat champions Barcelona to leap out of danger zone
With 15 defeats in the last 16 matches against Barcelona, conceding 43 times and only netting six along the way, Valladolid were well and truly up against it should they hope to clinch points from the LaLiga champions in their late push to beat the drop.
The newly-crowned title winners also had a point to prove themselves after tasting defeat last time out too, making the job all the more difficult for the visitors, though an opener for the hosts inside two minutes sent the Estadio Jose Zorrilla into raptures.
Darwin Machis’ cross from the left was intended for Cyle Larin in the centre but was instead powerfully headed past his own goalkeeper by Andreas Christensen.
As if one strike wasn’t wondrous enough, the hosts were rewarded with a second midway through the opening period following more sloppy Barca defending.
With his teammates perhaps still recovering from the title celebrations, Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s failure to beat Gonzalo Plata to a through pass kickstarted a disastrous phase of play, leading Eric Garcia to foul Larin in the penalty area before the Canada international buried the subsequent spot-kick.
However, to maintain the two-goal heading into half-time, it required two unbelievable Jordi Masip saves within 30 seconds of each other to deny Raphinha and Christensen from close range.
Barca boss Xavi Hernandez was so unimpressed with his team’s first-half showing that he hooked two members of the starting line-up at the interval, including ter Stegen - the only player at the club to play every minute of top-flight action this campaign up until that point.
The changes, though, failed to spark a resurgence, and La Blaugrana were instead lucky not to fall further behind. While Plata’s inswinging cross was too far ahead of Larin, substitute stopper Inaki Pena misjudged the bounce of the ball, which struck the far left post and trickled behind to safety.
The replacements continued to emerge from the Barcelona bench, including Ferran Torres for Raphinha, who received a caution for removing his jersey to unveil a message of support for fellow Brazilian Vinicius Junior as he departed the field of play.
The fresh faces, though, were unable to turn the tide as Plata’s effort at the back post wrapped up all three points with 17 minutes remaining.
Although Robert Lewandowski grabbed a late consolation, Valladolid held on relatively comfortably and now lead 18th-placed Getafe, who they face on the final day of the campaign, by three points, albeit having played a game more.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Gonzalo Plata (Real Valladolid)
