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It was as if this incarnation of Real Madrid was returning in the title race against all odds before being bleed from the nose immediately.
A win at home against Girona, in trouble, would have placed them within six points of the Barcelona leader, and when Casemiro gave the champions advantage to Europe after 25 minutes, it seemed like they were heading for a routine victory. But the visitors fought to come back in the match and Cristhian Stuani equalized them after a handball by Sergio Ramos.
Girona midfielder Portu, who scored the winning goal in the Montilivi match between the two teams last season, was again the hero, his head dipping 15 minutes from time sealing one of the most great victories in the history of Girona. Ramos even had time to make headlines, a second yellow card a little harsh evoking his quarter century of dismissal under a jersey Madrid.
The defeat leaves Real nine points over Barcelona and the title seems once again out of reach.
Barça itself was lucky enough to increase its lead over that win after a 1-0 home win against Real Valladolid. Lionel Messi scored the only goal of the match just before half-time of the penalty spot, before missing another kick afterwards. Jordi Masip, former goalkeeper of Barça, has made several series of great saves to keep his team in the game, but Barcelona has overall poorly played, fortunately their waste has gone unpunished.
If Barcelona had a chance to win, then Atlético was downright charmed. It was neither the easiest nor the prettiest of the victories against a resolute Rayo in Vallecas, but the deviated goal of Antoine Griezmann deep in the second half ended the match. The victor's victory was sharply criticized, but VAR allowed the goal to be disputed and gave Atleti the three points needed to recover the second place of his Madrid rival.
In the Basque Country, Real Sociedad extended their unbeaten run to seven games with a 3-0 win over Leganés. Real seems to be a new team since the arrival of Imanol Alguacil in December, just three points of the Champions League. Athletic Club, their fierce rival, also benefits from the benefits of the change of regime and has lost only once in ten games since the helm of Gaizka Garitano, who had not won in their last 13 editions before his appointment. A 1-0 win at Huesca on Monday night continued their remarkable development and ended the hosts' mini-wake up. Huesca remains at the bottom of the league, at six points of safety.
Elsewhere, Villarreal seemed to suddenly remember that it was a solid team filled with talented players, beating Sevilla 3-0 for only their fourth win of the season. They remain in the relegation zone, but a dazzling victory over such strong opposition should give a timely boost to confidence. Sevilla have now taken one point in their last three games, having lost to Celta de Vigo and a draw with Eibar. It was felt that fourth place was sewn, but their sudden loss of shape left it open, and they may have been lucky enough not to make it this weekend.
Getafe could have preceded Sevilla in the Champions League, but was denied a tying goal in the 2-2 draw at Eibar. Alavés also missed his chance to capitalize after a 1-1 draw with Real Betis.
At the other end of the table, Celta's relegation race continued with a 4-1 home defeat against Levante. The Valencians have totally beaten their hosts, who have lost seven of their last eight league games and are one point above the relegation zone. If Real Sociedad and Athletic Club are good announcements for mid-season manager change, Celta is the edifying story. Since Antonio Mohamed was sacked in November and replaced by Miguel Cardoso, they have gone from mediocre to terrible.
The most surprising result of the weekend came from Mestalla, where Valencia did exactly what Valencia always did – they drew. The 0-0 deadlock against their last game, Espanyol, was their 14th draw of the season so far, an astonishing statistic given the fact that they do not have a chance to win. played only 24 games. As things stand now, they are well on their way to breaking La Liga's all-time record of 18 draws in one season.
Apart from Valencia, this weekend was rich in events and, as we enter the last third of the season, the table has taken a remarkable form. There is an extraordinarily narrow gap of just 14 points between the Champions League places and the relegation zone. At the same stage last year, the gap was 28 points.
This means that most teams are only a few victories from a European challenge, but two or three defeats of a relegation fall. Levante and Athletic Club, for example, have seven points in the top four, but seven equally dangerous points in the last three.
While Barcelona seems to be riding to win the title and Huesca has the best chance of sinking into the Segunda (although nothing is guaranteed), with such fine margins between disaster and glory for most of the teams. the league, this strange game the seasons all seem ready for a fascinating finish.
Dan Bridges is on Twitter
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