The La Liga title race for the 2023-24 campaign is slowly turning into a two-way battle for Real Madrid and Girona, as these two teams find themselves level with each other still, following the conclusion of matchday 19.
Real Madrid and Girona took care of business against Mallorca and Atletico Madrid, respectively, although the way they got their wins couldn’t be any more different.
On the other hand, Barcelona also have something to celebrate despite sitting behind Real Madrid and Girona, as they claimed their second win in a row against Las Palmas, which also saw an encouraging debut from their latest marquee signing.
In case you missed it, you can learn more about the biggest La Liga 2024 results in today’s SBOTOP recap.
Girona beat Atletico Madrid in a shootout
The encounter between Girona and Atletico Madrid is easily the match of the week here in La Liga, as it featured star quality and goals from both sides, and neither were willing to let go until the final moments of the game.
Both sides were deserving to win, but unfortunately only one can do so, and it was Girona who came away with a 4-3 victory at the Estadi Montilivi.
Girona opened the scoring two minutes into the game, as Valery Fernandez put in a clinical finish from the edge of the box before Alvaro Morata drew level 12 minutes later.
Michel’s men reclaimed the lead when their high press led to a turnover for Atletico Madrid, and Savio took advantage of Koke’s miscue to make the score 2-1 after 26 minutes.
Former Manchester United centre-back Daley Blind improved the hosts’ lead to 3-1 in the 39th minute via a tap-in, and the La Liga 2024 odds swung heavily in Girona’s favour to claim maximum points.
But Atletico Madrid didn’t give up easily, thanks to Alvaro Morata, as he scored his second goal of the night with a good solo run right before halftime.
And then, nine minutes into the second half, Morata completed his hat-trick by firing home from inside the penalty area to make it even at 3-3.
Despite being the superior team in the second half, Atletico Madrid lost when Ivan Martin, with help from Portu, scored the game’s winning goal during stoppage time.
You can just imagine the euphoria that the home fans felt because their inspiring run is still on.
Rudiger comes up clutch for Real Madrid
It wasn’t pretty, but Los Blancos still lead second-placed Girona after beating Mallorca 1-0 last night.
The return of Vinicius Junior, one of Real Madrid’s top scorers, gave them a boost, but Antonio Rudiger ended up scoring the game’s lone goal against Mallorca.
Both sides had chances to score, particularly Real Madrid, since they had 17 total shots with five on target.
Vinicius Junior had the first big chance of the match as he latched onto a Luka Modric pass, but his shot missed the post. Shortly after that, the Brazilian winger had another effort denied, which was a microcosm of a frustrating opening half for Real Madrid.
Mallorca had chances too with Antonio Sanchez and Samu Costa’s efforts, but to no avail.
Real Madrid got their breakthrough moment in the 78th minute when Antonio Rudiger headed the ball home following a corner kick by Luka Modric. That was the German’s first goal of the season, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
Winning debut for Roque
It has been a long time coming, but Barcelona finally got their guy in Vitor Roque, and he made his Blaugrana debut from the bench.
Roque replaced Ferran Torres during the 78th minute, and he actually almost scored on his first appearance if he didn’t squander a three-on-one break, a few minutes after Ilkay Gundogan’s winning penalty.
The 18-year-old knew that he needed to do much better, but for sure, he’ll get more of those as he gets his feet wet in Barcelona. To his credit, Roque had more impact in his 18 minutes on the pitch than Robert Lewandowski in his 80 minutes.
Las Palmas actually led for most of the game when Munir El Haddadi scored first after 12 minutes. But Ferran Torres pulled one back for Barcelona, and Ilkay Gundogan put them ahead for good during stoppage time.
If it weren’t for Gundogan, Barcelona would’ve been 10 points behind Girona and Real Madrid, which is far from ideal as far as their title hopes are concerned. The question is: can Barca build off of this in their next few games to catch up?
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
