On Tuesday, Real Valladolid improved their chances of remaining in La Liga by picking up a significant 3-1 victory over the defending champions Barcelona.
The home team was deserving of their victory and moved up to 17th place as a result. They are now provisionally three points ahead of the zone indicating safety.
In the second minute of the match, Barcelona defender Andreas Christensen contributed to Valladolid’s success by heading the ball into his own net.
The second goal was scored by Canadian striker Cyle Larin from the penalty spot after Eric Garcia was called for a foul on Gonzalo Plata inside the penalty area. The third goal was scored by Gonzalo Plata of Ecuador on a breakaway.
Robert Lewandowski, who leads the league in goals scored, scored a goal for the Catalans in the dying minutes of the match.
As he was being replaced in the second half, Barcelona winger Raphinha sent a word of encouragement to his countryman Vinicius Junior, who plays for Real Madrid. Vinicius Junior is also from Brazil.
On Sunday, racist slurs were directed towards Vinicius by Valencia supporters at their home stadium of Mestalla.
Frenkie de Jong, a midfielder for Barcelona, was interviewed by DAZN after Raphinha took off his shirt to display a message after being substituted and said, “I didn’t know he was going to do it but I think it’s a good message, because racism has to end.” Frenkie de Jong’s comments came after Raphinha removed his shirt to display the statement.
Before the game, players from both teams held up a banner that said “racists out of football” as part of an effort that was launched by La Liga and the Spanish football federation in response to the abuse that occurred on Sunday.
Although Barcelona’s young playmaker Pablo Torre made his debut in La Liga and turned in a strong performance, the squad as a whole played sluggishly and suffered their second loss in a row. Despite Torre’s strong showing, Barcelona was unable to avoid defeat.
“Pablo had a good game, he was good in his position, he played through a lot of good passes, and he linked up well with Robert,” Xavi told the press after the match.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen, the team’s goalkeeper, now has 25 clean sheets and still has two matches left in the La Liga season. The league record for clean sheets is 26.
“We did not play well in the first half, and as a result, we were responsible for both of the goals that were scored against us. “We had a goal, and now that it’s been accomplished, our concentration has suffered as a direct result,” Xavi explained.
“We have had a great season, but in order to say goodbye to (Sergio) Busquets, and for our fans, we have to do better.”
Real Sociedad won their match against 10-man Almeria by the score of 1-0, putting them one step closer to qualifying for the Champions League in the upcoming season.
Imanol Alguacil’s team is now in fourth place, and Takefusa Kubo’s goal in the first half gave them an eight-point advantage over fifth-place Villarreal, who will play Cadiz on Wednesday.
After 36 minutes of play, Almeria striker Luis Suarez was sent off for an unsportsmanlike conduct foul committed on defender Robin Le Normand.
Kubo, a Japanese winger, scored an excellent goal by cutting in from the right side and then curling the ball into the top left corner in the stoppage time of the first half.
Late in the game, Alexander Sorloth had a chance to increase La Real’s advantage but his shot went just wide of the goal. Ander Barrenetxea was successful in hitting the target.
Real Sociedad has not participated in Europe’s top competition since the 2013–14 season. The club has a chance to qualify for the tournament if Villarreal are unable to win any of their remaining three matches or if Real Sociedad earns two additional points.
After the loss, Almeria is now temporarily in 15th place, four points above the zone indicating relegation.
Celta Vigo, now in 14th place, played Girona to a 1-1 tie at home and is now five points above the zone indicating safety.