Rival watch: Madrid duo close gap on FC Barcelona at the top of La Liga

Rival watch: Madrid duo close gap on FC Barcelona at the top of La Liga

After drawing at Valencia, FC Barcelona’s lead on Atlético has been cut to two points, while Real are now four points adrift

[[DES_1]]Things are a whole lot closer at the top of La Liga after Saturday’s results. Mina Lorenzo’s late equaliser meant Barça had to settle for a single point from their trip to Valencia, while both the Madrid clubs had picked up three points earlier on in the day.

Goals from Godín (20 minutes) and Griezmann (76) were enough for Atlético to win at Granada without too much trouble, and yet another clean sheet means that with just six goals conceded in their first fourteen Liga games, Atlético have the best defensive record in any of Europe’s major football leagues.

Real Madrid were able to put the Copa del Rey controversy behind them and beat local rivals Getafe 4-1. All three of their famous ‘BBC’ were on target in the first half, Benzema getting an early brace (4 and 16), with Gareth Bale (35) and Cristiano Ronaldo (38) adding the others. That meant the game was as good as decided before the break, and in a dull second half, Alexis (69) managed to grab a consolation goal for the visitors.

Deportivo sixth

Next up for Barça is Deportivo at the Camp Nou, who drew 1-1 with Sevilla at Riazor on Saturday. Lucas Pérez put the home side ahead with a fine free kick after 22 minutes, but Iborra was able to level for the Andalusians with a quarter of an hour to go. The result leaves Deportivo in sixth place, just behind Celta and Villarreal. The negative note for the Galicians was an injury to former Barcelona B man Oriol Riera, whose presence at the Camp Nou will now depend on how things progress this week.

[[BOTOVERMELL::LA LIGA TABLE++::http://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/first-team/spanish-league::HOR::::NO-TRACKING::::::]]

Força Barça
Força Barça

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