Real Madrid miss chance to go top as Barca cruise
Jan 10, 2021
Madrid (Spain), January 10: Real Madrid missed the chance to go to the top of La Liga when they were held 0-0 away to Osasuna in a snowy El Sadar Stadium on Saturday night.
Zinedine Zidane's side had been forced to wait in their airplane for three hours before being able to fly to Pamplona on Friday by the same snow which saw Atletico Madrid's home game against Athletic Club Bilbao postponed.
That postponement meant a win would have taken Real Madrid to the top of the table, but despite controlling most of the ball, with Karim Benzema having an off day in attack and Eden Hazard and Marco Asensio struggling to get involved, they failed to turn possession into chances against a hard-working rival that thoroughly deserved a point.
Leo Messi and Antoine Griezmann both scored twice as Barcelona enjoyed a comfortable 4-0 win away to Granada to give them their third away win in a week and move into third in the table.
Although Marc Andreu Ter Stegen made a great save from Antonio Puertas in the second minute of the game, that was the most Barca suffered in the game.
Antoine Griezmann opened the scoring after Roberto Soldado's mistimed clearance ended at his feet in the 11th minute and Messi doubled the lead with a trademark left-foot shot in the 34th minute before netting his second from a free-kick four minutes before halftime.
Griezmann's quick feet helped him net a second in the second half and Granada's misery was complete when Jesus Vallejo was sent off 12 minutes from time.
Yousef En-Nesyri scored a hat-trick as Sevilla won 3-2 at home to Real Sociedad.
The Moroccan netted twice in the first six minutes only for a Diego Carlos own goal and Alexander Isak to make it 2-2 in the 13th minute, before En-Nesyri flicked home the winner from close range in the first minute of the second half.
Friday night saw Villarreal win 4-0 away to Celta Vigo, ending a dreadful week for the home side, who lost to Real Madrid a week ago and were knocked out of the Copa del Rey by third-tier Ibiza on Tuesday.
Elche's home game against Getafe, which was due to be played on Sunday, was put back to Monday as Getafe were unable to travel due to the snow.
Source: Xinhua