Nine games were played on matchday 22 of La Liga over the weekend with league leaders Barcelona and rivals Real Madrid both registering 2-0 wins over Cadiz and Osasuna respectively.
Real Madrid had to wait until the last 12 minutes to score against a compact Osasuna side with goals coming from Federico Valverde in the 78th minute and Marco Asensio in the second minute of added time ensuring the Los Blancos left El Sadar with all three points and momentarily cutting the gap to five points.
Barcelona came into the Cadiz fixture well aware of the reduced gap and had to get the win to restore their eight-point lead at the summit of the table. They did just that through first-half goals from Sergi Roberto and in-form striker Robert Lewandowski in the 43rd and 45+1 minutes respectively. That was Lewandowski’s 15th goal of the season and he is leading the race for this season’s La Liga golden boot.
Other results
Elsewhere, there was an eight-goal thriller early into the matchday as Girona made it rain against Almeria in a 6-2 win. By halftime, Girona were already four goals up thanks to goals from Valentin Castellanos, Victor Tsyhankov, Rodrigo Riquelme and Javi Hernandez. Almeria pulled two back but Girona added two more at the Montilivi Stadium. The win took Girona to 11th on the table.
Diego Simeone will have Antoine Griezmann to thank as his 73rd strike secured all three points for Atletico Madrid against Athletic Bilbao. This will boost their confidence as they go into the Madrid Derby with Real Madrid this week on Saturday, February 25, 2023.
Full matchday 22 results
Real Sociedad 1-1 Celta Vigo.
Real Betis 2-1 Valladolid.
Mallorca 4-2 Villarreal.
Osasuna 0-2 Real Madrid.
Girona 6-2 Almeria
Elche 0-1 Espanyol.
Rayo Vallecano 1-1 Sevilla.
Atlético Madrid 1-0 Athletic Club.
Barcelona 2-0 Cadiz.
Tonight at 23:00hrs, Getafe are hosting Valencia.
