Inexplicable...there is still a title race: LaLiga Matchday 22 recap

A fabulous weekend in LaLiga is recapped by Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG).

The league leaders were stunned in Cornellà as Espanyol took advantage of their reprieves to snatch a late winner. Carlo Ancelotti said it was 'inexplicable' that Carlos Romero was still on the field to be able to score the only goal, but Espanyol (and Real's title rivals) were not concerned with that.

Atleti celebrated Diego Simeone's 500th LaLiga match with a classic win to put themselves just one point behind their neighbours ahead of next week's tantalising derby. Barça suffered but were just about able to beat Alavés to stay in touch.

As well as Espanyol, there was a huge win for Valencia at Mestalla, beating Celta to heat up the relegation battle and drag Celta into it. Anyone from 13th down must be looking worried.

Rayo have their goalkeeper to thank for securing the win at local Leganés, who missed two chances to equalise from the spot. Rayo are flying high in 6th and were the only visiting side to win in MD22.

Villarreal kept their quest for a top four finish alive with a thumping win over hapless Real Valladolid, who have conceded 47 goals, ten more than the next worst defence in the league.

Osasuna showed Real Sociedad what a clinical goalscorer looks like with a deserved 2-1 win on the back of Ante Budimir's brace. Only Robert Lewandowski and Kylian Mbappé have scored more than the Croatian front man. Paco thinks time is soon up for Imanol, and colourfully compares managerial longevity to food going off in your fridge.

The two most experienced coaches in LaLiga faced off at the Benito Villamarín as Manuel Pellegrini's Betis twice took the lead against Ernesto Valverde's Athletic, but Los Leones roared back twice to maintain their unbeaten run. Antony looked bright on debut for Los Verdiblancos, but his Manchester United counterpart Marcus Rashford won't be gracing LaLiga, opting instead for Unai Emery's Aston Villa.

Ahead of Copa quarter-final week, subscribe with us at lllonline.substack.com for plenty more content.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.