Real Madrid were held to a 0-0 draw at home against Villarreal on Saturday night as they struggled to break down Unai Emery's impressive and well-organized side.

Both teams remain unbeaten after a game in which each side had the better on one of the two halves.

Villarreal kept Real Madrid at arms bay with a disciplined performance in the first 45 minutes and Real Madrid didn't manage a single shot on target, while Thibaut Courtois had to be alert to deny Arnaut Danjuma and Yeremi Pino.

The home side looked to up the pressure in the second period, but Villarreal's work in midfield and defense kept them at bay for most of the period and although Carlo Ancelotti's men had Villarreal pinned back in the closing minutes, they failed to seriously threaten the goal defended by Geronimo Rulli.

Atletico Madrid's poor run of form continued as they fell to a shock 1-0 defeat away to Alaves who had gone into the game bottom of the table with five defeats from five games.

Victor Laguardia's fourth minute header put Alaves ahead and Atletico's troubles in front of goal were made clear as they failed to put the ball past Alaves keeper Fernando Pacheco.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Sevilla continued to climb the table with a 2-0 win at home over Espanyol, despite playing for half an hour with 10 men after Thomas Delaney was sent off in the 66th minute.

By then Sevilla led the match thanks to Youssef En-Nesyri's 12th minute strike, and Rafa Mir's second goal in two games sealed their win in the 86th minute after Espanyol were unable to make the extra man count.

Marcos Andre's 95th minute equalizer saved a point for Valencia at home against Athletic Club Bilbao, who had taken the lead through Inigo Martinez's powerful 69th minute header.

Jasper Cillessen produced a flying 96th minute save to deny Inaki Williams what would have been the winning goal for the visitors in the Athletic striker's 202nd consecutive league appearance.

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)