Madrid, March 30 (IANS) Real Madrid drew level on points with FC Barcelona at the top of La Liga after a narrow 3-2 win at home to Leganes with two goals from Kylian Mbappe.
Mbappe’s first goal was a penalty that was hotly contested by Leganes after Arda Guler went down under a challenge, but Leganes leveled directly afterward when Diego Garcia reacted quickly to a loose ball in the Madrid area, reports Xinhua.
Dani Raba then finished off a swift break four minutes before halftime to put the visitors ahead after Brahim Diaz lost the ball in midfield.
Jude Bellingham made it 2-2 at the start of the second half and Mbappe scored what turned out to be the winning goal with 15 minutes left to play after Renato Tapia was penalized for a challenge on Rodrygo, despite winning the ball.
Atletico Madrid’s fading title hopes took another big hit after being held to a 1-1 draw away by Espanyol.
Cesar Azpilicueta scored a brilliant volley from outside the penalty area to put Atletico in front in the 38th minute, but Clement Lenglet gifted Espanyol the equalizer when he hauled down Leandro Cabrera 20 minutes from time, with Javi Puado scoring from the penalty spot.
Atletico lost defender Robin Le Normand with a head injury in the first half and he is now a doubt for its Copa del Rey semi-final game at home to Barcelona next Wednesday.
Rayo Vallecano’s hopes of playing in Europe got a boost with a 2-0 win away to Alaves, who remains deep in danger of relegation.
Pathe Cisse headed Rayo ahead after just a minute as the home side failed to defend a corner effectively. Joan Jordan wasted a penalty for Alaves with a tame chip into the goalkeeper’s hands, and Pedro Diaz sealed the win in the 57th minute after beating two defenders and unleashing a powerful shot.
Saturday kicked off with Real Sociedad winning 2-1 at home over bottom of the table Valladolid.
Mikel Oyarzabal’s 23rd minute goal and a second from Sergio Gomez after 68 minutes put Real Sociedad 2-0 up, before Juanmi Latasa’s injury time effort led to a nervous finish in the Anoeta Stadium.
Barcelona is at home to Girona on Sunday, while Villarreal visits Getafe and Athletic Club Bilbao are among the big games of the day, along with the Seville derby between Betis and Sevilla.
–IANS
bc/
