Barcelona win, Real Madrid draw & Atlético lose in eventful matchweek

(Football news) After dropping down to the Europa League on Wednesday, Atletico Madrid lost 3-2 to Cadiz away from home. Diego Simeone continued his trend of constantly switching systems by reverting to a 3-5-2. The Rojiblancos went 1-0 down in no time as Cadiz scored with the very first attack of the game. Alvaro Morata suffered an injury and was substituted by Matheus Cunha in the 10th minute. Atletico Madrid were not able to break down the Cadiz defense and Simeone responded by bringing on Antoine Griezmann and Joao Felix in the 60th minute. However it was Cadiz who got a goal in the 81st minute via former Real Madrid player Alex Fernandez. 

Felix who had only been making small cameos for the last month and a half made a proper impact this time. The Portuguese produced an own goal in the 85th minute after his overhead kick deflected off Luis Hernandez into the goal. Four minutes later he scored a screamer from a long way out to bring Atletico Madrid back on level terms. The referee added 9 minutes of injury time which worked in the home side's favor as Ruben Sobrino scored the winner to break the Rojiblanco Hearts. The pressure is piling on Simeone and he looks closer to a sacking than he has ever been in his career. 

Barcelona bounced back from their embarrassing 3-0 loss against Bayern Munich with a 1-0 win over Valencia. Xavi benched Hector Bellerin and Marcos Alonso as he started Jordi Alba on the left and Alex Balde on the right. Xavi's injury woes worsened as Eric Garcia and Jules Kounde both suffered injuries. Now Gerard Pique is the only natural center back who is fit. The game was a little cagey throughout the 90 minutes as both teams had a few chances but none were clear cut. Valencia looked to have taken the lead in the 50th minute via Sameul Dias Lino but the goal was ruled out for a handball in the build-up. The deadlock was finally broken in the 93rd minute after Raphinha set up Robert Lewandowski who scored the 13th goal of the season. 

Real Madrid on Wednesday suffered their first loss of the season against RB Leipzig. They followed that with a disappointing draw against Girona. Carlo Ancelotti rested Eder Militao while Aurélien Tchouaméni and Karim Benzema missed out due to injuries. Despite having the majority of the possession it took Real Madrid 70 minutes to break the deadlock. Los Blancos missed Benzema;s presence or any other number 9 for that matter. Fede Valverde assisted Vinicius Jr in what looked to be the winner until the referee controversially gave Girona a penalty after a handball by Marco Asensio. Ancelotti in the press conference and Asensio on twitter after the game showed frustration over the decision as the ball looked to have hit the Real Madrid man's chest.

Rodrygo looked to have got the winning goal but that too was ruled out as he was adjudged to have kicked the ball out of the goalkeeper's hand. Girona manager Michel after the game said "Rodrygo's goal was correct, but the rule says that if the GK puts his hand it's a foul.” A lot of other decisions went against Real Madrid. Toni Kroos was sent off for the first time in his career towards the end of the game as Real Madrid had to settle for a draw. Now Barcelona are just 1 point behind Real Madrid on the points table with 2 games to go before the World Cup.

Also read: Manchester United climb to fifth place with win over West Ham

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