Matchday 21 of LaLiga EA Sports is history, and there is no doubt that we enjoyed a weekend full of intense and exciting matches from start to finish.
Girona and Real Madrid won their respective matches, so nothing changed at the top of the standings. However, the victory of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid caused Athletic Club, who lost on matchday 21, to fall back to fifth place in the table.
On the other hand, Valencia won for the fourth consecutive time and got into the fight for European places, as well as Real Sociedad and Las Palmas.
Now, below, we bring you a summary of what happened in the best matches of this LaLiga EA Sports matchday 21.
LaLiga Matchday 21 – Real Madrid vs. Almería – Info
When:
Sunday, January 21st, 10:15 am ET at the Santiago Bernabeu
Moneyline odds:
Real Madrid 1.17
Almería 18.00
Draw Offs:
9.54
Where can I watch it?
One of the most controversial matches we have seen this season 2023/24 was between Real Madrid and Almeria. We all expected a comfortable victory for ‘Los Merengues,’ that much is clear. However, Almeria put on an exceptional display and came very close to their first win of the season at the Santiago Bernabeu. In the end, some very controversial refereeing decisions allowed Madrid to come from behind and win 3-2.
The match started extremely well for Almeria, as before the first minute of action, they managed to take a 1-0 lead with a goal by Largie Ramazani. That left Real Madrid completely disoriented, and they were unable to react in the first half. Finally, before the end of the first 45, Almeria surprised everyone with a great play that ended with a wonder goal by Edgar Gonzalez in the 43rd minute to make the score 2-0.
Then, in the second half of the match, Real Madrid began to react little by little, and the siege paid off, as in the 57th minute, Jude Bellingham scored the 1-2 through a penalty, while Vini Jr. scored the 2-2 in the 67th minute, with a goal full of controversy, which, for many, should not have been allowed. The 2-2 came after a hugely controversial play where Almeria got the 1-3, but the VAR ordered the referee to revise the play and disallow the goal for a foul.
Finally, Dani Carvajal made it 3-2 in the 90+9th minute, after the referee extended the match by 12 minutes.
Result: Real Madrid (3) – (2) Almería
LaLiga Matchday 21 – Real Betis vs. Barcelona – Info
When:
Sunday, January 21st, 12:30 pm ET at the Benito Villamarín
Moneyline odds:
Real Betis 4.15
Barcelona 1.87
Draw Offs:
4.15
Where can I watch it?
FC Barcelona was able to give a footballing lesson in their match against Real Betis this weekend, and they came away with an excellent 4-2 away victory. However, we cannot deny that Isco, the former Real Madrid player, had an extraordinary game for the ‘Verdiblancos.’
Barça finally showed a very good collective game, led by their young talents, Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal. The Blaugrana squad had an excellent start to the match thanks to a wonderful goal scored by Ferran in the 21st minute. That undoubtedly boosted the Culés’ confidence for the rest of the game.
At the start of the second half, Ferran scored his second goal of the night (48′) to make the score 2-0 in favor of the Culés. However, this time everything changed, as Betis woke up and began to deliberately attack Barcelona’s defense. So much so that, in the 56th and 59th minutes, Isco Alarcón scored a brace to level the score 2-2 and thus start a new game from that moment on.
Finally, when we all thought the match was destined to end in a draw, João Félix scored a right-footed goal in the 90th minute and Ferran Torres scored his third goal of the night in the 90+2′ to give Barça a 4-2 victory.
Result: Real Betis (2) – (4) Barcelona
LaLiga Matchday 21 – Girona vs. Sevilla – Info
When:
Sunday, January 21st, 3:00 pm ET at Montivili
Moneyline odds:
Girona 1.78
Sevilla 4.62
Draw Offs:
4.16
Where can I watch it?
Girona keeps demonstrating its extraordinary offensive capacity this season, taking a solid and impressive victory over Sevilla with a score of 5-1.
The visiting squad started this match very well, as Isaac Romero gave Sevilla a 1-0 lead with a great goal in the 10th minute. However, this only made Girona’s offense wake up, specifically, the Ukrainian Artem Dovbyk, who scored a Hat Trick in less than 7 minutes. He equalized the score in the 13th minute and put the Catalans ahead with goals in the 15th and 19th minutes.
That, without a doubt, lowered the shutter on the match, and Sevilla disappeared. Then, in the 56th minute, Viktor Tsygankov scored the 4-1, while Cristhian Stuani sealed Girona’s 5-1 victory.
Thanks to this, the Catalans remain at the top of the table, one point ahead of Real Madrid.
Result: Girona (5) – (1) Sevilla
LaLiga Matchday 21 – Granada vs. Atlético Madrid – Info
When:
Monday, January 22nd, 3:00 pm ET at Los Cármenes
Moneyline odds:
Granada 4.83
Atlético Madrid 1.76
Draw Offs:
4.11
Where can I watch it?
Atlético Madrid was able to return to winning ways in its match against Granada, with a narrow 1-0 victory. It was a rough and unremarkable match, but the ‘Colchoneros’ managed to take a victory that allowed them to climb to fourth place.
The match started very slowly, with few scoring chances on either side, but Granada took control of the game and generated some danger in Atleti’s area. However, their strikers were ineffective enough to convert the danger into goals. With that, the first half ended with a dull 0-0 scoreline.
Then, at the beginning of the second half, Álvaro Morata was able to take advantage of a space in Granada’s defense to score the definitive 1-0 and give Atlético Madrid the victory in this complicated match.
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