La Liga Matchday 9: Villarreal and Valencia unable to keep the pace

A nice little round up of the rest of the matches this weekend in La Liga which saw Real Madrid and Barcelona begin to pull away from the pack.

Valencia 1 - 1 Real Zaragoza

It was only three weeks ago that Valencia were sitting pretty at the top of La Liga after a storming start to the season which saw them win five and draw one out of their first six league fixtures. Then came defeats to Barcelona and Mallorca and suddenly the boat began to rock. Tonight was the perfect chance for Unai Emerys side to get back on track as the Liga whipping boys, Real Zaragoza, came to town. Things didn't get off to the best of starts for Valencia as Zaragoza centre-back Mauricio Lanzaro neatly spun and fired in from just inside the area after only 2 minutes. Jose Aurelio Gays side played their best football of the season so far, with Jorge Lopez and Angel Lafita both in the thick of the action, yet they still went into the break all square. Lanzaro undoing all his good work with the opener, as he comically headed past his keeper to bring Valencia back into it. The second half saw Valencia struggle to find any rythym, as the man who makes them tick over, Ever Banega, never got into the match. Even the introduction of striker Roberto Soldado and the ludicrous sending off of Real Zaragoza midfielder Ander Herrera failed to spark them into life. There is talk of pressure on manager Unai Emery, but I wouldn't read too much into it. Fourth in the league and looking good to qualify out of their group in the Champions League is hardly a crisis. For Jose Aurelio Gay, he'll be hoping this is the beginning of a revival as they fight to lift themselves off the foot of the table.

Atletico Madrid 1 - 1 Almeria

Not the best of derby day preparations for Atletico Madrid as they let a 1-0 lead slip at home to Almeria. Sergio Agüero got the opener for 'Los Colchoneros', finally getting off the mark for the season with a simple tap-in, but his team suffered two lethal blows before halftime that they simply couldn't recover from. Blossoming young talent Pablo Piatti grabbed a tasty equaliser for Almeria, a sweet volley after a cleared corner came to him on the edge of the box, and shortly after Jose Antonio Reyes pulled up with a calf strain. Atletico will be even more stretched for their trip to the Bernabeu as giant defender Luis Perea is ruled out through suspension. Quique will need his frontmen Agüero and Forlan more than ever next weekend.

Sporting Gijon 1 - 1 Villarreal

Villarreal had done a good job of sandwiching themselves between Real Madrid and Barcelona for a while there. But just when we were hoping at least one of them or Valencia could maintain a challenge at the top, both start to fade away. That's not to take anything away from Sporting, who more than contributed to a feisty match full of meaty challenges and lung-busting effort. In the end the points were shared with a penalty apiece, Villarreals scored with pretty much the last kick of the match, converted by goal machine Guiseppe Rossi. Not the most attractive of matches, although the rain and some more poor refereeing didn't allow it to be.

Deportivo La Coruña 3 - 0 Espanyol

If Espanyol had won today they would have leaped up into the giddy heights of the Champions League spots. Yet with Depor reverting back to a more accustomed (and secure) back five and Espanyol without their hitman Osvaldo this was always unlikely. And so it proved as the home side recorded their first home win of the season to haul themselves closer to safety at the foot of the table. Spain Under-21 striker Adrian slotting in the first when a corner caused mayhem in the Espanyol box. Then two of Depors centre-backs got in on the act late in the match to make the three points safe. The pressure has been lifted off Miguel Angel Lotina. For now at least.

Racing Santander 4 - 1 Osasuna

If Osasuna stay up this season, it will be through sheer grit and determination because they are seriously lacking in any quality. Racing Santander have struggled badly so far, yet they were given the freedom of El Sardinero as their Swedish stars Kennedy Bakircioglu (try saying that name after a couple of pints) and Markus Rosenburg scored three of Racings four to send Camachos men back to Pamplona empty-handed. Osasuna weren't helped by the absence of their only goal threat, Walter Pandiani, but they simply cannot rely on a veteran to keep them up. Racing leap up to mid-table with a vital win over a direct rival for relegation.

Athletic Bilbao 3 - 0 Getafe

Amazing as it may seem, Athletic Bilbao scored three goals tonight and Fernando Llorente didn't get one of them. The Basque team have always been known for their fighting qualities but in players such as Llorente, Susaeta, Iraola and Muniain they have some serious quality to add to their considerable bite. Their performance tonight was as intense as they come and Getafe did their best impression of rabbits in the headlights. Atheltic raced into an early 2-0 lead through Iraola and San Jose. It was a lead that they never looked like giving up and to make sure Gabilondo added a late third. All manager Jose Caparros needs to do now is get his team to replicate these performances away from the intimidating San Mames.

Malaga 1 - 2 Real Sociedad

Many teams make the leap from La Segunda to the top flight without the sufficient quality to stay up. Real Sociedad break that mould and with players such as Joseba Llorente, Antoine Griezmann and Xabi Prieto I fully expect them to maintain their La Liga status come what May. Still, you should not read too much into a victory at La Rosaleda, a stadium where all away teams walk away with three points in the bag. Malaga fans must be sick of seeing their team unable to repeat their electric away performances at home as they make it five defeats from five. 21 goals conceded in nine matches tell you all you need to know about where it's all going wrong. For Real Sociedad, goals from Llorente and Griezmann were enough to edge their team into the top half of the table.

As seen on SB Nation: http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2010/10/31/1784146/la-liga-matchday-9-david-villa-back-in-the-goals-as-pressure-mounts