La Liga: Barcelona, Atletico Madrid win to keep pressure on Real Madrid

La Liga: Barcelona, Atletico Madrid win to keep pressure on Real Madrid

Barca secured a 3-1 win over Deportivo Alaves despite going behind in the very first minute of the clash after Pablo Ibanez took advantage of some lacklustre defending following a corner.

However, Lamine Yamal restored parity for the home side eight minutes later after some excellent work and a pull back from Raphinha.

Captain Raphinha then assisted Dani Olmo in the 27th minute as Barcelona took the slender lead ahead of the half-time break.

Spaniard Dani Olmo completed his brace in the third minute of additional time in the second half to hand the Catalans the three points and move to the top the table.

Elsewhere, Alexander Sorloth's first half brace was enough for Atletico Madrid to see off Oviedo 2-0 at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.

Atleti were dominant from the onset before David Hancko provided two neat assists for Sorloth within a period of ten minutes to hand the home side a healthy lead within the first half hour.

Diego Simeone's side was able to control the match in the second half and strolled to a comfortable sixth victory in a row in La Liga to maintain third spot.

Meanwhile at the Ciudad de Valencia, Athletic Club bounced back from their Barca hammering to defeat Levante 3-0 on Saturday.

The visitors dominated from the start with Robert Navarro scoring just four minutes into the match, with Nico Williams adding a second shortly before half time.

Athletic Club maintained a disciplined performance in the second half to seal all three points to remain eight on the table.

In another Saturday fixture, Mallorca and Osasuna played to a four goal thriller, with all the goals being scored in the second half of the 2-2 draw at Mallorca Son Moix Stadium.

Mallorca took the lead through a 62nd minute penalty from Vedat Muriqi before the Kosovo striker added a second only four minutes later.

However, the visitors staged a late rally as substitute Raul Garcia scored in the 82nd minute before Flavio Boyomo completed the comeback with neat finish from a Lucas Torro assist despite a VAR review. 

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