La Liga round-up: Lewandowski shines for Barca, Real keep up the pressure, Atletico stutter

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La Liga round-up: Lewandowski shines for Barca, Real keep up the pressure, Atletico stutter

Barcelona and Real Madrid emerged victorious on matchday 29 of La Liga, continuing their relentless battle in a thrilling title race.

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid’s title aspirations took another hit after being held to a draw against Espanyol.

Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna played out a stalemate, while Real Betis prevailed in the Seville derby.

Let’s take a brief look at some of the major results in La Liga over the weekend.

Atletico pegged back by strugglers Espanyol​


Atletico Madrid’s title dreams slipped further away following their 1-1 draw against Espanyol, leaving them without a win in their last three games.

Diego Simeone’s side had a chance to salvage themselves and get back in the title hunt, but they produced another lacklustre performance against the 16th-placed Espanyol.

Cesar Azpilicueta put Atletico ahead before half-time with a thunderous volley; however, the Spanish giants shot themselves in the foot by conceding a penalty in the second half.

Clement Lenglet was the culprit as he made an erratic foul by bringing down Espanyol defender Leandro Cabrara.

Javi Puado made no mistake from the spot to snatch a point against the Colchoneros.

The draw left Atletico six points behind Real Madrid in the third place and nine points adrift of leaders Barcelona.

Mbappe’s heroics save Real Madrid’s blushes​


Kylian Mbappe inspired Real Madrid to a thrilling 3-2 comeback win against relegation-threatened Leganes, keeping up the pressure on Barcelona in the title race.

The Frenchman scored a panenka penalty kick to put Los Blancos ahead but Diego Garcia equalised for the visitors two minutes later.

Leganes looked more dangerous and took the lead through Dani Raba before the half-time whistle.

The La Liga champions responded with a goal from Jude Bellingham shortly after the break before Mbappe scored a stunning free-kick to complete the turnaround.

The French forward has now scored 32 goals in all competitions this season.

Kylian Mbappé has now scored 33 goals, as many as Cristiano Ronaldo in his debut season at Real Madrid. pic.twitter.com/t8PNLcDXyj

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 29, 2025

Lewandowski leads Barca to a dominant win against Girona​


Pressure was mounting on Barca following Real’s victory over Leganes and the fact they had to play Girona in the space of less than three days following their win over Osasuna.

However, the Catalan giants showed no signs of struggle on the pitch, thrashing their Catalan neighbours 4-1 to extend their impressive unbeaten streak this year.

Barca took the lead shortly before half-time after Lamine Yamal’s freekick took a huge deflection off Ladislav Krejci before rolling into the nets.

Girona handed the home side a scare after Arnaut Danjuma equalised following a swift move after the break.

Lewandowski scored an acrobatic flick to put Barca on the front foot again. He fired a precise strike into the bottom left corner following Frenkie de Jong’s assist to take the game away from Girona.

❗️ BREAKING: Robert Lewandowski becomes the FIRST player from the top 5 leagues to reach 40 goals in ALL COMPETITIONS this season for club and country!

36 YEARS OF AGE! pic.twitter.com/hxN6guKFpO

— The Touchline | Football Coverage (@TouchlineX) March 30, 2025

Ferran Torres continued his rich vein of form as a super-sub by scoring the winning strike.

The victory helped Barca go three points clear at the top ahead of Real Madrid.

Athletic Bilbao share spoils with gritty Osasuna​


Athletic Bilbao failed to close the gap with third-placed Atletico Madrid after sharing the spoils in a goal-less draw against Osasuna.

Osasuna goalkeeper Aitor Fernandez produced a flurry of stunning saves to keep Athletic Club’s attackers at bay.

Real Betis with stunning comeback in the derby​


Real Betis produced an impressive 2-1 comeback win against Sevilla in the Sevilla derby.

Ruben Vargas put Garcia Pimenta’s side ahead before Johnny Cardoso equalised with a great volley.

Cucho Hernandez completed the turnaround at the stroke of half-time, netting home Isco’s brilliant assist.

The victory helped Betis move level on points with fifth-placed Villarreal, and they are only six points off the final Champions League spot.

Meanwhile, Valencia produced a crucial 1-0 win against Mallorca to distance themselves from the relegation zone.

Villarreal defeated Getafe 2-1, thanks to strikes from Ayoze Perez and Thierno Barry, to continue their push for the top-four finish.

As for the relegation battle, bottom-placed Real Valladolid suffered a 3-1 defeat against Real Sociedad. Their chances of survival are looking wafer-thin.

Alaves, who are 17th in the table, failed to move away from the drop zone after suffering a 2-0 loss against Rayo Vallecano.

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