La Liga Scores, Oct. 24: Álvarez Lifts Atlético Past Deportivo

La Liga scores for Oct. 24

Atlético Madrid kept pace at the top of La Liga on Saturday, beating Deportivo de La Coruña 1-0 at the Metropolitano. Julián Álvarez scored the only goal shortly after halftime, and the win leaves Atlético two points behind leader Barcelona, AFP reported.

The wildest finish came at Mestalla. Valencia led Villarreal at halftime, then lost 2-1 on a goal six minutes into stoppage time, with each side playing a man short by the end. Racing de Santander and Elche also won on a Matchday 10 Saturday that set up Sunday’s Clásico between Barcelona and Real Madrid.

All final scores

All four games were completed. Kickoff order and referees come from LaLiga’s Matchday 10 schedule.

Álvarez delivers again for Atlético

The first half belonged to the visitors more than the hosts. Deportivo had much of the ball, and Jan Oblak had to stop a header from Loureiro, according to EFE’s report. It was 0-0 at the break.

Atlético struck soon after the restart. Alejandro Grimaldo slid a low ball across, and Álvarez finished at the far post, per the FOX Sports box score and AFP. It was his second goal in a row after he scored in a 1-1 Champions League draw at Stuttgart during the week.

Deportivo pushed late and nearly got a point. EFE said Kevin missed a clear chance to equalize. The Metropolitano crowd was 68,674.

A stoppage-time swing at Mestalla

Pepelu put Valencia ahead with a first-half penalty. Alex Freeman tied it for Villarreal in the 69th minute with a header that was first ruled out and then given after a video review, according to SI México.

Villarreal lost Pape Gueye to a straight red card, which SI said came for an elbow on José Gayà. Valencia then went down to 10 when substitute Harvey Elliott was sent off in the 89th minute. Brit Brief reported it was a second yellow, the first for a foul and the second for dissent. Valencia coach Javier Aguirre called it “an absurd, ridiculous sending-off,” according to Brit Brief, and said the blame was his.

Mikautadze’s 96th-minute goal handed Aguirre his first loss since taking over the club.

Racing turns it around

Espanyol went ahead through Edu Expósito in the 62nd minute at El Sardinero. Racing answered seven minutes later when Jeanuël Belocian scored from a Sergio Canales assist, and Zabiri won it in the 84th, set up by Álvaro Mantilla, La Nación reported. It was Zabiri’s eighth goal of the season, according to EFE.

Racing outshot Espanyol 23-11 and put nine on target to Espanyol’s one. EFE wrote that the loss raises questions about the future of Espanyol coach Manolo González.

In the early game, Federico Redondo (23rd minute) and Fer Niño (36th) scored penalties for Elche at Vallecas, and Valera added a third in the 68th. SofaScore reported that Rayo’s Pathé Ciss hit the crossbar with a penalty of his own in the 39th minute. Rayo had more of the ball, about 57%, but La Nación counted nine Elche shots on target to Rayo’s five.

What it means

Uptick’s count below adds Saturday’s results to LaLiga’s standings as they stood before kickoff. Barcelona, Real Madrid and Real Betis did not play Saturday, so their totals are unchanged.

Atlético went from 22 to 25 points, matching AFP’s two-point gap to the leaders. The catch is that Atlético have now played one more game than Barcelona and Real Madrid. Sunday’s Clásico can shift the picture three ways:

• Barcelona win: Barcelona 30, Atlético 25, Real Madrid 21. The lead grows to five points.
• Draw: Barcelona 28, Atlético 25, Real Madrid 22.
• Real Madrid win: Barcelona 27, Atlético 25, Real Madrid 24. The top three would be separated by three points.

At the bottom, Valencia have 6 points from 10 games and sit 19th, three behind Rayo Vallecano, who are 16th with 9. Málaga are last with 5 after 10 games. Espanyol stayed on 8 points in 18th, per La Nación. The two winners near the bottom both moved up: Racing climbed to 11 points and 11th, and Elche to 10 points and 12th. Villarreal’s win took them to 12 points and eighth place, according to SI México.

What’s next

Matchday 10 continues on Sunday, Oct. 25, with four games, according to LaLiga’s schedule:

• Athletic Club vs. Getafe
• Celta vs. Real Betis
• Real Sociedad vs. Levante
• Barcelona vs. Real Madrid, the last game of the day

Clocks in Spain go back an hour early Sunday, and the published kickoff times we found don’t agree on how they handle the change, so check local listings for start times. Racing’s next game is at home against Real Madrid, EFE noted.