Atlético de Madrid defeated by Levante at the Metropolitano (0-2)

José Luis Morales '30, 0-1.

Jorge de Frutos '94, 0-2.

Real Madrid creep closer to Atletico (0-1)

Asecond half header from Casemiro and top-notch goalkeeping from Thibaut Courtois lifted Real Madrid to a key 1-0 victory over Valladolid on Saturday night at the Estadio Jose Zorrilla.

The victory puts Los Blancos to within three points of LaLiga Santander leaders and city rivals Atletico Madrid.

The Brazilian midfielder did well to rise and arrow in his header, but it was the efforts of Courtois that allowed the visitors from the capital to depart with the three points.

With striker Karim Benzema and right-back Dani Carvajal among the latest additions to the team's long injury list, coach Zinedine Zidane slotted Marianointo his attacking line with Vinicius and Marco Asensio, while the returning Lucas Vazquez took Carvajal's place at full-back.

Almost immediately Courtois had to be called on to make back-to-back saves when he managed to block efforts from Fabian Orellana and Saidy Janko, the latter being one of the best saves of the season from the big Belgian.

At the other end Mariano produced two great finishes for Los Blancos, but on each occasion the linesman's flag was raised for offside, thus negating the goal. Madrid's best legal chance at a score in the first half came toward the end when a freekick on the very edge of the area was served up by Toni Kroos for Casemiro, only to see the Brazilian miss badly with a header.

An ill-advised pass from Ferland Mendy into his own box should have led to the first goal of the match for Valladolid early in the second half, as the French left-back's pass floated into the middle and fell perfectly for the charging Orellana to volley home, only for Courtois to make the reaction save on the Chilean.

Right when Zidane was ready to bring on some fresh legs for a spark, Madrid would break through and grab a 1-0 lead. Casemiro had squandered a golden opportunity to score in the first half off a Kroos freekick, but he made good on the next one, steering a header into net off another dead ball delivery from the German.

Zidane went ahead and made the changes, all coming up top, as Asensio, Vinicius and Mariano were replaced by Sergio Arribas, Isco and Hugo Duro, respectively.

It could have been two for Madrid when a deep cross from Mendy reached Arribas, however the youngster was unable to connect and the chance fell by the wayside. In the end, though, an insurance goal was not needed as Zidane's men saw things out to pocket the victory.

Match Sheet:

0.- Valladolid: Masip; Luis Perez, Joaquin, Bruno, Nacho; Alcaraz (San Emeterio, min. 84), Roque Mesa (Kodro, min. 73), Janko (Jota, min. 61), Kike Perez (Oscar Plano, min. 84), Orellana; Guardiola (Weissman, min. 73).

1.- Real Madrid: Courtois; Lucas, Nacho, Varane, Mendy; Casemiro, Kroos, Modric; Asensio (Sergio Arribas, min. 66), Vinicius (Isco, min. 66), Mariano (Hugo Duro, min. 66).

Goals: 0-1, min. 65: Casemiro

Referee: Cuadra Fernandez (Balear). Yellow cards: Alcaraz (Min. 60) for Valladolid, Lucas Vazquez (Min. 69) for Real Madrid, Nacho (Min. 71) for Valladolid, Sergio Arribas (Min. 78) for Real Madrid, Oscar Plano (Min. 85) for Valladolid

Red cards: None

Stadium: Jose Zorrilla

Attendance: 0

FC Barcelona unable to shake PSG hangover (1-1)

Barcelona's hopes of climbing back into the LaLiga title race took a big hit by conceding a late penalty in a 1-1 draw against Cadiz on Sunday afternoon at the Camp Nou.

Still reeling from their midweek Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain, Lionel Messi converted from the spot to hand the Catalans a first-half lead, but their lack of a sharpness and wastefulness in the Cadiz half opened the door for the late equaliser for the Andalusians. By failing to take advantage of Atletico's Saturday stumble against Levante, Barcelona now sit eight points behind in the table.

Ronald Koeman made the interesting decision to repeat the same starting XI that got blitzed by the Parisians, meaning the likes of right-back Sergino Dest and centre-back Gerard Pique were back after getting exposed by Kylian Mbappe.

Barcelona unsurprisingly started off by poking and prodding against Cadiz's bunkered-in defence, and it took a surgical pass from Sergio Busquets into Messi to yield the first chance of the day, with the Argentine missing wide against oncoming Cadiz goalkeeper Jeremias Ledesma.

Messi's fellow Rosario native Ledesma was called on to make his first big save of the day with a stretch save against his countryman, but moments later he could do nothing to stop Messi from calmly converting from the penalty spot for a 1-0 Barcelona lead after Pedri was brought down inside the area.

Cadiz nearly answered immediately after the Messi counter, as a Barcelona giveaway led to a quick break and a gilt-edged chance for Ruben Sobrino, who was on the end of a deflected header that hit his stomach and spun wide.

Barcelona could have done with a more selfish attitude from Messi to start the second half after the 33-year-old was played in beautifully by Busquets, but instead he crossed for Antoine Griezmann, whose close-range effort was blocked by Ledesma.

Ousmane Dembele enjoyed his first chances of the day with a great solo run into the Cadiz area that ended with a blocked shot, followed by a stinging right-footer that sailed wide.

Griezmann and Busquets were the first two played to be substituted off by Koeman, as Martin Braithwaite and Miralem Pjanic entered the fray, followed shortly by Francisco Trincao coming on for Pedri.

None of the changes made too much of an impact, but with Cadiz still sitting deep in their own area, Barcelona had little to worry about in the back and they were content to stick to their plodding approach in the Cadiz half.

Koeman made his last two changes with 10 minutes to go, with Riqui Puig replacing Dembele and Oscar Mingueza coming on for Dest, but finally Cadiz began to venture forward in the final minutes and started causing danger in the Barcelona half.

Their efforts would pay off when Clement Lenglet clumsily fouled Sobrino in the area, resulting in a late penalty that Alex Fernandez swept home to leave Barcelona shaking their heads in dismay at the 1-1 draw.

Match Sheet:

1.- Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Dest (Mingueza, min. 80), Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Busquets (Pjanic, min. 65), De Jong, Pedri (Trincao, min. 74); Dembele (Riqui Puig, min. 80), Messi, Griezmann (Braithwaite, min. 65).

1.- Cadiz: Ledesma; Iza (Alex, min. 59), Marcos Mauro, Fali, Espino; Salvi (Alejo, min. 63), Garrido (Jose Mari, min. 58), Jairo, Perea (Jonsson, min. 76); Negredo (Lozano, min. 59), Sobrino.

Goals: 1-0, min. 32: Messi (p); 1-1, min. 89: Alex Fernandez (p).

Referee: Martinez Munuera (Valencian).

Yellow cards: Alejo (Min. 82) for Cadiz, Jose Mari (Min. 85) for Cadiz.

Red cards: None.

Stadium: Camp Nou.

Attendance: 0.

Source: Marca / Arch Bell