Osasuna 0-0 Real Madrid: Real fail to take top spot
REAL Madrid missed the chance to go top of La Liga as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Osasuna in Pamplona.
After Barcelona were held by Villarreal on Saturday night, Manuel Pellegrini’s side knew that a win would put them top on goal difference.
However they failed to create chances against a well-organised Osasuna side despite naming the same starting XI that beat Zaragoza 6-0 in their last outing.
Real were particularly poor in the first half when they failed to create even one meaningful chance, although Cristiano Ronaldo felt he was tripped in the box just before half-time.
Replays showed that he jumped to the floor deliberately, not due to the minimal contact made by the defender.
They were better after the break but a fine save from Ricardo denied Gonzalo Higuain when the Argentine found himself clear after a slip from Miguel Flano, and that was as close as they would come to breaking the deadlock.
Real remain two points behind Barcelona in second while Osasuna move up to 12th with the point.
Elsewhere, a deflected strike from Julio Alvarez and a neat Aritz Aduriz chip gave Mallorca a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao to lift the Balearic islanders up to fourth.
After a forgettable first half at the Ono Estadi, Alvarez tried his luck from distance in the 49th minute and his shot looped up off the back of Athletic defender Fernando Amorebieta and over goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz into the net.
Aduriz doubled the home side’s lead on 65 minutes when he raced clear and chipped over the onrushing Iraizoz into the empty net.
Mallorca climb into the fourth Champions League spot with 30 points from 16 matches, the same as fifth-placed Sevilla, who squandered the lead and conceded in the fourth minute of added time to lose 2-1 at Atletico Madrid on Saturday.
Midfielder Francisco Casquero’s late strike gave Getafe a 1-0 win over Valladolid which lifted the Madrid club to seventh.
Juan Manuel Lillo had a winning league debut as Almeria coach thanks to Jose Ortiz, whose superb long-range strike in the 89th minute snatched a 1-0 home win over fellow Andalusians and bottom club Xerez.
Mid-table Sporting Gijon drew 2-2 with relegation-threatened Malaga and sixth-placed Deportivo Coruna were held to a 0-0 draw at struggling Zaragoza.
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