Liga F: Barça ease past Levante, Zugasti stars in Athletic win | OneFootball

Barcelona continued their procession towards the Liga F title with a comprehensive 5-0 victory over Levante. Patricia Zugasti also enjoyed a successful outing, netting a hat-trick in Athletic Club’s 4-1 win over Levante Las Planas.

In addition to those two matches, we will round up the rest of the action that took place on match-day 22.

Sevilla 4-2 Real Sociedad

Sevilla surged into a three-goal lead inside the opening 35 minutes of Saturday’s home meeting with Real Sociedad. Eva Llamas knocked the ball in from close range to get the hosts up and running at the Estadio Jesús Navas. Real Sociedad goalkeeper Olatz Santana was then deemed to have carried the ball over the line from a corner to gift Sevilla a goal. Matters got worse for the visitors when Cristina Martín-Prieto slotted home her 14th league goal of the season.

Emma Ramírez managed to pull a goal back in first half stoppage time to give the visitors a foothold. The comeback appeared to be on when Sanni Franssi pounced on a rebound to guide the ball home just after the hour mark. However, Real Sociedad’s hopes of salvaging a point were quashed by Toni Payne’s 85th minute effort. The Nigeria international created the space to curl the ball into the far corner and wrap up all three points.

Real Betis 0-0 Eibar

Betis are left two points adrift from safety after they played out a goalless draw in their meeting with relegation rivals Eibar. The Basque side thought that had won the game in the 81st minute, only to see Carla Andrés’ goal chalked off for an offside infringement. As a result, Eibar had to be content with taking a point from their trip to Andalusia. While Betis are in the drop zone, Eibar are four points better off in 13th position.

Atlético Madrid 1-0 Valencia

Atlético Madrid claimed a narrow win to boost their hopes of securing Champions League qualification. Rasheedat Ajibade scored the decisive goal of the game in first-half stoppage time. The Atleti forward stooped low to meet Eva Navarro’s cross and steer her header beyond the despairing Antonia Canales. The hosts ultimately stood firm for the remainder of the contest to ensure they finished the weekend in fourth position.

Villarreal 0-2 Real Madrid

Second-placed Real Madrid bounced back from a defeat against Barcelona to beat Villarreal in Saturday’s away fixture. Naomie Feller proved to be the star of the show, scoring either side of the break to lead her side to victory. First, the forward cut onto her right foot before finding the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

After giving her side a narrow half-time lead, Naomie Feller added a second in the 56th minute, tapping the ball home from Olga Carmona’s low cross. Real Madrid are now nine points clear of the third position, leaving them on course to claim the runners-up spot for a second straight season.

Sporting Club Huelva 1-2 Costa Adeje Tenerife

Huelva’s forgettable Liga F campaign continued with a narrow loss against Tenerife. The hosts would have been dreaming of clinching their first league win of the season when they took the lead inside the opening five minutes. Miku Kojima netted her second goal in three games after being teed up by Patrícia Hmírová. Huelva held onto their slender advantage until Gift Monday restored parity in the 64th minute. The Nigerian calmly nodded the ball in from Koko’s inviting delivery. Monday went on to play a crucial role in Tenerife’s winner. The 23-year-old headed a deep free-kick into the path of Agustina Barroso, who managed to squeeze the ball past Chelsea Ashurst.

Granada 3-0 Madrid CFF

Granada sprung a surprise to claim a comfortable victory over top-three hopefuls Madrid CFF. Laura Pérez benefitted from a defensive mix-up to give the home side a narrow half-time lead. Cristina Postigo doubled Granada’s advantage in the 79th minute before Alicia Redondo made sure of the three points. The 22-year-old saw her free-kick strike the top of the wall, causing the ball to loop out of the reach of Paola Ulloa. The Andalusian side have moved two points clear of the drop zone, while Madrid CFF remain one point away from the top three.

Levante 0-5 Barcelona

Barcelona made light work of Sunday’s Liga F away clash with third-placed Levante. Bruna Vilamala tapped the ball in to grab an early breakthrough at the Estadi Ciutat de València. Salma Paralluelo then found the net to give Barça a two-goal cushion at the break. Vilamala grabbed her second of the game within four minutes of the restart, driving the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. Paralluelo quickly clinched her own brace to take Barcelona’s tally to four.

There was plenty of time left for Martina Fernández to score her first Liga F goal and round off a comfortable victory for the reigning champions. It was a tough day out for Levante who entered the Liga F clash following a dominant 7-0 win over Real Betis.

Athletic Club 4-1 Levante Las Planas

Patricia Zugasti produced a scintillating first half display to take the game away from Levante Las Planas. The 23-year-old headed her side in front in the 10th minute, rising high to meet Ane Elexpuru’s lofted cross.  Zugasti then latched onto Clara Pinedo’s inch-perfect through ball, before calmly lifting the ball over Nayluisa Cáceres. The pair linked up again in the 41st minute, creating the chance for Zugasti to round the onrushing goalkeeper and slot home with her left foot.

The visitors’ disastrous first half was compounded when Allegra Poljak saw her penalty saved. Levante Las Planas eventually pulled a goal back through Anissa Lahmari’s 76th minute strike. However, Ane Azkona swiftly restored Athletic’s three-goal cushion to round off a dominant victory. The Basque side are now five points adrift of the top three with eight matches left to play.

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