La Liga round-up: 9-man Getafe lose South Madrid derby, Valencia thump Villarreal and Real Sociedad rescue late point
La Liga kicked off in 2024 on Tuesday with three mouth-watering local derbies. Getafe hosted Rayo Vallecano (played at Atletico Madrid’s Civitas Metropolitano due to a stadium ban), Alaves made the short trip to Donostia-San Sebastian to take on Real Sociedad, while Valencia and Villarreal faced off at the Mestalla.
Getafe 0-2 Rayo Vallecano
It was a dreadful start to the year for Getafe, who were defeated by Rayo Vallecano in the South Madrid derby. Sergio Camello scored twice for the away side, who ended their run of eight matches without a win in excellent fashion.
To make matters worse for Jose Bordalas’ side, they had Juanmi Latasa, Mason Greenwood and Damian Suarez all sent off during proceedings.
Real Sociedad 1-1 Alaves
Alaves will be absolutely devastated to have only taken a point from the Reale Arena. Real Sociedad had goalkeeper Alex Remiro sent off in the first half, and when Luis Rioja scored for Alaves in the second period, it looked certain that they would take all three points.
However, Martin Zubimendi’s 96th-minute strike earned a share of the spoils for Imanol Alguacil and his Real Sociedad side.
Valencia 3-1 Villarreal
Valencia began 2024 in fine style by defeating local rivals Villarreal at the Mestalla. Roman Yaremchuk fired home his first goal for the club inside four minutes, before two Pepelu penalties had Los Che in dreamland.
Gerard Moreno got a goal back in the second half for the visitors, but it wasn’t enough to salvage anything for Marcelino Garcia Toral’s side.
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