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Top five all win as injuries mar matchday 22 in Spain

Xinhua, February 13, 2017 Adjust font size:

Matchday 22 in the Spanish Liga Santander saw few changes at the top of the table. The top five sides all won on a weekend which will be remembered for two bad injuries suffered by Osasuna defender Tano and Barcelona full back Aleix Vidal.

Both injuries were down to bad luck, with Tano suffering a double fracture in the 15th minute of his side's 3-1 home defeat to Real Madrid where Cristiano Ronaldo, Isco and Lucas Vazquez scored for the visitors in a game which was not resolved until the last minute as Osasuna, who had equalized through Sergio Leon, looked for an equalizing goal.

Vidal's injury came following a challenge from Theo Hernandez at the end of Barca's 6-0 win away to Alaves, who will be their rivals in the final of the King's Cup.

Luis Suarez scored twice, along with Neymar, Leo Messi, Ivan Rakitic and an own goal, but a severely dislocated ankle suffered by the defender in what was a fair tackle cast a shadow on the result. Barca later confirmed he had undergone an operation and will be out of action for five months.

Sevilla remain third after ending Las Palmas' unbeaten run at home with a 1-0 win thanks to an 80th minute goal scored by Carlos Correa.

Atletico Madrid stay fourth thanks to late goals from Yannick Carrasco and Antoine Griezmann which allowed them to turn a 2-1 deficit at home to Celta Vigo into a 3-2 win in the Vicente Calderon Stadium on a rainswept night in Madrid.

Gustavo Cabral and John Guidetti scored for Celta while Fernando Torres also netted an overhead kick in a game between the two defeated Cup semi-finalists.

Villarreal dropped two points with a 1-1 draw at home to Malaga, who opened the scoring with a powerful header from Charles. However, after the visitors were denied what looked like a clear penalty, Bruno Soriano leveled for Villarreal from the penalty spot in the 63rd minute.

Aritz Aduriz celebrated his 36th birthday with the winning goal as Athletic Club Bilbao came from behind to take a last minute win at home to an impressive Deportivo la Coruna, overturning Emre Colak's notable opener for the visitors with a 70th minute equalizer from Iker Muniain and Aduriz's winner in the last minute of the game.

Second-half goals from Roberto Cancella and Burgui gave Sporting Gijon a vital away win against Leganes, taking them to just two points behind the Madrid based side in the battle to avoid relegation.

Leganes have not won in 10 games and are now firmly rooted in the battle to avoid relegation.

Saturday kicked off in a rainy Benito Villamarin stadium where Betis extended their unbeaten run at home to seven games under coach Victor Sanchez, but were unable to beat Valencia who should have had a clear penalty for handball committed by Pezzella in the first half.

Friday night's action kicked off with goals from Carlos Vela and Asier Illarramendi giving fifth place Real Sociedad a 2-1 win away to Espanyol. Endit