Liga F round up: Salma Paralluelo stars for Barca, Gift Monday nets double against Atleti | OneFootball

Salma Paralluelo netted four first half goals to lead Barcelona to a dominant 8-0 victory over Sevilla in the latest round of Liga F fixtures.

In contrast to their rivals, Real Madrid had to dig deep to get the better of newly-promoted Eibar. As for Atlético Madrid, they suffered a surprise defeat to Costa Adeje Tenerife following a brace from Gift Monday.

Here, we will round up all eight matches from matchday seven of the Liga F season.

Real Sociedad 1-0 Villarreal

After losing to Basque rivals Athletic Club before the international break, Real Sociedad’s return to action looked set to result in an underwhelming goalless draw. However, with five minutes of regulation time remaining, Chelsea loanee Alejandra Bernabé scored the decisive goal.

Villarreal failed to deal with a low cross into the box, and when the ball broke to Bernabé, she unleashed an unstoppable effort into the top corner to guide her team to their third win of the Liga F season.

Unfortunately for Villarreal, they are still yet to score on the road this season, highlighting a key area for improvement if they are to move up the table from 13th position.

Real Betis 1-0 Athletic Club

In contrast to their rivals, Athletic experienced a disappointing weekend after suffering their fourth defeat of the season. The only goal of a close-fought contest arrived just after the hour mark. Gema Soliveres produced a precise right-foot finish from the edge of the box to register her first Betis goal and secure all three points.

The result represented Betis’ first win since the opening day of the season, leaving them in 11th place and two points behind Athletic, who occupy tenth position.

Valencia 2-0 Sporting Club de Huelva

Valencia required just five minutes to take the lead in their home meeting with Huelva. María Molina smashed home the opening goal after the ball dropped to her from a corner-kick. The hosts immediately began their quest for a second, with Asun Martínez seeing her effort tipped over, before Anita Marcos had a goal chalked off for an offside infringement.

Valencia continued to persist, and another goal duly arrived in the 79th minute when Sara Tamarit’s near-post corner was headed home by Claudia Florentino. As a result of the victory, the home side are now unbeaten in four matches, while the visitors are languishing at the foot of the table with just one point to their name.

Eibar 0-1 Real Madrid

Real Madrid were made to work hard for the three points in their away game against newly-promoted Eibar. Linda Caicedo led the visitors’ search for an opener in the first period, forcing María Miralles into a superb diving stop, before lifting the ball over the crossbar from an attempted lob.

The Colombia international was then denied by the upright after driving inside from the left flank. A frustrating first half was effectively summed up when she spurned a gilt-edged opportunity, scooping the ball over the crossbar from close range.

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The hosts continued to defend valiantly in the second period, with Elba Vergés producing a goalline clearance to deny Claudia Zornoza. Despite doing their utmost to keep their opponents at bay, Eibar’s resistance was broken in the 73rd minute when Signe Bruun flicked the ball home from Olga Carmona’s near-post cross.

The defeat leaves Eibar in 14th position, while second-placed Real Madrid remain three points adrift of leaders Barcelona.

Costa Adeje Tenerife 2-1 Atlético Madrid

Atlético Madrid will be the next side to face Eibar, and they will go into that contest off the back of a disappointing defeat to Costa Adeje Tenerife. After a goalless first half, Monday opened the scoring within minutes of the restart when she drove into the box before slotting past Lola Gallardo.

Two minutes later, the Nigeria international was celebrating again after she collected Yerliane Moreno’s inch-perfect pass before lifting the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper. Lucía Moral pulled a goal back for Atleti, but the hosts held firm to claim their third home win of the season.

Granada 0-1 Levante Las Planas

After suffering five consecutive defeats, Granada looked set to end their losing run with a goalless draw against Levante Las Planas. However, the hosts were cruelly denied a point in stoppage time when Tang Jiali fired home her first Liga F goal to snatch all three points for the visitors.

As a result of their third victory of the season, Levante Las Planas currently occupy sixth position, while Granada are languishing in the relegation zone.

Barcelona 8-0 Sevilla

Barcelona maintained their 100 percent record with an emphatic victory over Sevilla on Sunday. Paralluelo, who recently came third in the 2023 Ballon d’Or awards, was the star of the show, netting four goals in the first period to wrap up the three points before the break.

Impressively, she had two goals inside 17 minutes, guiding home Caroline Graham Hansen’s low cross, before nodding in from Lucy Bronze’s lofted ball to the far post. The Spain international linked up with Graham Hansen on two more occasions to send the hosts soaring into the half-time interval.

Mariona Caldentey got in on the act after the break, netting a quick-fire brace to pile the misery on Sevilla.

After racking up the assists in the first period, Graham Hansen put her name on the scoresheet with a close-range finish from Alexia Putellas’s inch-perfect cross. Marta Torrejón then marked her 400th Barcelona appearance with a goal, heading in at the near post after meeting Esmee Brugts’ inviting delivery.

Madrid CFF 0-1 Levante

In the battle of two teams hoping to secure Champions League qualification, it was Levante who managed to prevail in a close-fought contest. The visitors had scored from two corners in their recent victory over Real Madrid, and they repeated the feat in Sunday’s contest.

Ángela Sosa’s corner from the left flank was headed home by Mayra Ramírez, who celebrated her first league appearance of the season with a winning goal. Madrid CFF remain in third position, but the narrow defeat leaves them level on 15 points with fourth-placed Levante.

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