Real Valladolid’s first La Liga head-to-head triumph over Barcelona since March 2014 breathed new life into the club’s eleventh-hour survival bid, with the victors prevailing 3-1 on home turf to exit the relegation zone with two matches remaining.With 15 defeats in the last 16 head-to-head encounters, conceding 43 times and only netting six along the way, Valladolid were well and truly up against it should they hope to clinch points from Barcelona in their late push to beat the drop. The newly-crowned champions also had a point to prove themselves after tasting defeat last time out too, making the job all the more difficult for the visitors, though an opener for the hosts inside two minutes sent the Estadio José Zorrilla into raptures. Darwin Machís’ cross from the left was intended for Cyle Larin in the centre, but was instead powerfully headed past his own goalkeeper by Andreas Christensen.YOU CAN WATCH CHRISTENSEN’S OWN GOAL HERE.As if one strike wasn’t wondrous enough, the Blanquivioletas were rewarded with a second midway through the opening period following more sloppy Barça defending. With his teammates perhaps still recovering from the title celebrations, Marc-André ter Stegen’s failure to beat Gonzalo Plata to a through pass kickstarted a disastrous phase of play, leading Eric García to foul Larin in the penalty area before the Canada international buried the subsequent spot-kick. However, to maintain the two-goal heading into halftime, it required two unbelievable Jordi Masip saves within 30 seconds of each other to deny Raphinha and Christensen from close range.YOU CAN WATCH LARIN’S GOAL HERE.Barça boss Xavi Hernández was so unimpressed with his team’s first-half showing that he hooked two members of the starting line-up at the interval, including ter Stegen – the only player at the club to play every minute of top-flight action this campaign up until to that point. The changes, though, failed to spark a resurgence, and La Blaugrana were instead lucky not to fall further behind. While Plata’s inswinging cross was too far ahead of Larin, substitute stopper Iñaki Peña misjudged the bounce of the ball, which struck the far left post and trickled behind to safety.YOU CAN WATCH PLATA’S GOAL HERE.The replacements continued to emerge from the Barcelona bench, including Ferran Torres for Raphinha, who received a caution for removing his jersey to unveil a message of support for fellow Brazilian Vinícius Júnior as he departed the field of play. The fresh faces, though, were unable to turn the tide as Plata’s effort at the back post wrapped up all three points with 17 minutes remaining. Although Robert Lewandowski grabbed a late consolation, Valladolid held on relatively comfortably and now lead 18th-placed Getafe, who they face on the final day of the campaign, by three points, albeit having played a game more.YOU CAN WATCH LEWANDOWSKI’S GOAL HERE.LA LIGA – ROUND 36TuesdayCelta Vigo – Girona 1-1 (1-0)/Perez 42 – Stuani 59 pen/Real Sociedad – Almería 1-0 (1-0)/Kubo 45+4/Real Valladolid – Barcelona 3-1 (2-0)/Christensen 2 og, Larin 20 pen, Plata 75 – Lewandowski 84/Wednesday20:30 4.00 Elche 3.52 Sevilla 1.9220:30 1,65 Real Madrid 4.10 Rayo Vallecano 5.8020:30 1.53 Villarreal 4.40 Cadiz 6.7523:00 3.05 Espanyol 3.50 Atlético Madrid 2.4523:00 2.10 Betis 3.25 Getafe 4.10Thursday20:30 3.30 Mallorca 3.15 Valencia 2.4522:30 3.05 Osasuna 3.35 Athletic Club 2.50***odds are subject to change***
