With the Champions League semi-finals over, Spanish fans have turned their attention back to La Liga.
La Liga is going on with the drama between Malaga and Barcelona competing for the championship.
This drama will most likely end in the last round.
On the evening of May 4th, Malaga took the lead and went away to challenge Granada.
At 7:30 pm, the game started on time.
Malaga played very proactively, pressing forward and compressing the opponent's passing space.
Li Chuanqi was once again chased and intercepted by the opponent's defender.
In the 17th minute of the first half, Li Chuanqi created an opportunity through his sharp breakthrough and shot a powerful shot from outside the penalty area!
The football missed the goal!
Five minutes later, Malaga made a comeback. Li Chuanqi moved inside and Isco passed the ball straight. Li Chuanqi pulled the football with his left foot and threw it backwards while running!
The football magically penetrated the opponent's two defenders and came to Santa Cruz's feet!
Santa Cruz, who scored twice in the last game, got the ball in the penalty area and pushed the ball!
The football flew towards the lower left corner of the goal!
The Granada goalkeeper was beyond reach and could only watch the football roll into the net!
One to zero!
However, Malaga fans were not happy for long. Granada launched an attack from the right and passed a 45-degree diagonal pass into the penalty area.
Central defender Demichelis, who has returned from injury, suffered a handball while fighting for a header!
The referee imposed the death penalty!
Granada striker Ighalo made it in one fell swoop!
One to one!
The two sides ended the first half with a score of one to one.
At the beginning of the second half, Malaga launched a lightning attack!
With his sharp breakthrough, Li Chuanqi cut through the opponent's defense like a sharp blade and passed the ball in an inverted triangle near the baseline!
Isco followed up with a blast!
The football blasted away Granada's goal like a cannonball!
Two to one!
Malaga takes the lead again!
Granada immediately counterattacked amid the cheers of the home fans, and Malaga responded calmly.
In the fourteenth minute of the second half, Li Chuanqi was brought down by the opponent at the edge of the penalty area, and Malaga got a direct free kick opportunity from an excellent position.
Up to this point in the game, Li Chuanqi has become the team's number one free kick expert, so he took the free kick.
The football flew over the wall!
Smash it towards the upper left corner of the goal!
"Pong!..."
The football hit the crossbar and popped out of the bottom line!
The Malaga fans who came from afar burst into applause after feeling regretful.
In the 27th minute of the second half, Li Chuanqi dribbled the ball and made a strong breakthrough, but was instantly surrounded by five players!
"Snapped!……"
Li Chuanqi did not choose to break out, but chose to pass the ball!
The ball went towards the feet of left back Monreal, who was inserted in the back row.
Monreal stopped the football in the penalty area, and then shot!
Football blasts Granada's goal once again!
Three to one!
Malaga expanded its lead and Li Chuanqi scored a hat trick of assists!
In the following game, Li Chuanqi returned to normal and no longer made risky breakthroughs. Once the opponent came closer, he would transfer the football to the feet of his teammates.
At this critical moment in the championship, physical health comes first while ensuring victory.
In the end, Malaga won the away game as they wished, extending their point advantage to four points.
After the game, Pellegrini praised the defense in an interview with the media: "We only conceded one goal tonight, which shows that our defense is getting better!
I believe it will get better and better in the future!
Defense is the key to our championship!
Of course, I also want to praise the strikers, especially Li.
He played very selflessly tonight and provided three assists.
We all know that he is now only three goals behind Messi and has a great chance to compete for the La Liga Golden Boot.
We communicated privately, and he told me that he was willing to sacrifice personal interests in the face of collective interests!
This is a great quality. He is only eighteen years old. I am very surprised that he can have this understanding!
He explained what he said tonight, selflessly putting the football at the feet of his teammates who were in a better position!"
Li Chuanqi also talked about this issue in an interview: "As for the Golden Boot, as a striker, it is false to not want to compete.
But given the choice between the Golden Boot and the championship, I would definitely choose the latter!
There will be a lot of opportunities to compete for the Golden Boot in the future, but Malaga will win the La Liga championship, maybe only this time!
I will leave Málaga next season and I hope to leave a trophy for Málaga!"
After hearing what he said, Malaga fans left messages on his social account one after another, hoping that he could lead Malaga to win the La Liga championship.
"If you can lead Malaga to win the La Liga championship, I will support you wherever you go to play in the future!"
"I forgive you, Li! Come on, we support your choice!"
"Attack, young man, we will support you!"
…
Although Barcelona was severely humiliated by Bayern with seven goals in the Champions League, when they returned to La Liga, they were still the reigning kings.
At 7:30 pm on May 5th, Barcelona faced the challenge of Real Betis at home.
Messi, who was injured, did not start and sat on the bench.
As soon as the game started, Real Betis launched a blitz. In the first hundred seconds of the game, Barcelona goalkeeper Pinto kicked the ball. The ball was intercepted by Real Betis. Alex Martinez headed the ball forward and Papon broke into the penalty area.
A low kick!
The football flew into the net from the lower left corner of the goal!
One to zero!
Real Betis leads the way!
Barcelona immediately launched a counterattack.
In the ninth minute of the first half, Iniesta made a pass from the left, and Sanchez jumped into the net from the edge of the penalty area!
One to one!
Barcelona equalized the score!
In the next game, Barcelona firmly controlled the ball and launched a fierce attack on Real Betis.
Real Betis was passive and could only engage in defensive counterattacks.
In the 43rd minute of the first half, Real Betis got a chance to counterattack.
Midfielder Nosa received a pass from his teammate in the Barcelona hinterland and hit back directly. Winger Ruben Perez made slight adjustments after receiving the ball and fired a long shot!
This is a world-class shot!
Football hits the dead end!
Barcelona goalkeeper Pinto could only watch the ball and sigh.
Two to one!
Real Betis takes the lead again!
In the end, they entered the second half with a one-goal lead.
Malaga fans were so excited that they went to the Real Betis Fans Forum to speak.
After the start of the second half, Barcelona continued to put pressure on Real Betis' defense.
In the eleventh minute of the second half, Alves made a pass from the right!
There was a problem with Real Betis's defense, and the unguarded Villa scored with a header from the edge of the penalty area!
Two to two!
Barcelona equalized the score!
The Malaga fans howled helplessly. Real Betis’s defense line was as good as Malaga’s…
After Barcelona equalized the score, they immediately made substitutions.
Messi replaces Villa, the hero of the goal!
This made Villa very unhappy.
Messi created a free kick opportunity in the frontcourt just two minutes after coming on!
This is an extremely well-positioned free kick, and Messi himself made the hit!
Three to two!
Barcelona reversed the score!
In the next game, Barcelona besieged Real Betis' goal.
In the 26th minute of the second half, Barcelona launched an attack from the center. Iniesta passed the ball with his heel. Sanchez, who succeeded in countering offside, passed a selfless cross from the right side of the penalty area. Messi easily scored from the edge of the penalty area!
Messi scored twice, Barcelona led 4 to 2, and maintained this score until the end of the game!
With this victory, Barcelona continues to cling to Malaga, ranking second with a one-point disadvantage.