La Liga: Barcelona loses two points to Valencia, while Atletico is shocked by Bilbao. La Liga champions Barcelona lost ground in their title bid after playing out a 1-1 draw against Valencia on Saturday.

Xavi Hernandez’s side are now third in the table, just ahead of Atletico Madrid by one point but four behind Real Madrid and six ahead of Girona, who have played one more match than any other side.

Athletic Bilbao fell to Atletico Madrid 2-0 earlier on Saturday, failing to take full advantage of an entertaining match on the East Coast.

Joao Felix put Barcelona ahead after an impressive team effort in the second period. However, Hugo Guillamon’s outstanding strike from a distance brought them back.

Barcelona has only won one of their last four league matches and was defeated at home by Girona the previous weekend.

Catalonians’ confidence was further shaken midweek by their defeat against Royal Antwerp in the Champions League despite already reaching 16th-round status.

On Tuesday, club figures, including President Joan Laporta, appeared ahead of what the Spanish media termed an imminent final at Valencia’s Mestalla Stadium.

Movistar’s Pedro has stated that anything less than three points would harm Barca. “We did many things well, yet were unable to score. Overall, this performance was much superior to our poor effort against Girona.”

Spain international Andres Correa declared that his team were backing Xavi. We stand behind our coach. These aren’t moments anyone would enjoy… we need to work together towards finding ways to change them.

As in their loss against Barca, Girona kept control of this match from start to finish due to starting without an anchor midfielder.

Inaki Pena showed impressive strength to stop Roman Yaremchuk, while Valencia goalie Giorgi Mamrdashvili foiled Robert Lewandowski’s aerial effort.

Pedro’s shot went wide, while Lewandowski’s chipped shot landed safely in Valencia goalkeeper Antonio Lopez’s hands.

Slick Move

Felix completed a fantastic move ten minutes into the second half. Raphinha’s pass to Frenkie Dejong allowed Frenkie Dejong to put the ball into Raphinha’s path so she could feed it directly for him to tap home the goal.

Mamardashvili made an outstanding save to deny Raphinha a goal only moments before Valencia scored their goal. Guillamon took advantage of Ronald Araujo’s inability to clear his lines after suffering an inflicted fracture of the face, capitalising on this circumstance for gain.

Ruben Baraja tied the game with an equalising strike from midfield. Ferran Torres, filling in for the injured Xavi, missed an opportunity to restore Barcelona’s lead when De Jong found it with an excellent lob.

Unfortunately, however, Torres failed to deliver an impactful volley shot from a distance that would have set his team back ahead.

As Barcelona attempted to win in the final stages, Araujo drove wide. Valencia are now 10th after drawing, thanks to Barajas team being much more stable than last season when they battled relegation.

Guillamon scored in his debut La Liga match of the season and spoke with Movistar afterwards about their hard work: “We made an enormous effort and got an outstanding result; however, it wasn’t without sacrifice out there.

“My coach has allowed other players to join the team, but I make an extra effort to be available when needed. On Monday, Girona hosts Alaves after Real Madrid welcomed Villarreal the previous day.

Highlights of the Story

Champions Valencia now sit third in the league table, one point clear of Atletico Madrid, four behind Real Madrid, and six ahead of Girona.

After their 1-1 La Liga draw against Valencia, Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez stated that his side “gave up two points”.

Champions Barcelona are currently third in the table, just edging out Atletico Madrid by one point. They trail Real Madrid by four points and Girona by six, although they have played one more match than any of their rivals. Catalans had an opportunity to seize upon a game at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday but failed.

Joao Felix gave Barcelona an early lead after a team-oriented move during the second period. However, Hugo Guillamon’s incredible strike brought them back to level.

Movistar quoted Xavi as telling them, “we must be stronger against opponents as the odds were so lopsided, (yet) we did not win the match.”

We gave away two points because our team played well; withdrawing just one leaves us dissatisfied and unhappy with ourselves.

Barcelona has won only one of their past four matches in La Liga, falling victim to Girona at home last weekend.

Catalonians’ confidence was further dented when they lost to Royal Antwerp in midweek’s Champions League round 16 encounter despite already reaching that round.

On March 23rd, club figures such as president Joan Laporta displayed their support ahead of what was described by Spanish media as an anticipated “final” at Valencia’s boisterous Mestalla Stadium.

Movistar’s Pedri opined that more than three points would benefit Barca. “We did many things well but were unable to score; our performance against Girona was much improved by comparison.”

Spain International Rafael Ramrez declared his support for Xavi. We all stand with Coach. These aren’t moments anyone would welcome; therefore, we must all work together towards changing it.

Like in Barca’s loss to Girona, this game was also intense and intensely competitive from start to finish. Felix gave Barca an early lead in the second half by scoring.

Frenkie De Jong sent a delightful pass to Raphinha, setting up the Brazilian to allow Portuguese forward Diego Pinho to tap it in for a goal.

Guillamon scored in the 70th minute after Barcelona’s Ronald Araujo allowed an uncontrolled ball to bounce past him rather than clearing his line.

Spain midfielder Isco scored outside the box to bring Ruben Baraja’s team level with Barcelona. Ferran Torres, Raphinha and Barca missed opportunities as Barca attempted to claim all three points during the closing stages.

Valencia is now 10th after Baraja has put his side together, a more solid side than last season when they battled against relegation.

RELATED ARTICLE: FIFA WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS 2026 KNOW INDIA POSITION