Friday 2 March 2018 09:05, UK
Late goals and shock results dominated the chosen trio of games on #RevistaPredictor this midweek on Matchday 26 in La Liga, as David Garrido explains.
Fine margins. That's what the Predictor is all about, and it's probably why he chuckles to himself when that late goal goes in or the results go against the form-guide. Because that's how we do our predictions, right?
It's had a big impact in both the title race and the relegation battle in the experts' league...
Let's just remember first of all that the reverse fixture ended 4-4 at Anoeta.
No-one could have seen this coming. The first half at the Benito Villamarín was tight, the second half more open, but Miguel Angel Moya, recently recruited after he was released from his contract at Atletico Madrid, showed his worth with a few fine saves.
Sergio Canales was one of La Real's better players, perhaps enjoying some of his best form for the team, but they still can't win away - that's nine games and counting without victory on the road in La Liga, six of them defeats.
For Betis, it was an annoying way to lose seventh place in the table, which now belongs to Eibar, courtesy of their 1-0 win over fellow European rivals Villarreal, and Girona are eighth after defeating Deportivo on Tuesday.
Slim pickings for us so-called experts in this one - only Rob Palmer picks up a point for backing the draw.
Surely the shock result of the matchday? Well, it's between that and Espanyol beating Real Madrid.
Lionel Messi's free-kick was a moment of brilliance in a hard-fought first half, but would you believe it - Las Palmas' equaliser came from a penalty...the first awarded against Barcelona in a La Liga game IN TWO YEARS!
Jonathan Calleri dispatched it confidently, and Las Palmas held on as Barcelona failed to find a way through, despite having all of Messi, Luis Suarez, Philippe Coutinho and Ousman Dembele on the pitch at the end.
It means Barcelona are now only five points clear of Atletico Madrid, who they play at the Camp Nou this weekend. Suddenly the title race is revived, and it would be electric if Atletico then won on Sunday.
Six points here for Jon Driscoll and Kevin Keatings, who went for Messi as first goalscorer at Estadio Gran Canaria, but no-one got the result or scoreline right.
It's turned out to be a decent week for Jon - the late winner from Víctor Laguardia in a game with two red cards gave him a perfect 1-0 score, likewise David Phillips, so four points each.
I also get a point for saying Alaves would win but, frankly, I would have preferred not to have got the point, as it would also have denied Jon his four points. I know - petty, isn't it?!
Laguardia's header makes it 13 games without a win for Levante in La Liga, and you can't blame a huge amount of that on bad luck. They are only out of the bottom three by virtue of a better goal difference and head-to-head over Las Palmas, and you feel Juan Muniz is on borrowed time at the Estadio Ciutat de Valencia.
As for Alaves, they've won four of their last six league games since going out of the Copa del Rey, and the other games have been lost at Barcelona and Real Madrid. Their fans can hardly complain.
All of which means that where we were minutes away from Kevin's lead being cut down to single digits, instead, he extends it once again...
Well done those of you who got decent scores on Twitter. Here are the best...
There were 10 points for @alex_farrar and @ryhi91 for getting Messi as first scorer at the Estadio Gran Canaria and the 1-0 scoreline to Alaves.
We had seven points to @chanhorngam and @LaLigaGav for saying Messi and getting an Alaves win. And a special shout out to @SBuzz1992, who predicted Barcelona to win 7-0 at Las Palmas... ah well.
We'll do it all over again in just a few days time - the next trio of games to be announced on Twitter at @SkyRevista on SATURDAY (not Friday).
