News
TUE 21.01.2025
CD Leganés are enjoying their return to LALIGA EA SPORTS. After winning last season’s LALIGA HYPERMOTION title, the club from the south of Madrid were back in Spanish football’s top tier for the first time in four years and with the primary objectiveMatchdayding relegation. Sitting 15th and three points above the drop zone, Los Pepineros have done a decent job so far, and they have two truly memorable wins to their name.
After 20 matchdays, CD Leganés have won just five league games in total. Yet, two of them have been against FC Barcelona and against Atlético de Madrid, each of whom led the standings at the time. That makes Lega the only team to have defeated the LALIGA EA SPORTS leaders twice this season.
Their win against Barça came in Matchday 17 and on the road, when Sergio González scored in the fourth minute of the game at the Estadi Olímpic before a heroic defensive effort allowed Lega to hold on for the 1-0 win. Then, this past Saturday in Matchday 20, Los Pepineros overcame Atlético de Madrid 1-0 at home. This time, it was four minutes into the second half when Matija Nastasić headed in from a corner, before another strong defensive showing, combined with a bit of luck via a missed Antoine Griezmann penalty, allowed Borja Jiménez’s side to cash in all three points.
This victory ended Atlético de Madrid’s impressive winning streak, as Diego Simeone’s men entered this matchday with 16 wins in a row across all competitions. Yet, they couldn’t take even a point away from the Estadio Butarque, which was packed full to watch CD Leganés claim their second major scalp of the season.
In both of their giant-killing wins this season, the stats show that CD Leganés did suffer. Against FC Barcelona, the Catalan side had 20 shots to the newly promoted outfit’s six, and xG of 2.63 vs 0.40. In the CD Leganés vs Atlético de Madrid game, the numbers were similar as the visitors had 19 shots to the home side’s nine, with 2.42 xG compared to Lega’s 0.41. But, on both occasions, the CD Leganés players dug deep and produced important defensive moments when they needed to, especially their veteran goalkeeper Marko Dmitrović, who has won not one but two Save of the Month prizes this LALIGA EA SPORTS season.
If CD Leganés can keep challenging the best teams in the country, they’ll feel confident about staying up and also about their chances in the Copa del Rey, where they’ve reached the quarter-finals by winning 3-2 away at LALIGA HYPERMOTION leaders UD Almería last Wednesday.
Speaking after Saturday’s win, coach Borja Jiménez reflected on the team’s impressive results in LALIGA EA SPORTS and in the Copa del Rey, but urged his players to keep their feet on the ground. He told the press: “We should enjoy this, as we’ve beaten two top teams in Atlético de Madrid and UD Almería this week. The players have shown they can beat anyone. And, we just defeated a side that had won 16 in a row. But, we must remain calm. This is a long season and we could be in a very different situation in two weeks’ time. There is a demand to always go out to win. For example, after we beat Barça we then lost to Villarreal CF. Every game has points at stake.”
It now remains to be seen how CD Leganés do against the other teams in the competition, and in their matches against their direct rivals in the relegation battle. Curiously, they haven’t defeated any of the five teams currently below them in the table. Perhaps, then, it’s good news for CD Leganés that they have another giant-killing opportunity ahead of them next weekend, when they go away to Bilbao to take on fourth-placed Athletic Club in Matchday 21.
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