Madrid, Dec 8 (IANS) Celta Vigo defeated Real Madrid 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium to leave FC Barcelona four points clear at the top of La Liga.

Williot Swedberg scored both Celta goals, opening the scoring in the 53rd minute and adding a second in the third minute of stoppage time on a dramatic night in Madrid.

Bryan Zaragoza set up Swedberg for Celta’s opener, by which time Real Madrid had already lost Eder Militao to what looked to be a serious hamstring injury.

Things got worse for Real Madrid in the 63rd minute when Fran Garcia was sent off after receiving his second yellow card barely a minute after the first, reports Xinhua.

Alvaro Carreras was also sent off for Real Madrid in the closing minutes, before Swedberg dribbled past Thibaut Courtois to make it 2-0 in the final seconds.

Ferran Torres’s first-half hat-trick put Barcelona on the way to a 5-3 win away to Real Betis.

Antony had put Betis ahead, but Barcelona responded in style, with Torres scoring in the 10th and 12th minutes and Roony Bardghji adding a third on the half-hour. Torres completed his hat-trick in the 39th minute.

A controversial Lamine Yamal penalty five minutes after the break made it 5-1, allowing Barcelona coach Hansi Flick to rest key players, as Betis added late goals through Diego Llorente and Cucho Hernandez to give the scoreline some respectability.

Athletic Club severely dented Atletico Madrid’s title hopes, with Alex Berenguer scoring an excellent 85th-minute goal to reward the Basque side’s best display of the season against an Atletico side that lacked ambition.

Villarreal remains in the title mix, a point behind Real Madrid with a game in hand, after overcoming some negative first-half tactics from Getafe before claiming a comfortable 2-0 win at home.

Getafe midfielder Pere Milla talked himself into a 47th-minute red card, and Tajon Buchanon put Villarreal ahead two minutes later, with Georges Mikautadze doubling the lead in the 63rd minute.

Elche ended a run of seven league games without a win thanks to a comfortable 3-0 triumph at home to Girona, who remains deep in relegation trouble.

German Varela broke the deadlock five minutes before halftime, before two goals from striker Rafa Mir in the 51st and 58th minutes made the points safe for Eder Sarabia’s side in a game Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga will want to forget after several costly errors.

Roberto Fernandez’s 38th-minute penalty made the difference as Espanyol won 1-0 at home to a tired-looking Rayo Vallecano in a game that saw Rayo’s Unai Lopez and Espanyol’s Tyrhys Dolan both sent off.

Hugo Duro saved a point for Valencia with a 93rd-minute equalizer at home to Sevilla, who had looked on course for all three points after a stroke of fortune saw Cesar Tarrega put the ball into his own net just before the hour.

The draw leaves both teams in the bottom half of the table, with Valencia just three points above the relegation zone.

–IANS

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