RC Celta de Vigo relinquished a two-goal lead in a disappointing 3-3 home draw against 10-man UD Las Palmas on Sunday, missing a chance to join Barcelona at the top of La Liga.
Chilean playmaker Fabian Orellana scored a goal and set up the other two for the Galician team, but Las Palmas rallied with two unanswered goals to equalize the game, despite playing a man down from the 11th minute.
Basque club Sociedad Deportiva Eibar also had a chance to win their third in a row and match Barcelona, but they could not manage more than a 0-0 draw at Malaga.
Photo: EPA
Celta entered the weekend with the championship’s early lead on goal-difference and looked set to stay on top of the table until a disastrous second half against newly promoted Las Palmas.
“We leave with a bad taste in our mouth after losing two points in a match that we had under control,” Celta’s Argentine midfielder Augusto Fernandez said.
Orellana opened the scoring for the hosts by converting a 13th-minute penalty that prompted Las Palmas goalkeeper Javi Varas to be sent off with a straight red card for fouling striker Iago Aspas inside the penalty area.
Orellana also set up a goal by defensive midfielder Daniel Wass in the 18th minute and another by midfielder Manuel Nolito in the 48th.
Striker Araujo netted for Las Palmas in the 23rd and 61st minutes, before David Simon scored the equalizer in the 74th to frustrate the nearly 20,000 Celta fans at the Balaidos in Vigo.
Eibar, only in their second season in the top tier, also were not able to capitalize on their scoring opportunities at La Rosaleda in Malaga.
Eibar’s main goal entering the season was to remain in the top flight and the players had acknowledged it was only a matter of time before they dropped from the top of the standings.
In Sunday’s other La Liga matches, fourth-placed Villarreal earned a 3-1 victory over Granada, while Athletic Bilbao defeated Getafe 3-1 at home behind two goals from Aritz Aduriz, picking up their first win of the season.
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