MADRID, Nov. 19-- Matchday 12 of the Liga Santander was a good one for FC Barcelona as they won 3-0 away to Leganes and then watched as Atletico and Real Madrid play out a 0-0 draw in the first Madrid derby to be played in the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium. Luis Suarez had not scored in almost 500 minutes before he opened the scoring in Leganes' Butarque Stadium, taking advantage of a bad error from home keeper, Ivan Cuellar. He added a second with the help of a rebound after the break, before Paulinho sealed the win with a toe poke in the closing minutes. That momentarily opened an 11 point win over Atletico and Real Madrid, and although that had been reduced to 10 points by the end of the day, the Madrid derby did little to show that either of the two sides look capable of catching Barca. Atletico started out as the stronger of the two sides and should have taken the lead through Angel Correa, but Real Madrid gradually began to take control and had the best chance of the game after Cristiano Ronaldo's late shot was blocked by Lucas Hernandez. Nevertheless, the game highlighted the problems both sides are currently facing with Atletico lacking creativity in midfield, while both Ronaldo and Karim Benzema again disappointed for Real in attack. The result in the Wanda gave Valencia the chance to open up a six-point lead over the two Madrid sides if they won away to Espanyol, and despite suffering in the first half against a rival that hit the post twice, that is exactly what they did thanks to a spectacular second half strike from Geoffrey Kondogbia and a smart finish from Santi Mina following an error from Victor Sanchez. |