What has been going on in LALIGA this past week? Here are 10 of the top stories, from FC Barcelona and Real Madrid’s victories to Antony’s wonder goal in the race for fifth.
Matchday 34 of LALIGA EA SPORTS was an important one, with significant results at the top end and bottom end of the table. The main headlines are discussed below, along with the rest of the past week’s Spanish football news.
Barça survive a scare in Valladolid
FC Barcelona kept up their winning run in LALIGA EA SPORTS, and they’ve now won each of their past four league games. They did concede in the sixth minute away at bottom-placed Real Valladolid, but second-half goals from Raphinha and Fermín López earned the league leaders a 2-1 victory.
It’s all to play for in the second leg in Milan
Barça were also in Champions League action this past week, and they played out a thrilling 3-3 first leg draw against Inter at the Estadi Olímpic. Lamine Yamal was excellent in the semi-final first leg, and it’s perfectly poised ahead of the second leg this coming Tuesday at the San Siro.
Güler and Mbappé keep Real Madrid in the title race
Ahead of ELCLASICO next weekend, Real Madrid are still very much in the title race and just four points behind FC Barcelona. That’s thanks to Arda Güler and Kylian Mbappé, who scored the goals in a 3-2 victory at home against RC Celta on Sunday. It makes the Matchday 35 clash between the top two all the more important.
The Pichichi race heats up
With Mbappé scoring two goals in the game against RC Celta, it means the Frenchman has pulled even closer to the currently injured Robert Lewandowski in the ranking of LALIGA EA SPORTS’ top goalscorers. The Real Madrid man now has 24 goals, just one fewer than the FC Barcelona No.9.
The spoils are shared in the BASQUE DERBY
Real Sociedad and Athletic Club played out a goalless draw on Sunday night, in the second BASQUE DERBY of the season. The result, in Imanol Alguacil’s last derby in charge of La Real, means he departs the San Sebastián club having never lost a BASQUE DERBY at home.
UD Las Palmas and CD Leganés remain in the relegation zone
Down at the bottom of the table, both UD Las Palmas and CD Leganés suffered disappointing results this past weekend, with the islanders losing 3-2 at home to Valencia CF and the Madrid club only drawing 2-2 with Sevilla FC. That means they both remain inside the bottom three, with just four matchdays remaining.
Antony keeps the race for fifth at one point
After Villarreal CF defeated CA Osasuna 4-2, the pressure was on Real Betis to keep pace with El Submarino Amarillo in the race for fifth and the final Champions League spot. Despite going 1-0 down at RCD Espanyol, Real Betis fought back and won 2-1 thanks to a spectacular 91st-minute wonder goal by Antony.
Mixed first leg results for Athletic Club and Real Betis
On Thursday night, both Athletic Club and Real Betis were in action, in the Europa League and Conference League, respectively. It was a mixed evening for the two clubs, as Athletic Club suffered a 3-0 reverse in their semi-final first leg against Manchester United and as Real Betis celebrated a 2-1 win over Fiorentina. Both clubs now go on the road for the second legs and, like FC Barcelona in the Champions League, they’ll each hope to make history.
A week of surgeries at Real Madrid
It was a busy week for the medical services at Real Madrid, with three first-team players going under the knife for surgeries on various injuries. Antonio Rüdiger, David Alaba and Ferland Mendy were each operated on, with all three of these defenders now out for the remainder of this season.
Ter Stegen is back after eight months
There was some positive injury news at FC Barcelona, with Marc-André ter Stegen making his return following a knee injury suffered in September. The goalkeeper started in FC Barcelona’s 2-1 victory at Real Valladolid, helping them earn those three valuable points.
