MADRID, April 27 (Xinhua) — FC Barcelona moved within touching distance of the La Liga title after this weekend’s games in Spain, while the relegation battle tightened further. Here are some things we learned in La Liga this weekend.
1. No Yamal, no problem for Barcelona
Beyond losing his quality on the pitch, there was a risk that Lamine Yamal’s hamstring injury could dent the confidence of a side that has relied heavily on him this season.
Hansi Flick will be delighted that his players came through what is usually a difficult trip to Getafe with a comfortable 2-0 win, despite being without both Yamal and Raphinha, and did so with an assured display in which they rarely suffered.
Fermin Lopez and Marcus Rashford scored the goals as Barcelona contained Getafe and then took their chances.
Next weekend brings another tricky away game at Osasuna, but Barca travels knowing that victory could secure the title with four matches still to play.
2. Real Madrid loses any title chance
Real Madrid kicked off away to Real Betis on Friday knowing a win would have put pressure on Barcelona before its visit to Getafe. Instead, Hector Bellerin’s injury-time equalizer denied them two crucial points.
More worrying for Madrid fans than the dropped points was the sense that the players never truly believed they could force the issue. Goalkeeper Andriy Lunin was the standout performer, and the sight of Kylian Mbappe asking to be substituted with 10 minutes left suggested that some players may already be thinking more about the World Cup than La Liga.
3. Martinez the man for Alaves
Things looked grim for Deportivo Alaves in its relegation duel against Mallorca on Saturday, when Lucas Boye limped off with a season-ending hamstring injury and Jan Virgili then put the visitors ahead with a superb solo goal.
Alaves had started the game in the relegation zone and looked set to drop deeper into trouble before striker Toni Martinez turned things around with two second-half goals to save the day.
Martinez has 11 goals this season and his brace earned three vital points on Saturday, just as recent goals against Osasuna and Celta Vigo have helped Alaves gain points in recent games. If the Vitoria side stays up, it will be partly thanks to its striker.
4. Sevilla staring into the abyss
Sevilla dropped into the bottom three on a weekend when Alaves, Elche and Valencia all took big wins in the relegation struggle, while the team now coached by Luis Garcia Plaza suffered late heartbreak away to Osasuna, with two goals in the last 10 minutes leading to a damaging defeat.
Plaza hasn’t been able to stop the rot that cost Mathias Almeyda his job, and Sevilla’s only points in the last six games came after beating a heavily rotated Atletico Madrid side.
On paper, Sevilla has the toughest run in of the relegation candidates, with games against Villarreal, Real Sociedad, Real Madrid and Celta, but what could save the Andalusian side is that several of those teams have little else to play for this La Liga season. ■
