The weekend just gone saw important wins for Spain’s top three so let’s get down to the main talking points from those games and around the league.
By Ben Hayward, LaLiga expert
Ancelotti’s best ever Real Madrid side?
Real Madrid scored three goals for the third consecutive match in LaLiga and stay top of the table after Saturday’s 3-1 win over Sevilla at the Santiago Bernabéu. Carlo Ancelotti’s side took a first-half lead through Luka Modrić – playing his 450th match for the club – after an excellent run and cutback from Vinicíus Júnior, but looked as if they may have to settle for a point as Erik Lamela levelled in the second period. But Lucas Vázquez restored Real’s advantage following a devastating counter 11 minutes from time and Fede Valverde added another spectacular strike to his collection shortly afterwards. That is seven goals for the Uruguayan now in 2022-23 and the 24-year-old’s new-found form in front of goal is a welcome boost for Los Blancos – particularly with Karim Benzema forced to sit this one out due to muscle fatigue.
Benzema did not play but presented his Ballon d’Or to the Bernabeu faithful. But after Valverde’s wonder strike late in the game, the home fans chanted “Fede, Ballon d’Or.” Asked afterwards about that, Ancelotti said: “Let’s wait a bit, shall we?”
On a more serious note, Madrid have now won 10 of their 11 LaLiga games and drew the other. Even without Benzema or Thibaut Courtois, who was back in goal on Saturday after recovering from sciatica, this team is impressively consistent.
“I don’t know if it’s the most reliable team I have had, but it’s one I like to coach,” Ancelotti said. “It’s a team that doesn’t give me problems. It’s respectful. And in terms of quality, it’s one of the best I have had. If not the best.”
Despite their recent improvement under Jorge Sampaoli, Sevilla are only a point above the relegation after 11 rounds of LaLiga.
Dembélé shines as Barça beat former coach
Barcelona brushed aside Athletic Club in an emphatic 4-0 win at Camp Nou on Sunday to stay within three points of rivals Real Madrid. Ousmane Dembélé opened the scoring with a downward header shortly after his own long-range effort had been acrobatically saved by Unai Simón and the French forward went on to add a hat-trick of assists – for Sergi Roberto, Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres. That ensured an unhappy return to Camp Nou for former coach Ernesto Valverde, but the match had been over as a contest very early on as Barça scored three times in the opening 22 minutes.
“Dembélé was especially good,” Xavi said afterwards. “He made the difference. We circulated the ball well high up the pitch. We killed the game off in the first half.” And he added: “We have taken a step forward since El Clásico.”
That remains Barça’s only defeat in LaLiga this term, with nine wins and a draw in their other 10 domestic fixtures so far in 2022-23.
Lewandowski’s goal means he has 17 in 15 games overall this season and 12 in 11 LaLiga appearances. The Pole may have to be rested at some stage, but Xavi said: “Ferran [Torres] and Ansu [Fati] can play in Robert’s role, if we rest him. There are several options.”
The one blip for Barça was a shoulder injury suffered by Sergi Roberto, who is expected to be out for up to six weeks and is therefore out of next month’s World Cup.
Atlético move up
It already looks like a two-horse race for the title in LaLiga, but Atlético Madrid moved back up to third with a win at Real Betis on Sunday. Antoine Griezmann scored both goals for the Rojiblancos, the first direct from a corner and the second with a low shot which went through the legs of Rui Silva before trickling into the corner. In both cases, the Betis goalkeeper could probably have done better. Nabil Fekir pulled one back with a fine free-kick after 84 minutes, but Atleti survived a late onslaught – including a header against their crossbar and a penalty appeal in added time – to take all three points.
“I’m very happy for Griezmann,” Diego Simeone said. “He worked hard to be here. It looks like we are seeing the Griezmann who left [for Barcelona in 2019], who is a leader with his play. We need leaders.”
But Betis boss Manuel Pellegrini was unimpressed with Atlético’s approach. “A team that set out not to lose, won,” he said. “And a team that set out to win, lost.” Despite defeat, Betis are in fifth place, just three points behind Atleti.
Villarreal win in Emery’s last game
Despite playing over half an hour with 10 men and conceding a number of chances, Villarreal managed to beat Almería 2-1 thanks to a goal from youngster Nico Jackson deep into added time at the Estadio de la Cerámica on Sunday. Earlier, winger Alex Baena was shown a second yellow card after his equaliser for lifting up his shirt to reveal an emotional thank you message for the club’s vice-president José Manuel Llaneza, who passed away last week.
This was the first match at the Cerámica since Llaneza’s passing and turned out to be the last for Unai Emery as Villarreal coach following the announcement that the Basque is joining Aston Villa.
“It was a great day for Villarreal and a good homage to Llaneza on the field of play,” Emery said. “Sometimes you need heart to win matches.”
Emery leaves the Yellow Submarine in seventh place in LaLiga and although the timing of his exit is a disappointment, he will be remembered in Villarreal as the coach who brought a first-ever major trophy to the club (the Europa League in 2020/21) and led the team to the Champions League semi-finals a year later.
Special mentions…
Notable mentions are also necessary for Real Valladolid and Real Mallorca. Valladolid beat high-flying Real Sociedad 1-0 on Saturday to secure a second straight win and move to within a point of the top half of the table, while Mallorca stunned Valencia with an impressive 2-1 victory at Mestalla. South Korea attacker Lee Kang-in, formerly of Valencia, netted a late winner for Javier Aguirre’s side with a neat cutback and ferocious finish before holding his hands up in a gesture of apology to the home fans. Mallorca are up to 12th.
(Images from IMAGO)
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