Madrid, Jan 21 (IANS) Real Madrid returned to the top of La Liga this weekend after Atletico Madrid lost in Leganes and Barcelona were held by Getafe in Matchday 20 in Spanish top-flight football.
The record 36-time winner Real Madrid, who are hoping to retain the title they won in the 2023-24 season, have 46 points from 14 wins in 20 matches. Atletico Madrid are second with 44 points with Barcelona in third place with 39 points from 12 wins and three draws.
Here are four things we learned in La Liga this weekend.
1. Mbappe is back to his best
Real Madrid returned to the summit with a 4-1 win at home to Las Palmas, recovering quickly after conceding an early goal. Kylian Mbappe scored from the penalty spot – Real Madrid’s ninth this season – and added his side’s third with a smart finish. Without the suspended Vinicius Jr, the France international was able to play on his favoured left side where he was a constant threat to the Las Palmas defense, and it’s fair to say he has now fully adapted to the team. The question for Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti is: with Mbappe performing well on the left – what does he do when Vinicius is back?
2. Getafe frustrate Barcelona yet again
It’s been a strange start to 2025 for FC Barcelona, with a stunning 5-2 win over Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup, followed by a 5-1 thrashing of Real Betis in the Copa del Rey last week. Given Barca’s form, the team could have been expected to end its four-year run without a win away to struggling Getafe, but that wasn’t the case, despite Jules Kounde giving Barca an early lead. Getafe levelled before halftime and then proceeded to frustrate Barca with a disciplined defensive display. The result means that while Barca won matches in the Copa del Rey, Super Cup, and Champions League, they have only taken five points from the last six games in La Liga in what is turning into a bi-polar season.
3. Atletico has an off-day
Leganes had already beaten FC Barcelona before Christmas and then took three points off Atletico Madrid. Atletico decided to bring their worst version to the Butarque Stadium, where Diego Simeone’s side was over-conservative to start with and ended up playing catch-up after Matija Nastasic headed in the game’s only goal. Antoine Griezmann sent a late penalty wide in the last minute, and perhaps Atletico missed the energy and power that a fit Alexander Sorloth could have brought to their attack, but full credit to Leganes for a display that will fill Atletico fans with doubts over their side’s title credentials.
4. Relegation battle gets tighter
The relegation zone got much tighter this weekend after several teams in the battle to avoid the drop took vital points. Leganes beat Atletico Madrid, Alaves won away to Real Betis, Valencia defeated Real Sociedad, Espanyol won a six-pointer at home to Valladolid and Getafe took a point at home to Barcelona.
Those results show that all of the teams from 13th place downwards are capable of picking up big wins, and Valencia will be especially pleased with a win that seems to confirm its improvement under Carlos Corberan ahead of next weekend’s visit to play Barcelona, while Leganes, Getafe and Real Valladolid also have tough games.
–IANS
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