FOOTBALL – Only a few weeks off the halfway stage in La Liga, and Real Madrid are clear leaders so far, with 39 points.
Leaders, Real Madrid won an away victory against Real Sociedad. It was by no means an easy victory for them, and it took until the second half before we saw any goals. However, these came just 2 minutes and 12 minutes into the second half by Vini Jnr and Luca Jovic respectively.
This was the 8th win in a row for the Madrid side. In fact, the last time Real Madrid didn´t take all three points was when they ended the game against Osasuna as a no-score draw on October 27, and before that, the last game they lost was on October 3rd against Espanyol.
Team standings
The team standings between 2nd and 5th position are 8 to 10 points behind Real Madrid. The closest being Sevilla on 31 points, Real Betis on 30, and Atletico and Real Sociedad both on 29.
Atletico Madrid
Last season´s winners, Atletico Madrid sit in 4th place 10 points behind the leaders, but with a game in hand. Atletico lost 1-2 at home last night to newcomers, Mallorca. Atletico started strong, with Matheus Cunha hitting a near miss just 5 minutes into the game. However, Mallorca also had a couple of near-misses, but the first half ended goal-less.
The second half continued much as the first, but then in the 68th minute, Cunha put the goal in the net for Atletico. With just over 20 minutes to go, Mallorca didn´t give up. Their efforts paid off after 80 minutes when Franco Russo scored and equalised with a header. The last 10 minutes of the game were frantic, with Atletico piling on the pressure and Mallorca standing strong. But one minute into extra time, and Kubo scored winning the game for 12th place Mallorca.
Barcelona
7th place Barcelona lost their first game with Xavi at the helm at home last night 0-1 to Real Betis. Ahead of their Champions League match against Bayern Munich on Wednesday, Xavi changed the line-up and left Gerard Pique and Frenkie de Jong on the bench.
Although Barcelona appeared to be stronger in the first 20 minutes or so, they failed to produce anything. Then just after half an hour, Gavi was stretchered off after suffering a head injury.
Betis seemed to have a few chances but didn´t have the confidence in the finish. However, 12 minutes into the second half, Juanmi scored, but it was disallowed for offside. This seemed to renew their confidence when Juanmi struck again in the 79th minute. This time, the goal counted and put Betis ahead. But not only that, the win put Betis into 3rd position in La Liga table.
Furthermore, although they have a game in hand, Barcelona is a massive 16 points behind Real Madrid. Xavi has a lot of work to do if they stand a chance.
Real Madrid
Real Madrid has number one and two top goal scorers in La Liga so far with Karim Benzema on 12 and Vini jr on 10. Benzema is also joint top along with Oscar Trejo of Rayo Vallecano in the greatest number of assists with 7.
