Ten things we learned this week in LaLiga Santander
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There was so much LaLiga Santander action over this past week, with a midweek Matchday 31 quickly followed by the weekend fixtures of Matchday 32. These two rounds produced many thrilling storylines, the most important of which are discussed in detail below.
Real Sociedad close in on the Champions League
Of all the clubs that had a good week, Real Sociedad stand out given that the Basque club strengthened their grip on fourth place. La Real went away to Real Betis, who started the week as their closest rivals for Champions League qualification, and secured an impressive 0-0 draw, before they travelled to CA Osasuna and won 2-0 on Friday night. It’s now Villarreal CF who are closest to Imanol Alguacil’s side, but the gap is five points.
Taty Castellanos makes a dream come true
Taty Castellanos will never forget what happened on Tuesday, April 25th, 2023. The Argentine striker had always dreamed of playing and scoring against Real Madrid, but he surely never imagined that he would net four goals in one game against Los Blancos. Yet, that’s exactly what happened as Castellanos scored four times in a 4-2 Girona FC victory against Real Madrid at the Estadi Montilivi.
Toni Villa is out for the rest of 2023
Sadly, there was also some bad news at Girona FC this past week, as in-form Toni Villa suffered an ACL injury, one which will rule him out for the rest of 2023. He underwent successful surgery on his right knee this past week and, unfortunately, won’t be back in action until 2024.
Karim Benzema wants the Pichichi
Even though Real Madrid remain 11 points behind FC Barcelona at the top of the table, Karim Benzema is still in fine scoring form. The Frenchman produced another hat-trick on Sunday, his third of the month, in Real Madrid’s 4-2 win over UD Almería. That three-goal haul means he is now just two goals behind Robert Lewandowski in the race for the Pichichi award, which goes to the top scorer of the LaLiga Santander season.
UD Almería can win on the road
One thing we learned this past week is that UD Almería can win on the road as well as at home. Even though they lost to Real Madrid at the Bernabéu, the Andalusian side achieved an away win in the midweek Matchday 31 when they went away to Getafe CF and triumphed 2-1, with Luis Suárez scoring both goals. It was their 15th away game of the LaLiga Santander campaign, and the first that ended in victory.
José Bordalás returns to Getafe CF
After suffering that home defeat to UD Almería in midweek, Getafe CF took the decision to part ways with Quique Sánchez Flores. To replace him in the dugout, the club managed to bring back former coach José Bordalás, who achieved some incredible results while at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez. Although the tactician’s re-debut was a 1-0 loss at RCD Espanyol on Sunday, he hadn’t had much time to prepare and will now aim to get Getafe CF back to winning ways in the coming games.
Elche CF still have some fight in them
There was a possibility that Elche CF could be mathematically relegated in Matchday 32, however Los Franjiverdes refused to give up and secured their best result of the season, defeating Rayo Vallecano 4-0 in front of their home fans.
Fran García is a man for the big occasions
Despite that 4-0 loss at Elche CF, in which Rayo Vallecano played most of the game with 10 men, it was still a week to remember for the club from Vallecas. They defeated FC Barcelona 2-1 in the midweek matchday and left-back Fran García scored the winning goal. He has developed into a truly great full-back this season and is proving to be the man for the big occasions, as he also scored in his side’s recent clash with Atlético de Madrid.
Luis Hernández’s throw-ins could keep Cádiz CF up
Cádiz CF defeated Valencia CF 2-1 at home on Sunday and the opening goal was scored by Gonzalo Escalante, originating from a long throw-in by Luis Hernández. And, this wasn’t the first time the Cádiz CF centre-back’s powerful arms had helped his team in attack. There have been nine goals originating from throw-ins this LaLiga Santander season and four of them have been scored by Cádiz CF.
Atlético de Madrid celebrate their 120th anniversary
There was reason to celebrate at Atlético de Madrid this past week, with the capital city club turning 120 years of age. To mark the occasion, the club played in a special blue and white kit, a tribute to the club’s origins, for their home match against RCD Mallorca that took place on their anniversary, on April 26th. It was a 3-1 win, so there was quite the party at the Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano.