Ronaldo’s new man saves Valladolid and Raphinha faces vital spell – 10 THINGS WE LEARNED from LaLiga
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Barcelona were not very good, but ended up extending their lead at the top: Real Madrid and Real Sociedad were brilliant and ended up falling behind. It was that kind of weird weekend.
There was a new injury for Ousmane Dembele, which means he will not face Manchester United. There was a stellar display from Takefusa Kubo against one of his many previous clubs. And Saúl was among the goals for Atlético de Madrid.
Elsewhere, Canada’s all-time top scorer Cyle Larin took the lead for Ronaldo’s Real Valladolid, Iñaki Williams’ record finally came to an end and Elche threatened to set a new one. Here are the 10 things we learned from LaLiga this week.
Carlo Ancelotti lost crucial ground in the title race as Real Madrid drew 0-0 with Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad at the top of the table
The third force changes in Spanish football.
They have been Valencia, Atlético de Madrid, Sevilla, Deportivo, Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad over the years; and sometimes the third force ends up on top.
Real Sociedad won the League in 1981 and ’82.
They probably won’t win it this season but, after having equaled Barça and Madrid in the cup and league in five days, they are once again the third strongest team in the competition… with eight homegrown players finishing 11th in the draw. last night at the Bernabéu.
Sociedad’s coach, Imanol Alguacil, has led his team to third place in LaLiga so far this season
Take Kubo has finally arrived
The 21-year-old Japan international has managed Real Sociedad at the Camp Nou and the Bernabéu in five days and has shown the world that he is prepared to justify the hype that once surrounded him.
The boy that Barça signed when he was 10 years old and then had to let go because FIFA decided that he had broken the rules in doing so, was signed by Real Madrid but they never gave him the opportunity, loaned to Getafe, Villarreal and Mallorca twice, before finding a home at Real Sociedad.
He was their best player on the pitch against Madrid on Sunday and could easily have been the game winner.
Former Real Madrid winger Takefusa Kubo gets caught when he slides towards goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois
Crucial weeks ahead for salable asset Raphinha
Barcelona have already decided that Raphinha can leave next summer if there is a Premier League club willing to match the €58m they paid for him from Leeds.
The reasons are three: he is disappointed; Barça needed the money; and they have winger Abde Ezzalzouli impressing on loan at Osasuna who can come back and take his place for free.
If Raphinha wants to change her mind, now would be the perfect time: with Dembele out injured, the Brazilian could be the man to step up.
Dembélé’s injury, a gift for United
Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele had been injury-free for 14 months, playing 49 of a possible 51 games, but just as those numbers were announced, he faced Girona and now faces a month off the pitch.
With Betis, Sevilla, Villarreal, the cup semifinals and Manchester United on the horizon, the moment is terrible.
Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele limped off against Girona and is set for a month on the sideline
Xavi’s three false forwards, but it is Madrid that needs goals
Pep Guardiola loved the false nine but Xavi went one step further with a ‘false’ forward of three against Girona. It wasn’t by choice: the game ended with Gavi, Pedri and Alejandro Balde up front after Dembélé’s injury.
Ferran Torres and Robert Lewandowski will return from suspension against Real Betis this week.
However, it is Madrid who really seem to lack firepower. There is no alternative for Karim Benzema and, despite superb performances from Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo, Eduardo Camavinga and Dani Ceballos, what he really needed on Sunday was a shot.
Vinicius Jr could not break the tie despite his impressive performance against Sociedad
Pedri beats Iniesta
The 20-year-old Barcelona midfielder made his 100th appearance for the club over the weekend and scored his 15th goal.
Comparisons to Andrés Iniesta are never too far away and it will be a while before a measured judgment can be made, but one thing cannot be denied: after 100 games, Iniesta had only scored five goals for Barcelona.
Midfield star Pedri (left) continues to draw comparisons to Barcelona icon Andrés Iniesta (right)
The goals are also gold at the bottom.
It’s usually cheaper to fire a manager than to sign a striker when you’re in trouble, but Valladolid president Ronaldo Nazario has kept faith with his manager and given the go-ahead for the club to go out and sign the Canada’s all-time leading scorer, Cyle Larin.
He scored the winner in the 90th minute on his debut to knock his team out of the bottom three and heap more misery on Valencia and their boss Gennaro Gattuso.
Ronaldo’s new signing Cyle Larin scored late as Real Valladolid moved out of the relegation zone.
Elche on the way to an unwanted record
They have six points with half the season played, so they are on course for what would be the worst season since Spanish football switched to three points for a win.
Sporting de Gijón finished with just 13 points in 1998, but their 25-year record is under serious threat.
Elche, on the way to a record low, only has six points in LaLiga so far this season
Williams’ record streak comes to an end
After 251 consecutive league appearances, Iñaki Williams finally missed a game on Sunday as Athletic Bilbao were beaten by Celta Vigo.
The striker last missed a game in April 2017.
After five years of avoiding injuries and suspensions, he sat out this loss with a strained muscle, which didn’t stop him from traveling to watch his teammates go down 1-0 without him.
Inaki Williams made 251 consecutive league appearances before missing this weekend’s game
Finally something to make Saúl smile
He scored the winning goal for Atlético Madrid on Sunday with his first goal for the club since January 2021. It’s easy to forget how he once looked like the powerhouse of both Spain and Diego Simeone’s midfield.
He had a bump in his career at Atlético and the bold move to get back on track at Chelsea never came to fruition.
He’s still just 28 years old, and this game-winner can only help him on the road back to where he was just a few seasons ago.
Saúl scored the winning goal for Atlético Madrid in Osasuna, after having endured a difficult period in his career.