La Liga wrap: Real Madrid extend stay at top; Betis conquer Camp Nou

Bengaluru, December 9: It was was another week of big storylines in La Liga as Real Madrid and Real Betis earned statement wins, while coaching changes materialised at Levante UD and Elche CF, and Rayo Vallecano kept up their continent-leading home form.

It was a very good week for Real Madrid in the top flight of Spanish football as they first earned a 1-0 victory at home to Athletic Club and then followed it up with a 2-0 win away at Real Sociedad.

Vinicius Jr scored yet again for the Madristas as those results mean they now lead the La Liga table by eight points, with Sevilla FC their closest challengers at this stage.

Real Madrid pulled further ahead of city rivals Atlético Madrid thanks in part to their loanee Takefusa Kubo, who calmly converted a late one-on-one chance against Jan Oblak to help his current club RCD Mallorca earn a 2-1 victory over Atleti at the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano.

That ended a seven-match winless run in La Liga for the islanders.

Having sacked Fran Escribá last week, Elche CF have now hired former UD Almeria and SD Huesca coach Francisco Rodríguez as their new permanent manager. His first La Liga match in the Franjiverde dugout was a clash with fellow struggles Cádiz CF and Elche CF earned a 3-1 victory and a vital three points.

From coaching changes to stunning goals, here are some of the other big stories from the Spanish La Liga.

Betis conquer Barca

Manuel Pellegrini has built a very competitive Real Betis squad and they kept up their good form when they visited the Camp Nou, handing Xavi Hernández his first defeat as Barça coach.

Juanmi scored his ninth La Liga goal of the season to make it a memorable 1-0 victory for the team from Seville, a three-point haul which puts them third.

Lamela blow for Sevilla

Erik Lamela is set to miss the next four months, having required surgery on an injury to his right shoulder. The summer signing had hit the ground running after arriving in Spanish football, but is expected to be out until April.

All at Sevilla FC hope he can return for the final stages of the 2021-22 La Liga campaign.

Kopa honour for Pedri

In the 2021 Ballon d'Or ceremony Barcelona midfielder Pedri collected one of the evening's prizes, winning the Kopa Trophy for the best young player in men's football to follow his recent Golden Boy triumph.

It was a golden night for Barcelona overall, with women's team captain Alexia Putellas claiming the women's Ballon d'Or and former player Lionel Messi taking a record seventh men's Ballon d'Or, largely for his performances in Spain last season.

Levante move on

Bottom-placed Levante UD sacked Javier Pereira, looking for another spark as they aim to pull themselves out of the drop zone.

‘B' team coach Alessio Lisci has been put in charge as caretaker for the time being, as Levante search for another coach. In his first La Liga match in charge, Lisci's charges earned a point courtesy of a goalless draw with CA Osasuna.

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Story first published: Thursday, December 9, 2021, 15:31 [IST]
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