MADRID, Feb. 9 — FC Barcelona and Real Madrid both won again in the 23rd round of La Liga, while Atletico Madrid dropped further points and its title challenge appears to be fading.
Here are four things we learned in Spain this weekend. 1. Barcelona continues with Lamine leading the way Earlier in the season, there were concerns Lamine Yamal could be suffering from a pelvic injury that would limit his ability to perform at the level he showed in the previous campaign, but his displays in recent weeks have eased those doubts.
Without Raphinha again through injury, the teenager showed maturity beyond his years to lead Barcelona to a 3-0 home win over Mallorca.
Mallorca missed chances at 0-0, but once Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring there was no looking back, with Yamal adding Barcelona’s second with an excellent free kick. 2.
Carvajal a problem for Real Madrid? Real Madrid ground out a 2-0 win away to struggling Valencia on Sunday night to stay in the title race, with Kylian Mbappe the standout performer, but the match again raised questions over right back Dani Carvajal.
The Spain international has not played a minute since Alvaro Arbeloa replaced Xabi Alonso as first-team coach, and in Valencia, Arbeloa opted for youngster David Jimenez before bringing on Trent Alexander-Arnold for the closing stages.
Carvajal needs games to strengthen his chances of a place at this summer’s World Cup, but he does not appear to be in Arbeloa’s plans. With his contract expiring in June, his future could also be uncertain. 3.
What a difference three days make Atletico Madrid qualified for the Copa del Rey semifinals on Thursday with a 5-0 win away to Betis, producing arguably its best football of the season, so Simeone’s side went into Sunday’s league meeting between the two at the Metropolitano Stadium as a clear favorite.
However, Antony’s 29th-minute goal gave Betis a 1-0 win. The visitors were tighter defensively, limited Atletico’s space in midfield and, without the injured Pablo Barrios, the home side struggled to respond.
Atletico is now 13 points behind Barcelona, and the Copa del Rey appears to offer its most realistic route to silverware. 4. Rayo cancellation an embarrassment La Liga postponed Saturday’s scheduled game between Rayo Vallecano and Oviedo just four hours before kickoff, citing the poor state of the pitch at Vallecas and saying it posed a danger to players.
That may have been the case, especially after Rayo had relaid sections of the surface two days earlier, with heavy rain affecting Madrid for several weeks and more expected on Saturday.
However, the pitch was no worse on Saturday morning than on Friday afternoon, raising the question of whether the match could have been called off earlier and spared Oviedo and its supporters an unnecessary trip. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
