The title race in La Liga remains up in the air, but Barcelona are definitely looking better than Real Madrid after beating their nemeses in the Copa del Rey final and making them lose their cool. We’ve got the goods on the week’s action here.
La Liga winners from Matchday 33
Arda Güler
The Real Madrid attacker hardly ever sees the pitch with all the galácticos ahead of him on the depth chart, but he kept the title race viable by scoring the only goal in Real’s win over Getafe. He probably reminded Carlo Ancelotti of his existence, too. It would be great if a Turkish player excelled for Real Madrid, but right now, it feels like he’s going to be one of those players who gets sold off to some less fashionable team and performs really well for them.
Nahuel Tenaglia
The Alavés defender was an unlikely scorer of the only goal in their victory over Real Sociedad, when he volleyed home Carlos Vicente’s corner kick in the 64th minute. Their win plus Las Palmas’ loss at Bilbao raises Alavés out of the relegation zone.
Dani Olmo
He was just starting to rediscover his groove when he got hurt again. Still, when healthy he gives Barcelona’s offense another dimension, and his goal to defeat Mallorca kept his team four points ahead of Real in the standings.
Munir El-Haddadi
The former Barcelona academy graduate rescued a point for Leganés in stoppage time against Girona with his shorthanded goal. Whether that’s enough to save the team from relegation remains to be seen, but they need every boost in the standings.
Rubén García
His beautiful left-footed free kick into the top corner of Sevilla’s goal was the only score of the game and gave Osasuna the win.
La Liga losers from Matchday 33
Real Valladolid
Their relegation became official with their 5-1 defeat to Real Betis. They have now given up 57 more goals than they have scored, with no other team in the top flight sporting a deficit of more than 19. Their last win in La Liga was in December. If owner Ronaldo (the ex-Brazilian player, not the Portuguese player) doesn’t make serious changes, they may not even stay in La Segunda División by the end of next season.
Real Madrid
Despite their win over Getafe, their loss in the Copa del Rey final exposed what we found out from their previous losses to Barcelona and Arsenal: This team is second-best. Every once in a while, los blancos’ “buy the shiniest toy” transfer policy will sabotage them. Their three red cards in the dying stages of the cup final aren’t encouraging, either. If they win at the Nou Camp in two weeks, then they’ll upend all this talk. History says that they will, but recent form says no.
José María Bordalás
The bespectacled Getafe manager is the most despised coach in La Liga for his defense-first, -second, and -third philosophy. He probably doesn’t deserve the hate — his team doesn’t have the personnel to play wide-open, attacking soccer (especially against Real Madrid), and his philosophy did get them a draw at Barcelona and a win over Atlético earlier this season. Now, though, Getafe have lost four of their last five, and the win in that stretch was over terrible, dead Valladolid. The team is languishing in 12th place. When you play like this and the results don’t come, it makes you wonder what all that hard defensive work is for. Just like in football, defensive players in soccer need the psychological boost of seeing goals go up on the scoreboard. The offense must improve if Getafe are to gain any traction.
Eric Bailly
Not all the ex-Manchester United players are doing great. The Villarreal defender got shown a straight red for his challenge on Alfonso González, and the floodgates opened for Celta de Vigo, which seized a crucial 3-0 win at home. Fortunately for his team, they beat Espanyol four days later to stay a point ahead of Real Betis for that last Champions League place.
Sevilla
Could they get pulled into the relegation muck? Their remaining games include home to Real Madrid and away to Villarreal. They’re probably safe if they win their home matches against Leganés and Las Palmas, but with five losses in their last six games, who would lay money on that? They’ll be without Dodi Lukébakio, too, after the red card he picked up against Osasuna.