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Barcelona have been crowned winter champions in La Liga after closing the first 19 rounds as the table toppers—but does that mean they beat Atletico Madrid?
The winter wooden spoon, so to speak, has gone to Real Betis, while the winter Pichichi would be awarded to Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of Diego Costa.
You win nothing in January though, you know that.
Here are the talking points from the Spanish football weekend:
1. Defences on top at the top
If you watched the Spanish Supercopa earlier this season you won’t have been surprised to Atletico Madrid and Barcelona fight out a 0-0 draw at the Vicente Calderon on Saturday night.
Diego Simeone, who once again pointed out the “€400 million difference” between the sides after the game, has built a team known for resilience and strength in defence, so it was anticipated that his back five could keep out Barca’s collection of world class forwards.
Left-back Filipe Luis was the pick of the bunch. The Brazilian completed all six of his tackles and all three of his clearances as his star continues to rise.
Tata Martino threw on Lionel Messi and Neymar in the second half, but it was Gerard Pique who stood out for the visitors.
The defender returned to his best by completing five of his six tackles, making seven clearances and winning 50 percent of his aerial duels in a result which, in all probability, pleased all three of Spain’s title chasers.
2. Real Madrid cut the gap
Real Madrid cut the gap to 3 points
The stalemate on Saturday night meant that Real Madrid could cut the gap from five points to three on La Liga’s top two against Espanyol on Sunday.
It wasn’t an easy task—Atleti, Athletic Bilbao and Valencia have already lost at Cornella-El Prat this season—but they managed to squeak over the line.
Luka Modric was super, oozing class in a midfield performance which was head and shoulders above anyone else on the pitch. His set-piece led to the only goal of the game, scored by Pepe’s head, but he offered so much more than that.
He went on driving runs to lead Los Blancos on counter attacks (completing four of his six take-ons), passed the ball with purpose and made three vital interceptions—one on Gabriel Torje interrupted a particularly dangerous Espanyol break.
Meanwhile, on the eve of the Ballon d’Or, Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t manage to score despite having 11 efforts on goal. He even missed one chance which was as good as open net after the impressive Kiko Casilla had saved from Karim Benzema.
3. Rayo: Good, Betis: Bad
Real Betis in serious trouble after game week 19
There were mixed fortunes for La Liga’s bottom two this weekend: Real Betis were plunged into real trouble, while Rayo Vallecano picked up a tremendously huge three points in a Madrid derby.
Betis may have sacked Pepe Mel, but things have arguably got worse since. Sunday’s defeat at home to Osasuna acted as the most concerning result of their season so far.
Goals have been a problem for the Seville-based side of late and, despite managing 22 shots this weekend, they didn’t manage to hit the net until the 80th minute—by which point their visitors were already 2-0 up.
Rayo’s trouble had been conceding goals, so in keeping a clean sheet against Getafe they were always likely to nick the win. Albert Bueno scored the only goal in a game watched by Manchester United coach Phil Neville.
They’re now two points from safety, with Betis five points behind them at the bottom.
4. Athletic and Granada in the goals
Athletic and Granada scored lots of goals
Goals have hardly been the order of the day for Athletic Bilbao and Granada this season, but the two teams registered 10 between them this weekend.
Athletic cemented themselves in fourth place by scoring six against struggling Almeria. There were five different scorers as well, with only Ibai Gomez helping himself to more than one goal.
Granada dished out some punishment to Real Valladolid, who fell into the bottom three, in the Friday night game.
Defender Jeison Murillo opened the scoring with a fantastic overhead kick. By the time the full time whistle went the home side had racked up 15 shots and four goals to stun even their own fans—Recio scored a brace.
5. Pizzi’s poor start
Pizzi’s start was not great
The size of the challenge at Valencia will have become clear to their new manager, Pizzi, this weekend.
Having led 1-0 away at Balaidos, Los Che eventually crumbled to a 2-1 defeat against Celta Vigo.
Valencia are desperate for a new striker and it’s not hard to see why. They managed 11 efforts on goal in their defeat in Galicia, but Pizzi had to watch on as only two hit the target—one of which was midfielder Dani Parejo’s goal.
It was a vital win for Luis Enrique’s Celta as they look to beat the drop. Charles, who had a horror show in front of goal against Madrid last week, amended himself by scoring twice.
