Simeone’s first LaLiga win over Barcelona
Diego Simeone may have won a LaLiga Santander title at the Camp Nou, but he had never actually won a league fixture against Barcelona until this weekend. Yannick Carrasco’s goal at the Wanda Metropolitano was enough for Atleti to overcome Barça 1-0 in the blockbuster fixture of Matchday 10 and it places the Rojiblancos firmly in the title conversation.
Barcelona’s injury woes
As well as losing Saturday’s match against Atlético de Madrid, there was further bad news for Barcelona as Gerard Piqué suffered a serious knee injury, ruling him out for several months. Making matters worse, Sergi Roberto also picked up an injury that’ll potentially see him out of action for two months. Ronald Koeman has some thinking to do, above all in defence.
LaLiga stars shine as Spain thrash Germany
Spain achieved a historic 6-0 victory over Germany last week, putting their Nations League rivals to the sword. They did so with several LaLiga Santander stars running the show, with 10 of the 16 players used on the night playing for Spanish sides. Athletic Club, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Villarreal, Real Betis, Atlético de Madrid and Real Sociedad each contributed at least one player to the victory.
Basque XI overcome Costa Rica
The Basque selection played a friendly against Costa Rica this week, with players from Athletic Club, Real Sociedad, Eibar, Alavés and Osasuna making up the squad. They won the match 2-1, with Athletic Club’s Unai Nuñez scoring a stoppage time winner past Keylor Navas.
Unai Nuñez’s new contract
Scoring against Costa Rica wasn’t all Unai Nuñez did this week. The centre-back also put pen to paper on a new deal with Athletic Club, one that links him to the Bilbao-based team until 2025. Like other recent contract extensions at the club, there is no stated release clause in Nuñez’s new deal.
Granada legend Pedro Fernández passes away
All those associated with Granada were in mourning this past week as Pedro Fernández passed away aged 74. He holds the record for the most LaLiga Santander matches played for the Andalusian club, with 172. The centre-back also briefly played for Barcelona during his career.
LaLiga squad spending limits are released
The squad spending limits for LaLiga clubs for the 2020/21 season were made public this past week, with adjustments having been made this season to due to the impact of the coronavirus crisis. The aim of these economic controls is to ensure clubs spend within their means and each club is given a limit based on how much money they bring in.
David and Goliath matches in the Copa del Rey
The draw was held this past week for the first round of the 2020/21 Copa del Rey. The format of the draw means that the smallest clubs were paired with the 16 LaLiga Santander teams who enter at this stage and this has thrown up some real David and Goliath encounters. Fourth-tier sides CD Cardassar and Terrassa FC, for example, will host Atlético de Madrid and Valencia respectively.
Several weeks of kick-off times are released
LaLiga released the exact dates and kick-off times for the next several rounds of fixtures this past week. Fans now know exactly when their teams will be playing in all their league matches up until Matchday 15, the round before Christmas.