It was a sombre time in Spanish football this week following the sad news of Diego Maradona’s passing. Nevertheless, there was a full matchday of football this weekend, with several sides also playing in European competition and signing their talents up to new contracts.

Diego Maradona passes away

The world of football has been in mourning this past week after the news of Diego Maradona’s passing at the age of 60 on Wednesday. The Argentine legend spent a significant part of his career in Spain, playing for Barcelona and for Sevilla. Tributes poured in for Maradona, with Lionel Messi producing perhaps the most iconic tribute of all, unveiling a Newell’s Old Boys shirt with Maradona’s number 10 on the back after scoring in Barcelona’s 4-0 win over Osasuna on Sunday.

Sevilla and Barcelona qualify from their Champions League groups

Sevilla and Barcelona wrapped up qualification for the last 16 of the Champions League with away wins this week. Sevilla won 2-1 at Krasnodar, while Lionel Messi-less Barcelona overcame Dynamo Kyiv 4-0.

Promising positions for Spain’s other European teams

The other five LaLiga Santander teams competing in Europe this season are also in good positions in their groups. Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid are both currently second in their Champions League groups, while Granada and Villarreal top their Europa League groups and Real Sociedad are second in theirs.

Eduardo Coudet’s first LaLiga Santander win

RC Celta’s new coach Eduardo Coudet picked up a huge win in his second match in charge of the Galician side this weekend. Goals from Nolita, Miguel Baeza and Fran Beltran were enough to hand Celta a 3-1 win over Granada, a result that allows them to breathe a little easier when they look at the standings at the bottom of the LaLiga Santander table.

Pablo Machín beats Real Madrid again

1. Alavés earned an impressive 2-1 victory over Real Madrid on Saturday night at the Alfredo Di Stefano, a result that means the Basque side’s coach Pablo Machín has now defeated Real Madrid with Girona, Sevilla and Alavés. His overall record vs Los Blancos – three wins out of six matches – makes impressive reading.

New contracts across Spain

Multiple LaLiga Santander clubs announced new contracts this week, with Osasuna giving fan favourite Roberto Torres a new deal until 2023, Real Valladolid extending Fede San Emeterio til 2023 and Real Betis signing up Rodri Sánchez until 2024.

Former Atleti captain Gabi hangs up his boots

An Atlético de Madrid legend has retired, with Gabi announcing this past week that his career has come to an end. The midfielder was the captain of the Atleti side that won the LaLiga Santander title in 2013/14 and he played 297 league matches for the capital city club. Earlier in his career, Gabi also played in 32 top division matches for Getafe and 100 for Real Zaragoza.

All square in Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash

Real Sociedad’s Sunday night meeting with Villarreal was a top-of-the-table affair, as it was first vs third. Both these sides have had excellent starts to the 2020/21 campaign and are competing with the usual title challengers. In a competitive and fascinating battle at the Reale Arena, the match ended 1-1 and means both these sides add another point to their tallies, though at the same time allowing Atletico de Madrid to close the gap at the top.

16-year-old Luka Romero nets his first RCD Mallorca goal

Teenager Luka Romero scored in RCD Mallorca’s 4-0 LaLiga SmartBank win over UD Logroñés this weekend. At just 16 years and 11 days of age, it makes him the second-youngest player ever to score in either of Spain’s top two divisions. Only José Sáez, who scored for Levante in 1949 at the age of 15 years and 337 days, has a professional league goal to his name at a younger age.

Seven LaLiga stars are nominated for FIFA’s The Best awards

A number of top LaLiga Santander talents have been recognized by FIFA for their efforts in the past year, with Sergio Ramos and Lionel Messi on the shortlist for The Best FIFA Men’s Player, with Thibaut Courtois, Jan Oblak and Marc-André ter Stegen on the shortlist for The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper and with Julen Lopetegui and Zinedine Zidane on the shortlist for The Best FIFA Men’s Coach.