Real Madrid drop even more points, as Barcelona sprint ahead. Exciting matchday in sunny Spain, for La Liga’s 20th matchday!
Results
| 3.2.2023 |  | Athletic Club | 4 |  | Cadiz | 1 |
| 4.2.2023 |  | Espanyol | 1 |  | Osasuna | 1 |
| 4.2.2023 |  | Elche | 3 |  | Villarreal | 1 |
| 4.2.2023 |  | Atletico Madrid | 1 |  | Getafe | 1 |
| 4.2.2023 |  | Real Betis | 3 |  | Celta Vigo | 4 |
| 5.2.2023 |  | Mallorca | 1 |  | Real Madrid | 0 |
| 5.2.2023 |  | Girona | 1 |  | Valencia | 0 |
| 5.2.2023 |  | Real Sociedad | 0 |  | Valladolid | 1 |
| 5.2.2023 |  | Barcelona | 3 |  | Sevilla | 0 |
| 6.2.2023 |  | Rayo Vallecano | 2 |  | Almeria | 0 |
The round kicked off with Athetlic versus Cadiz and the Basque team managed to win 4-1. This comes after 3 straight losses, so it is a welcome results for Ernesto Valverde and co. Speaking of former Barcelona managers, Villareal were not quite so lucky, as they have lost again, this time to last placed Elche. Atletico Madrid only got a point versus Getafe, while Real Betis lost at home to Celta Vigo.
Real Madrid played early afternoon on Sunday and they did not get the result they wanted against Mallorca. In fact they lost, 1-0, in another controversial match, due to racist abuse being thrown at Vini Jr. La Liga is investigating, whatever that means. Real Sociedad also lost, at home to Valladolid. Barcelona played Sevilla on Sunday night and they grabbed another 3 points, beating the Andalusians, 3-0.
Standings
| # | Team | Played | Win | Draw | Lose | Goals | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Barcelona | 20 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 42 : 7 | 53 |
| 2 | | Real Madrid | 20 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 40 : 17 | 45 |
| 3 | | Real Sociedad | 20 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 28 : 19 | 39 |
| 4 | | Atletico Madrid | 20 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 29 : 17 | 35 |
| 5 | | Rayo Vallecano | 20 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 27 : 22 | 32 |
| 6 | | Villarreal | 20 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 22 : 17 | 31 |
| 7 | | Real Betis | 20 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 24 : 20 | 31 |
| 8 | | Athletic Club | 20 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 29 : 21 | 29 |
| 9 | | Osasuna | 20 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 19 : 19 | 29 |
| 10 | | Mallorca | 20 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 16 : 18 | 28 |
| 11 | | Girona | 20 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 27 : 29 | 24 |
| 12 | | Celta Vigo | 20 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 22 : 32 | 23 |
| 13 | | Valladolid | 20 | 7 | 2 | 11 | 15 : 28 | 23 |
| 14 | | Almeria | 20 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 23 : 31 | 22 |
| 15 | | Espanyol | 20 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 24 : 30 | 21 |
| 16 | | Sevilla | 20 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 21 : 29 | 21 |
| 17 | | Valencia | 20 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 25 : 24 | 20 |
| 18 | | Cadiz | 20 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 15 : 33 | 19 |
| 19 | | Getafe | 20 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 17 : 27 | 18 |
| 20 | | Elche | 20 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 15 : 40 | 9 |
These results put Barcelona firmly at the top of La Liga, with an eight points advantage over their rivals. Also worth noting that Real Madrid are getting their next round match delayed, due to the Club World Cup. Real Sociedad are a further 5 points behind. Atletico are 4th, with Iraola’s Rayo sitting 5th, in front of Villareal, Athetlic and Real Betis.
Despite their grand win, Elche are still looking quite hopeless, they are last with only 9 points. It’s very close above 20th placed, as Getafe are on 18, Cadiz on 19, Valencia(!!!) on 20 and the list goes on with Sevilla, Espanyol, Almeria, Valladolid, Celta and even Girona being in danger.
Team of the week
The star of the round is Elche striker, Milla, with a 9.0. Quite a few teams with two players, as we have Jordi Alba and Raphinha from Barcelona, Sancet and Alvarez from Bilbao, Larsen and Veiga from Celta and Garcia plus Bueno from Girona. Dimitrevski is the goalkeeper from Rayo.