MADRID, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- FC Barcelona turned on the style once again, Celta Vigo stunned Real Madrid, and old failings returned to haunt Atletico Madrid. Here are some things we learned this weekend in La Liga.
1. Ferran Torres hat-trick as Barcelona turns on the style
It could have been difficult for Barcelona away to Real Betis, playing against an in-form rival that started the weekend fifth in La Liga and in excellent attacking form.
The omens weren't good for Hansi Flick's side when their flight to Seville was delayed by more than an hour due to fog, and when the action did get underway, Antony put Betis ahead after just five minutes.
The Estadio de la Cartuja was jumping, but it needed just seven minutes for Barcelona to change all that, with Torres finishing off a passing move and then hitting a volley to put his side ahead, and from there Barcelona never looked back.
Barcelona impressed in midweek against Atletico Madrid and this was another display to instill fear into its title rivals.
2. Disaster in the Bernabeu
After Real Madrid appeared to return to its best form with a 3-0 win against Athletic Club last Wednesday, nobody expected Sunday's 2-0 defeat at home to Celta Vigo to brutally expose Xabi Alonso's men.
Celta were the better side, with Borja Iglesias and Bryan Zaragoza causing all sorts of problems for a defense that lost Eder Militao to injury in the first half.
Real Madrid's indiscipline then saw Fran Garcia and Alvaro Carreras both sent off after each saw two yellow cards inside barely a minute, while Endrick also saw red for his complaints from the dugout.
One step forward and two steps back for Alonso and with Manchester City visiting the Bernabeu on Wednesday, could Pep Guardiola's side deliver the coup de grace?
3. Lack of ambition and improved rival harms Atletico Madrid
Alex Berenguer scored the only goal of the game as Athletic Club beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 in the San Mames Stadium to reward a much improved performance by Athletic, and leave Atletico's title hopes once again in the balance.
With Nico Williams and Oihan Sancet both looking fully fit for the first time this season, Athletic looked much more like the team that finished fourth last season, but Atletico coach Diego Simeone has to look at his tactics.
Although he brought on strikers Alexander Sorloth, Antoine Griezmann and Giacomo Raspadori, they were all straight swaps for other attackers, and with the game seemingly heading for 0-0, Simeone seemed happy to maintain the status quo.
Berenguer broke the deadlock and Atletico now sits nine points behind Barcelona in the standings.
4. Oviedo change for the worse
Oviedo's decision to sack Veljko Paunovic - who led the club to promotion - during the October international break and replace him with Luis Carrion, who in 2024 rejected a new contract in order to join Las Palmas, was one of the surprises of the season, and the past two months have shown that it hasn't had the necessary effect.
Friday's 0-0 draw at home to Mallorca leaves Oviedo with just 10 points from 15 games.
Paunovic left Oviedo with six points from eight games. Carrion has won four points from seven, but his side has failed to score in six of those matches, with 0-0 draws in home games against Osasuna, Rayo Vallecano and Mallorca.
Carrion will argue he has made Oviedo harder to beat, but most fans are struggling to see an improvement on the man he replaced. ■
