What has been going on in LaLiga this past week?
There have been transfers, contract renewals, individual awards and important victories in LaLiga Santander over the past seven days. Below, the biggest stories from this busy week are broken down.
Youssef En-Nesyri is 2021’s first Player of the Month in LaLiga Santander
The first Player of the Month award of 2021 has gone to Sevilla striker Youssef En-Nesyri, who had a brilliant January with two hat-tricks. Luis Suárez, Toni Kroos, Frenkie de Jong, Pau Torres, Sergio Canales and Roger Martí were the other candidates for the award, but the in-form Moroccan beat them to the honour.
Deadline day moves
There were several transfers in LaLiga Santander on deadline day of the January window. The last-minute moves included Rubén Sobrino’s loan switch from Valencia CF to Cádiz CF, Paulo Gazzaniga’s loan move from Tottenham to Elche CF, Iñigo Córdoba’s loan down the road from Athletic Club to D. Alavés and Lucas Olaza leaving RC Celta to sign with Real Valladolid on loan.
Come-from-behind wins for FC Barcelona and Real Madrid
Both FC Barcelona and Real Madrid fell behind on the road this weekend, yet they both managed to mount comebacks to end up winning their matches. FC Barcelona managed to fight back to win 3-2 away at Real Betis, while Real Madrid overcame a stubborn SD Huesca side 2-1.
El Comandante is staying
José Luis Morales is staying with Levante. ‘El Comandante’ has committed to the Valencian club until 2023 and celebrated his contract renewal with a historic progression to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey.
Ander Barrenetxea signs until 2027
Real Sociedad and Ander Barrenetxea are committed to each other for the long term, with the 19-year-old putting pen to paper on a new contract that has an end date of 2027. Having already impressed as a teenager, the future looks bright for this special player.
A new contract for Óscar de Marcos
Óscar de Marcos is yet another player who has signed a new contract this week. De Marcos has become a very important player in Marcelino’s Athletic Club project and has been rewarded for his strong performances of late with a new deal, one that will go until 2022.
Sergio Ramos goes under the knife
In order to fix an ongoing knee issue, Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has gone for an operation and he’ll be out for several weeks. That’s a huge blow for Real Madrid, especially with the club dealing with several other injuries right now.
Abelardo’s first win
Alavés earned their first victory since Abelardo returned as coach this week, topping Valladolid 1-0 in the coach’s 30th win in charge of the side from Vitoria across two spells. They’ll now look to build on the good result and push towards safety as the season goes on.
Elche CF fight back in their Valencian Community derby
Although the back-from-injury Gerard Moreno put Villarreal CF two goals up in this weekend’s Valencia Community derby, Elche CF fought back with goals from Guido Carrillo and Lucas Boyé to earn a 2-2 draw and to keep their hopes of avoiding relegation alive.
Four teams remain in the Copa del Rey
The 2020/21 Copa del Rey has reached the semi-final stage, with just FC Barcelona, Sevilla FC, Athletic Club and Levante UD remaining. The first two will play each other and the latter two will go head-to-head as well, with the two-legged semi-final ties commencing this week.
