Juanmi's Hat Trick Stuns the World
Real Betis showed resilience in their 3-1 win over Levante in the last round, with Juanmi leading the way with three goals. His performance made him the fourth player to score a hat-trick in La Liga this season after Karim Benzema, Marco Asensio and Choco Lozano.
Pedrie honored with 2021 Golden Boy Award
Pedri, the heart of Barcelona's midfield, has won the 2021 Golden Boy Award, which recognizes Europe's most outstanding footballer under the age of 21. Pedri won the award by a huge margin, having had a brilliant year for both club and country.
Joaquin bids farewell to soccer at season's end
Real Betis captain Joaquin has announced that he will retire at the end of the 2021/22 season, bidding farewell to his soccer career at the age of 41 in the summer. Joaquin has had an impressive career, currently making 587 appearances in the Spanish top flight, second only to Andoni Zubizarreta's 622.
Escrivá joins Elche at the helm of the coaching staff
Elche decisively appointed Francisco Rodr%uEDguez as their new head coach after firing Fran Escrib%uE1. Having coached at Almeria, Huesca and Girona, he has a wealth of experience in the top flight, leading the team to 82 La Liga matches. His goal is to lead Elche out of the relegation crisis for the rest of the season.
Real Madrid advances to Champions League knockout stage
Real Madrid have reached the group stage for the 30th time since the UEFA Champions League was reorganized, and in midweek they finished the group stage with a 3-0 win over Sergeant Tiraspol to advance to the knockout stage. This makes Real Madrid the only club in history to consistently make it out of the group stage.
La Liga teams' European fate to be revealed in final group games
Of the La Liga teams competing in Europe this season, Real Betis secured their place in the knockout round play-offs with a 2-0 win over Ferencvaros. Other La Liga teams are also in with a chance of progressing, including Villarreal, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla in the Champions League and Real Sociedad in the UEFA Europa League, whose fate will be revealed in the sixth round of group games.
King's Cup Round of 16 action set to begin
In the middle of this week, the 16 teams in La Liga will officially start their Copa del Rey campaign. With the exception of Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, all clubs not participating in this season's Spanish Super Cup will take part in this phase of the Copa del Rey. There is no shortage of high-profile match-ups, such as the Andalusian battle between Cordoba and Sevilla.
