MADRID, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Matchday 21 of La Liga saw the top four teams all win, while the middle of the table is becoming more congested than ever, and at the bottom Huesca and Villarreal risk being cut adrift. Here are some things we learned over the weekend.
1. Barca still not at their best
Goals from Nelson Semedo and Lionel Messi gave FC Barcelona their eighth consecutive league win as they triumphed 2-0 in Girona on Sunday afternoon. Once again it was far from a vintage display from Barca, who went into the match off the back of a 2-0 Copa del Rey defeat away to Sevilla in midweek.
This week sees the return leg of that tie in the Camp Nou, and Barca will have to improve if they are to get past a Sevilla side who put five past Levante on Saturday. Coach Ernesto Valverde will have to decide if he focuses on that game, or prefers to reserve his star players for La Liga and the Champions League.
2. Things starting to come good for Solari and Benzema?
Although it is no surprise to see Real Madrid win away to Espanyol, Sunday's 4-2 win can only serve to further boost morale at the club after the previous weekend's 2-0 win at home to Sevilla.
Coach Santiago Solari again showed he is not scared to leave big-name players like Isco and Marcelo out of his side, and reaped the rewards. His selection gamble was partially vindicated when Marcelo came on as a substitute and was at fault for Espanyol's second goal of the game. But the best news for Madrid has to be Karim Benzema's form, with his two goals against Espanyol taking his tally to 15 for the season, and 10 more than at the same stage last year. The Frenchman is benefitting from Solari's style of play, with Vinicius Jr and Lucas Vazquez opening up the pitch and creating space.
Madrid have a couple of tough games on the horizon, but things look much brighter now than they did at the start of the month.
3. Sevilla back on track
Sevilla have bounced back well following their defeat to Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
Pablo Machin's side took advantage of a weakened FC Barcelona to beat the league leaders 2-0 in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal and followed that up with five second half goals to beat Levante 5-0 in La Liga.
Sevilla still have to play the return leg of their Cup tie in the Camp Nou this coming week, but the two results will ease fears that competing for honors across three fronts would stretch Machin's squad.
While it's true they could pay for both of their Cup adventures in the coming weeks, this week will have at least eased short-term fears over fatigue.
4. Getafe's mental block
Atletico Madrid kept the pressure on FC Barcelona with a comfortable 2-0 win at home to Getafe on Saturday thanks to goals from Antoine Griezmann and Saul Niguez.
It could have been that Getafe were more focused on their Copa del Rey quarterfinal against Valencia next week, but it could also be the case that Los Azulones suffer some kind of mental block against their neighbors.
A look at the records shows that Getafe have now failed to score in their last 15 games against Atletico, during which time Atletico have netted 30 times.
Some things in football are just impossible to explain.
