What has been going on in LaLiga this past week? Here are 10 of the top stories, from Real Madrid's hard-fought Copa del Rey victory to En-Nesyri's Player of the Month prize.
Rodrygo leads Real Madrid to Copa del Rey glory
On Saturday night, the 2022/23 Copa del Rey final took place in Seville and Real Madrid defeated CA Osasuna 2-1, with Rodrygo the hero as he scored both of his team's goals as Los Blancos lifted the trophy. Despite being just 22 years of age, Rodrygo has now won eight trophies with Real Madrid in his career.
CA Osasuna make history and memories
Even though they lost the Copa del Rey final, CA Osasuna had a week to remember. The Pamplona-based club were well-supported in Seville, with tens of thousands of fans making the trip to cheer on Los Rojillos. They may have lost in the end, but Lucas Torr's goal will live long in the memory of the fanbase who'll see their team participate in next season's Spanish Super Cup.
Seventh place brings a ticket to Europe
Because Real Madrid won the Copa del Rey, this means that seventh place in LaLiga Santander is a European qualification spot, specifically for the Conference League. The battle is fascinating, with Girona FC currently in that position in the table but with Athletic Club and Rayo Vallecano hot on their heels.
Youssef En-Nesyri wins the April Player of the Month award
It was revealed this week who won the Player of the Month award for April, with Youssef En-Nesyri picking up the prize. The Sevilla FC centre-forward helped his side collect important points in that month, scoring goals against Cdiz CF, RC Celta and Villarreal CF.
The battle for second is on
The results of Matchday 33 mean that Atltico de Madrid have moved ahead of city rivals Real Madrid in the LaLiga Santander table, with Los Colchoneros now in second place on 69 points and Los Blancos in third on 68. Over the final five matchdays of the season, there will be a fierce battle between the two capital city clubs to finish higher in the standings.
Atltico de Madrid could finish as top scorers
Not only are Atltico de Madrid challenging Real Madrid for the final position in the LaLiga Santander table, but they're also closing in on the honour of finishing as the top scorers of the division. With Atleti's impressive 5-1 victory over Cdiz CF on Wednesday, they're maintaining their fine scoring form and now have 60 for the season, 32 of them in the 14 rounds since the midway point of Matchday 19. If Atleti keep this pace up, they could catch Real Madrid, the top-scoring side, who have netted 69 so far.
Bordals is back
In Matchday 33, Jos Bordals had his first home match since returning to Getafe CF as coach and, for the fans at the Coliseum Alfonso Prez, it was reminiscent of old times. Getafe CF took an early lead against RC Celta with an Enes nal penalty and managed to nurse that 1-0 lead all the way to full-time for an important three points.
Takefusa Kubo is firing Real Sociedad to the Champions League
Real Sociedad remain in fourth position and now have a seven-point gap over fifth-placed Villarreal CF. The fact that they've been able to build up this distance in recent weeks is in large part down to Japanese winger Takefusa Kubo, who opened the scoring in La Real's 2-0 victory over Real Madrid in Matchday 33.
Elche CF will play in LaLiga SmartBank next season
The Elche CF fanbase suffered a blow this past week, as their relegation to LaLiga SmartBank was mathematically confirmed with a 2-1 defeat at UD Almera. This relegation had been on the cards for a while, mostly because of the team's disappointing start to the season, and now it has been made official. They had been back in the top division since 2020 and will hope to bounce straight back up.
The 'Team of the Season' candidates are announced
This week, the nominees to make the 15-man 'Team Of The Season' squad were announced, with this award being organised by LaLiga and EA SPORTS. The nominees are: Thibaut Courtois, Marc-Andr Ter Stegen, lex Remiro, Jan Oblak, Jeremas Ledesma, Jules Kound, Nahuel Molina, Arnau Martnez, der Militao, Robin Le Normand, Jos Mara Gimnez, David Garca, Pau Torres, Jos Luis Gay, Javi Galn, Alejandro Balde, Nemanja Gudelj, Yeray lvarez, Toni Kroos, Frenkie De Jong, Brais Mndez, Sergio Canales, Mikel Merino, Gavi, Pedri, Luka Modric, Sergi Darder, Gabri Veiga, Fede Valverde, Dani Parejo, Eduardo Camavinga, Nico Williams, Isaac Palazn, lvaro Garca, Lee Kang-In, Aleix Garcia, Karim Benzema, Robert Lewandowski, Enes nal, Joselu, Antoine Griezmann, Iago Aspas, Borja Iglesias, Vedat Muriqi, Dembel, Raphinha and Vini Jr.