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Gonzalo Garcia Hat-Trick Powers Real Madrid, Atletico Stumble in La Liga

Real Madrid maintained pressure on league leaders Barcelona with a dominant 5-1 victory over Real Betis, fueled by a hat-trick from young striker Gonzalo Garcia. Atletico Madrid's title hopes suffered a blow as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Real Sociedad in new coach Pellegrino Matarazzo's debut. Elsewhere, Levante began Luis Castro's tenure with a 3-0 win over Sevilla, and Girona moved out of the bottom three with a victory against Mallorca. The results leave Atletico seven points behind Real Madrid and 11 behind Barcelona in the standings.

Key Points: Real Madrid Thrash Betis, Atletico Draw in La Liga Title Race

  • Garcia hat-trick for Real Madrid
  • Atletico draw hurts title hopes
  • Levante win under new coach
  • Girona climb out of relegation zone
  • Sorloth and Kubo shine in draw
2 min read

Real Madrid on track, Atletico lose ground in La Liga title race

Gonzalo Garcia scores a hat-trick as Real Madrid beat Betis 5-1. Atletico Madrid drops points in a draw with Real Sociedad. La Liga updates.

"Garcia, who started due to Kylian Mbappe's knee injury, opened the scoring... and completed his hat-trick with a back-flick - Xinhua"

Madrid, Jan 5

Young striker Gonzalo Garcia scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid kept track of FC Barcelona at the top of La Liga with a comfortable 5-1 home win over Real Betis.

Garcia, who started due to Kylian Mbappe's knee injury, opened the scoring with a far-post header in the 20th minute and doubled the lead with a volley early in the second half, reports Xinhua.

Raul Asencio was left unmarked to make it 3-0 with a header, before Cucho Hernandez pulled a goal back for Betis. Garcia then completed his hat-trick with a back-flick and Fran Garcia scored the fifth in injury time.

On the other hand, Atletico Madrid dropped two points in the title race after a 1-1 draw to Real Sociedad, whose new coach Pellegrino Matarazzo was making his debut.

Alexander Sorloth put Atletico ahead after 50 minutes, but Takefusa Kubo set up Goncalo Guedes to level just five minutes later.

Atletico currently sits fourth in the standings, seven points behind Real Madrid and 11 behind Barcelona.

Luis Castro's reign as new Levante coach got off to a good start, as his side notched a 3-0 away win over Sevilla.

Iker Losada put Levante ahead on the stroke of halftime after a sharp exchange of passes. Carlos Espi's first ever league goal doubled the lead with 13 minutes left to play and Carlos Alvarez sealed the win in stoppage time.

Real Oviedo, which also looks to have improved under Guillermo Almada, played out a 1-1 draw away to Alaves.

Federico Vinas put Oviedo ahead in the second half and missed a great chance to double the lead, while Lucas Boye made Oviedo pay for the misses when he equalized with a stunning free kick in the 69th minute.

Girona climbed out of the bottom three with a 2-1 win in Mallorca, with Viktor Tsygankov and Vladyslav Vanat putting them 2-0 ahead before Vedat Muriqi's late penalty for Mallorca.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

S
Sarah B
As a neutral fan watching from India, it's great to see young talent getting a chance. Garcia's hat-trick was clinical. Atletico dropping points again... Simeone needs to find a solution quickly if they want top four.
V
Vikram M
Atletico are 11 points behind Barca? That's almost impossible to bridge now. They should focus on securing Champions League football. Real Madrid look strong, but Barca's consistency might be the key this season.
R
Rohit P
Respectfully, the article focuses too much on the big clubs. What about Levante's great away win or Girona fighting relegation? La Liga is more than just Madrid and Barcelona. Good to see some coverage of other matches though.
K
Kavya N
Staying up till 1:30 AM to watch this match was worth it! Garcia's back-flick goal was pure class. Yaar, the quality of football in La Liga is just different. Hope he gets more starts even after Mbappe returns.
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Michael C
Interesting to see the impact of new coaches. Matarazzo gets a draw for Sociedad on debut, and Castro starts with a big win for Levante. Sometimes a fresh perspective is all a team needs.

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