MADRID, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The past weekend saw FC Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao in the final of the Copa del Rey, while Atletico Madrid brushed past Eibar, and a Real Madrid side missing a host of players dropped two points away to Getafe. Here's what we learned this weekend.
1. Koeman shows tactical ability in Copa del Rey win
FC Barcelona scored four goals in 12 minutes to beat Athletic Bilbao in the final of the Copa del Rey, although the result never looked in doubt from the kick off, which saw Barca control the ball for the first three minutes with Athletic not getting a touch.
One of the reasons Barca controled things from start to finish was that boss Ronald Koeman won the tactical battle, playing with three central defenders - two of whom pushed forward to help in midfield, to give Barca a numerical advantage in nearly every part of the pitch against a rival playing a rigid 4-4-2. Every time a Barca player had the ball, they had someone available, but every time a rival got it, they found themselves under pressure and their teammates all marked. From that point, the rest was easy.
2. Eibar just the tonic for Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid ended a worrying run of results with a 5-0 win at home to bottom side Eibar, with a result that was assured once Angel Correa opened the scoring in the 42nd minute and doubled that lead two minutes later.
The fact those two goals both came from set pieces showed that Atletico had struggled to break down their rivals' defense in the first 42 minutes, but in the second half they found more spaces and netted three more goals, with Marcos Llorente scoring twice.
It's hard to say whether Atletico are back to their best, but Llorente's return is significant and the boost to their confidence will be important when they have another home game against Huesca on Thursday.
3. Absences hurt Real Madrid's hopes
Real Madrid had goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to thank for the point they took in Sunday's 0-0 draw against Getafe, as Zinedine Zidane struggled with a host of players absent through injury, COVID-19 and fatigue.
The Madrid coach was without Ferland Mendy, Lucas Vazquez, Dani Carvajal and Sergio Ramos (who also has COVID-19) through injury, while Casemiro and Nacho were suspended and Raphael Varane and Fede Valverde were out with COVID-19. Meanwhile, Zidane also opted to rest Karim Benzema and Luka Modric after an exhausting run of matches that has taken them to their physical limit.
The result was a disjointed display and with Madrid facing another month with two games every week, you have to wonder whether sheer tiredness is going to be a key factor in their title challenge.
4. Sevilla continue to make their claim
Sevilla's 2-1 win strengthens their claim to be thought of as title contenders, as Julen Lopetegui's men produced a stunning first-half display to win 2-1 away to Real Sociedad.
Nearly all of the action was in the first 45 minutes, as Sevilla came back from a goal down to swamp their rivals with two goals, two efforts against the woodwork and several missed chances.
Sevilla then showed another side of their game as they tightened up in defense and denied Real Sociedad any chance of a fightback. Enditem