MADRID, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The race for the La Liga title between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid saw both teams take narrow wins in the 27th round that means Barcelona retains its four-point lead at the top of the table.
Here are some things we learned in Spain this weekend.
1 Pedri makes the difference
FC Barcelona was struggling in the San Mames Stadium on Saturday against an Athletic Bilbao that seemed to have recovered the form and aggression and high press that has been missing for much of this season.
Hansi Flick had rested Pedri at the start of the game thinking about the forthcoming Champions League tie against Newcastle United, but he had no option other than to bring the midfielder into the game. He was rewarded by Pedri giving more control to Barcelona and setting up Lamine Yamal for the winning goal with a decisive and pinpoint pass.
Yamal gets the headlines, but Pedri is vital.
2 Real Madrid rides luck but leaves questions
Real Madrid's game in Celta Vigo had a minute left to play when Fede Valverde received the ball on the edge of the Celta penalty area and unleashed one of his powerful shots. Luck was on Valverde's side as it took a big deflection to end up in the net and win the game, because otherwise Real Madrid would have slipped to six points behind FC Barcelona and its title hopes vanishing in the distance.
The win still raised questions for Real Madrid who looked very short of ideas to break down a Celta defense, while at right back Trent Alexander Arnold was vulnerable and was undone by the home side in Borja Iglesias' equalizing goal.
Manchester City will have probably taken note…
3 Copa del Rey final should be fun
Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad both qualified in midweek for Copa del Rey final, which will be played in Seville on April 18th.
By coincidence the two sides met in Atletico's Metropolitano Stadium on Saturday night in a dress-rehearsal for the final, with Atletico winning an entertaining game 3-2.
If the Cup final is as good, we should be in for a treat.
4 Frustration but good signs for new coaches
Both Martin Demichelis at Mallorca and Quique Sanchez Flores at Alaves will both be frustrated at the final minutes of their new teams' respective games which saw them each concede late goals to drop vital points in the struggle to avoid relegation, both should also be able to take positives from their performances.
Mallorca looked more compact and aggressive in Demichelis' debut in the dugout, with Vedat Muriqi putting them 2-0 up away to Osasuna, while Alaves looked much more aggressive and direct with under Quique and was unlucky to see a 2-1 lead in Valencia turn into a 3-2 defeat.
Both teams have work to do to avoid relegation, but the early signs are that a change of coach could be a positive move. ■
