Barcelona missed the chance to make inroads at the top when they were held to a draw at mid-table Valencia. João Félix finally broke the deadlock in the 55th minute with a close-range strike, tapping in from a Raphinha cross but Hugo Guillamón equalised 15 minutes later with a brilliant curling shot from the edge of the box. Barça pushed on for the winner but were denied, as was the case almost all game, by Giorgi Mamardashvili, who made a string of outstanding saves. Barça are six points behind Girona.
Sevilla fired coach Diego Alonso after his team remained winless following a 3-0 home defeat to Getafe on Saturday. Alonso did not give the customary post-game news conference. Sevilla sports director Víctor Orta said the club would “try to bring in a new coach as soon as possible”.
Sevilla visit Granada on Tuesday in a regional Andalusian derby before a game at Atlético next Saturday to play a game that was postponed from September due to bad weather. Under Alonso, Sevilla did not win in eight league games and lost all four of its Champions League matches, finishing bottom of its group. The Uruguayan arrived in October to replace José Mendilibar, who led the club to the Europa League title last campaign.
The only two wins under Alonso came against lower-division rivals in the Copa del Rey. Sevilla were in 16th place but level on points with Celta Vigo and Cadiz, which was in the drop zone in 18th.
Elsewhere. Gorka Guruzeta and Nico Williams scored second-half goals to give Athletic Bilbao a 2-0 win over Atlético Madrid on Saturday, lifting the Basque side up the LaLiga table to two points from the Champions League spots.
Unbeaten at home since losing to Real Madrid in their season opener in August, Athletic dominated proceedings but wasted a golden opportunity early in the first half when Ohian Sancet missed from the penalty spot.
But the locals kept up the pressure and opened the scoring with a close-range strike by Guruzeta in the 51st minute. Nico Williams secured the points with an outstanding strike into the top corner 13 minutes later.
Athletic are fifth in the table on 32 points. Girona are the leaders on 41 points, two ahead of Real Madrid.
Rafa Benítez earned some relief after his Celta Vigo won their first home game by edging Granada 1-0 to exit the relegation zone. Jorgen Strand Larsen used the back of his heel to score in the first half. The match was the first for Celta since Marián Mouriño became the first woman to preside over the club, and the only woman to lead a top-flight club in Spain.
In Italy, Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored in the second half as Napoli eventually broke down Cagliari 2-1 at home and moved up to fourth. The champions, who have struggled at home this season having gained just one point in their previous four league games at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, moved up two places.
They are 11 points behind leaders Internazionale and two above fifth-placed Roma, who visit Lazio and Bologna respectively on Sunday. Kickoff was delayed by 30 minutes due to strong winds which slowed the entry of fans in some sectors while officials checked the roof of the stadium for safety reasons, Italian media reported.
Borussia Dortmund stumbled to a 1-1 draw at Augsburg on Saturday to make it three league games without a win and lose further ground in the title race.
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The Ruhr valley club, with just one win in the last seven Bundesliga matches, are fifth on 26 points, 10 behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen who are in action against Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday and can further widen the gap.
RB Leipzig moved into third spot on 32 with a 3-1 victory over Hoffenheim. Leipzig’s Emil Forsberg was on target ahead of the Swedish player’s 1 January move to New York Red Bulls on a two-year deal. The champions Bayern Munich, second on 32, host third-placed VfB Stuttgart on Sunday with the league breaking after next week’s action until 12 January.
Ermedin Demirovic put hosts Augsburg in front after beating defender Nico Schlotterbeck for the ball and scoring in the 23rd minute. Their lead lasted only 12 minutes though, with Donyell Malen combining superbly with Niclas Füllkrug and drilling in a low shot as Dortmund looked to bounce back from last week’s loss to RB Leipzig.
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Dortmund, who had a string of chances throughout the second half, came agonisingly close to a last-gasp winner when Germany international Füllkrug spectacularly connected with a Thomas Meunier cross. But his mid-air volley in the 87th was tipped on to the post by keeper Finn Dahmen, who had also denied Malen a minute earlier.
In Italy, Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored in the second half as Napoli eventually broke down Cagliari 2-1 at home and moved up to fourth. The champions, who have struggled at home this season having gained just one point in their previous four league games at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, moved up two places.
They are 11 points behind leaders Internazionale and two above fifth-placed Roma, who visit Lazio and Bologna respectively on Sunday. Kickoff was delayed by 30 minutes due to strong winds which slowed the entry of fans in some sectors while officials checked the roof of the stadium for safety reasons, Italian media reported.
