Many headlines have been made in the world of Spanish football over the past seven days, from the announcement of individual awards to coaching changes to contract renewals and much more. All of that, as well as the major takeaways from LALIGA EA SPORTS Matchday 9, are detailed here.
Bellingham’s scoring start is equal to Cristiano Ronaldo’s
Real Madrid remain top of LALIGA EA SPORTS thanks to their 4-0 victory over CA Osasuna on Saturday. Jude Bellingham scored the first two goals of the game, meaning he has eight goals from his first eight LALIGA EA SPORTS appearances and 10 goals from his first 10 games across all competitions for the club. That is the same scoring rate as Cristiano Ronaldo achieved when he arrived in 2009 and scored 10 goals in his first 10 outings.
Lamine Yamal becomes the youngest scorer in the history of LALIGA EA SPORTS
By scoring during FC Barcelona’s 2-2 draw away at Granada CF on Sunday night, Lamine Yamal made history. The teenager has now become the youngest ever scorer in the history of LALIGA EA SPORTS. By etching his name onto the scoresheet aged 16 years and 87 days, the Barça forward overtook the previous record holder Fabrice Olinga, who scored his first goal with Málaga CF aged 16 years and 98 days.
FC Barcelona and Lamine Yamal agree a new contract
The entire footballing world is looking on in awe at what Lamine Yamal is doing at such a young age, so it’s great news for FC Barcelona that the Catalan club and the forward managed to reach an agreement this week to extend his contract until 2026.
Atlético de Madrid are serious title challengers
By winning their Matchday 9 clash with in-form Real Sociedad 2-1, Atlético de Madrid proved that they are serious title challengers this season. With so many injuries and facing a top-class opponent, it wasn’t easy for Atleti, but Diego Simeone’s squad battled hard and ground out a victory thanks to a Samuel Lino strike and a late Antoine Griezmann penalty.
José Luis Mendilibar departs Sevilla FC
Sevilla FC have taken the tough decision to move on from José Luis Mendilibar, following an up-and-down start to the current season. Mendilibar is no longer the coach of Los Nervionenses, but he will forever be a legend at the club for the way he turned their 2022/23 campaign around by leading them to their seventh Europa League title. The Andalusian club have now begun the search for a new coach.
UD Almería’s new coach is Gaizka Garitano
At UD Almería, the club directors have found and appointed their new coach. Gaizka Garitano will take charge at the Power Horse Stadium, with the former SD Eibar, Athletic Club and Deportivo De La Coruña boss taking over from Vicente Moreno and from caretaker coach Alberto Lasarte.
Takefusa Kubo is the Player of the Month for September
The LALIGA EA SPORTS Player of the Month for September was Takefusa Kubo, with the Japanese star being named the winner of this award this week. Kubo had a sensational September as he led Real Sociedad’s attack, scoring four goals in four appearances.
The other September LALIGA AWARDS winners have been announced
Also announced this past week were the other winners of the prizes that form part of the ‘LALIGA AWARDS, The Pride of our Fútbol’, organised as part of the agreement between LALIGA and Globe Soccer. Girona FC boss Míchel was named Best Coach for September and Valencia’s CF’s Javi Guerra was the Best U-23 Player, while the goal of the month was João Cancelo’s strike in FC Barcelona’s 5-0 win over Real Betis and the best play of the month was Fede Valverde and Fran García’s combination in Real Madrid’s 2-1 victory against Real Sociedad.
LALIGA EA SPORTS clubs remain undefeated in the Champions League
Spanish clubs achieved positive results in the Champions League in midweek, with Real Sociedad, Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid and FC Barcelona all winning and Sevilla FC achieving a draw on the road. None of the five LALIGA EA SPORTS clubs lost on the opening matchday either, and they have taken 22 points so far from a possible 30. That means they’ve secured 73% of the points on offer, the best such number of all leagues with representatives in this season’s competition.
The stadiums of LALIGA will host matches at the 2030 FIFA World Cup
There were celebrations in Spain this week, with it revealed that the joint bid of Spain, Portugal and Morocco to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup has been successful. This means that many of the stadiums of LALIGA clubs, which are some of the best venues in the world, will be hosting World Cup matches in seven years’ time
