(Football news) Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid are cruising in La Liga as they extend their lead at the top of the table to a mammoth 8 points. They are now 10 points ahead of Atletico Madrid just before the Madrid derby on Sunday. Barcelona troubles seem to have gotten worse under Xavi as they have now dropped to 7th on the table.

Barcelona lost 0-1 against Real Betis at the Camp Nou. A 79th minute strike from Juanmi was enough to secure 3 points for the visitors. Despite having 63% possession and 3 shots on target, Barcelona never looked like scoring and just when you thought the game would end in a draw, Betis scored an exquisite counter attack to take the lead. Tactically the Blaugrana are in a very problematic situation where they aren't creating enough chances and are also struggling to convert the few chances they are creating and are now 16 points behind Real Madrid. They have a UCL clash against Bayern Munich on Wednesday where anything less than a win is likely to relegate them to the Europa League. 

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Atletico Madrid conceded two late goals at the Wanda Metropolitano as they lost 2-1 against Mallorca. After a frustrating first half, Atleti took the lead in the 68th minute through Mathius Cunha. Centre back Franco Russo headed home the equaliser in the 80th minute and Real Madrid loanee Takefusa Kubo netted the winner 3 minutes before full time. It is safe to say that Atlético Madrid's title defence isn't going well. They are now 10 points behind Real Madrid with the Madrid derby coming on Sunday. Before that they have a UCL game away at Porto where a loss would knock them out of Europe, a draw could result in them finishing 3rd or 4th. Their fate isn't in their own hands as even a win doesn't guarantee them qualification.

Real Madrid scored 2 second half goals to win 2-0 at Anoeta. Carlo Ancelotti's men defended well and kept a rare clean sheet. The man of the match was substitute Luka Jovic. The Serbian was brought on after Karim Benzema was forced off due to injury in the 17th minute. Despite rarely making an appearance this season, Jovic stepped up and delivered by setting up Vinicius Jr's opening goal before heading home the 2nd goal. The target man grabbed his opportunity and showed the manager and indeed his teammates that he can deliver when called upon. With Benzema out for Tuesday's clash against Inter Milan and doubtful for the Madrid derby, Jovic has an incredible opportunity to try and convince Ancelotti into playing him much more than he does when Benzema is fit.