MADRID, March 10 (Xinhua) -- FC Barcelona remains top of La Liga after matchday 27 despite not playing after the tragic death on a team doctor on Saturday afternoon. Atletico Madrid lost to Getafe while two moments of magic saw Real Madrid home against Rayo Vallecano. Here are the four things we learned this weekend in La Liga.
1. Atletico blows golden opportunity
Atletico Madrid had the perfect chance to go to the top of La Liga and pile the pressure onto FC Barcelona a week before it entertains Barca in the Metropolitano Stadium.
A win away to Getafe, who it thrashed recently 5-0 in the Copa del Rey last month, would have lifted Diego Simeone's side two points clear of Barca and things looked to be going more or less to plan when Alexander Sorloth scored a generous penalty for a 1-0 lead.
Angel Correa then gifted Getafe a route back into things when his high challenge on Djene left Atletico with 10 men in the 87th minute and Getafe leveled almost directly afterward when Mauro Arambarri scrambled home.
Atletico usually knows how to kill matches off, but Getafe scented blood and piled bodies forward, with Mauro Arambarri deflecting in the winning goal against a rival who looked shell-shocked by what had happened.
2. Mbappe and Vinicius save the day
Real Madrid moved level on points with FC Barcelona after two goals in four minutes from Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr in a 2-1 home win over Rayo Vallecano.
Mbappe has been criticized for recent displays, but it was his typical goal, cutting inside and scoring with his right foot, while Vinicius also scored an excellent individual goal.
Those were the bright spots in a slightly flat display, with Rayo having most of the ball after the break, but not doing enough to score.
Although Atletico disappointed on Sunday, Real Madrid will have to do more in the Metropolitano Stadium next week in round two of their Champions League clash.
3. Red cards killing Las Palmas
For the second consecutive weekend Las Palmas ended up with 10 men as it lost 1-0 to Betis to slip back into the bottom three.
Diego Martinez's side was holding its rival when Dario Essugo was sent off for a needless challenge and three minutes later Diego Llorente scored the only goal of the game.
A week previously Las Palmas was 1-0 up away to Valladolid when Scott McKenna was shown a red card after just 29 minutes and the match ended 1-1.
4. Real Sociedad loses capacity to fight back
Real Sociedad slipped to another home defeat which harms its chances of returning to European football next season, but rather than the defeat, it is the manner of the defeat that must worry fans in San Sebastian.
The team coached by Imanol Alguacil has fallen behind 12 times in matches this season with 11 of those games ending in defeat, just one (away to Atletico Madrid) finishing in a draw, while it has never fought back to take a win.
That seems to point to either a lack of freshness in the players legs, or a lack of faith and neither is good news. ■
