Young striker Gonzalo Garcia scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid maintained their pursuit of FC Barcelona at the top of La Liga with a commanding 5-1 home victory over Real Betis.
Garcia, who was in the starting lineup due to Kylian Mbappe’s knee injury, opened the scoring with a far-post header in the 20th minute. He doubled the lead with a volley early in the second half. Raul Asencio added a third goal with a header, leaving him unmarked in the box. Cucho Hernandez pulled a goal back for Betis, but Garcia completed his hat-trick with a delightful back-flick, before Fran Garcia sealed the win with the fifth goal in injury time.
In another match, Atletico Madrid dropped two crucial points in the title race after a 1-1 draw against Real Sociedad, who were under the guidance of new coach Pellegrino Matarazzo for his debut. Alexander Sorloth put Atletico ahead after 50 minutes, but Takefusa Kubo quickly equalized by setting up Goncalo Guedes just five minutes later. Atletico currently sits fourth in the standings, seven points behind Real Madrid and 11 behind Barcelona.
Luis Castro’s tenure as the new Levante coach began positively, with his team securing a 3-0 away win against Sevilla. Iker Losada put Levante ahead right before halftime following a sharp exchange of passes. Carlos Espi scored his first-ever league goal, doubling the lead with just 13 minutes remaining, and Carlos Alvarez capped off the victory in stoppage time.
Real Oviedo, showing signs of improvement under Guillermo Almada, played to a 1-1 draw away against Alaves. Federico Vinas put Oviedo in front during the second half and narrowly missed an opportunity to double the lead, while Lucas Boye equalized for Alaves with a stunning free kick in the 69th minute.
Girona moved out of the bottom three after securing a 2-1 win in Mallorca. Viktor Tsygankov and Vladyslav Vanat put Girona 2-0 ahead before Vedat Muriqi scored a late penalty for Mallorca.