La Liga

Barcelona forward Ansu Fati will be sidelined for four months after undergoing knee surgery, the LaLiga club said on Monday.

Fati, who turned 18 last month, ruptured the internal meniscus in his left knee during Barcelona's 5-2 home win over Real Betis on Saturday.

"Ansu Fati has been operated on successfully by Dr. Ramon Cugat... under the supervision of the Club's medical staff," Barcelona said in a statement. "The player will be out for approximately four months."

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said his side could not hide behind the referee's decisions or their injury and illness woes after they stumbled to a 4-1 defeat at Valencia on Sunday.

Real conceded three penalties for the first time in their history, all of which were scored by Valencia's Carlos Soler, while Raphael Varane also scored an own goal, after Karim Benzema had given the champions the lead.

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said Eden Hazard's positive COVID-19 test had come at a difficult time for the player just as he was returning to full fitness, but added the Belgian was in high spirits.

Hazard has only played three times this season after missing the start of the campaign with a muscle problem, after his first campaign with Madrid was blighted by two serious ankle injuries.

The Real Madrid stadium renovation completion date remains June 2022 with the $650 million project now taking shape after over one year of redevelopment work. 

Although the Santiago Bernabéu capacity will hardly change following the renovation — going from 81,044 to 81,043 — the biggest visual difference is the addition of a retractable roof that covers all of the pitch while the fixed roof structure protects all of the stadium’s seats. 

Sizzling Real Sociedad thrashed Celta Vigo 4-1 away from home on Sunday for a fourth consecutive LaLiga victory, which returned them to the top of the standings.

David Silva scored his first goal for Sociedad by heading home midway through the first half, while Spain forward Mikel Oyarzabal added the second soon after, following up his own shot which had come off the post. Willian Jose further stretched the visitors' lead early in the second half, tapping in a cross from Cristian Portu, who had chased down Celta defender Jeison Murillo to win the ball back by the penalty area.

VITORIA-GASTEIZ, Spain — Barcelona goalkeeper Neto made an embarrassing gaffe as his side were held to a 1-1 draw away to Alaves on Saturday, despite playing the final half an hour with an extra man.

Barca fell behind in the 31st minute after a moment of madness from Brazilian keeper Neto, who clumsily allowed a back pass from Gerard Pique to trickle through his legs towards goal, and Luis Rioja nipped in to nudge the ball into the empty net.

MADRID — Eden Hazard scored his first goal for Real Madrid in over a year and Karim Benzema struck twice as the Spanish champions coasted to a 4-1 win at home to Huesca in La Liga on Saturday.

Making his first start of the campaign after persistent injury problems, Hazard broke the deadlock in the 40th minute with a thunderous strike from outside the area, scoring only his second goal for Madrid since his 2019 move from Chelsea for a joint-club record fee of 100 million euros.

After a long spell in the purgatory that is the Spanish third division, Cadiz CF is flourishing in LaLiga.

The Yellow Submarine is hoping to avoid a repeat of its last spell in the top division, which ended in immediate relegation. Eight games into the 2020-21 campaign, the club has laid itself a solid foundation to prolong its stay this time around. As the Friday games of round eight come to a close, Cadiz sits in second place on 14 points, which would have surprised even the most optimistic of supporters heading into the season.