La Liga observes a minute’s silence for the victims of train accidents before matches

La Liga will observe a minute’s silence ahead of this weekend’s matches in memory of the victims of two fatal train crashes in the country last week.

At least 43 people were killed in southern Spain last Sunday when a high-speed train jumped the track and derailed a second train traveling in the opposite direction. That was followed by another crash on Tuesday when a commuter train outside Barcelona hit a retaining wall that collapsed, killing one person.

The father of Getafe player David Cordón was one of the victims of the first incident, the Madrid club said. Getafe plays at Girona on Monday. Cordón is unavailable due to an injury.

The incidents have stunned the nation that leads Europe in high-speed rail travel and has millions of workers who rely on public transport every day.

The title race continues

Despite the recent turmoil and coaching change, Real Madrid visit Villarreal on Saturday in an important match with the chance to regain the lead.

A win for second-place Madrid over third-place Villarreal would put Barcelona ahead and regain the lead before its top rivals play Real Oviedo on Sunday.

Villarreal, who have played one game less, are seven points behind Madrid. So the home game is a chance – perhaps the last – to keep the outside bid for a run for the title alive.

Against lowly Oviedo, Barcelona will look to shake off last weekend’s defeat at Real Sociedad, which ended an 11-match winning run for Hansi Flick’s side.

Sociedad will play at home against Celta Vigo on Sunday. It remains unbeaten in four games in La Liga and the Copa del Rey under new American coach Pellegrino Matarazzo, who has taken the team to ninth place.

Vinícius Júnior helped calm angry Madrid fans on Tuesday by scoring one goal and assisting three others in a 6-1 defeat to Monaco in the Champions League.

He has been targeted by Madrid fans for the team’s poor play and for reportedly not supporting former coach Xabi Alonso, who was sacked last week and replaced by Álvaro Arbeloa.

Brahim Diaz is expected to return to training in Madrid on Thursday after helping Morocco reach the final of the Africa Cup of Nations, where they lost 1-0 to Senegal. Díaz squandered a chance to win when he tapped a penalty straight into the goalkeeper’s arms in stoppage time, just in front of Senegal’s goal.

Barcelona midfielder Fermín López, who was close to a move to Chelsea this summer, is in tears. He has scored ten goals in all competitions, including two in a 4–2 win over Slavia Prague.

Pedri González, the engine that makes Barcelona’s passing game go, injured his right hamstring in Prague and was substituted early in the second half. The club cannot yet say the extent of his injury and how long he expects to be out.

Published on January 22, 2026