LaLiga talking points
MADRID, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Talking points from the weekend in LaLiga.
ANGRY ANCELOTTI SLAMS HIS PLAYERS
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti is usually known for his cool, calm and collected personality but on Sunday that demeanor was definitely not on show as the LaLiga leaders slumped to a shock 1-0 defeat at lowly Getafe.
After the home side took advantage of an Eder Militao mistake to go ahead, a raging Ancelotti could be seen screaming at his players and constantly complaining to the fourth official -- which resulted in him being shown a yellow card just before the interval.
"Our team took a few more days of vacation after Christmas," a still fuming Ancelotti told a press conference, adding that what he saw "was not the same team" from the previous weeks.
"It could be a warning."
Getafe snapping Real's 15-match unbeaten run in all competitions brought back memories of the club's 2014-15 season, when Real's 22-match winning run was ended by Valencia on Jan. 4 2015.
That year, Barcelona, who started the season struggling, stormed back to capture the treble of LaLiga, Copa del Rey and Champions League titles.
XAVI RELYING ON BARCA ACADEMY
Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez was one of the best players to ever come out from La Masia, Barcelona´s famed youth academy. Xavi is now banking on recent graduates to get Barcelona out of a slump since the club's financial woes mean they have limited means to buy in reinforcements.
On Sunday the youth players spurred Barca to a fourth victory in all competitions since Xavi took charge in November, and he achieved the feat despite missing 14 players due to COVID-19, injuries and suspensions.
On Sunday youngsters Alvaro Sanz and Estanis Pedrola were the latest of a long list of academy recruits to debut under Xavi, with Barcelona already fielding 33 different players this season.
REAL SOCIEDAD IN FREE FALL
Real Sociedad's spectacular start to the LaLiga season is fast becoming a fading memory as the team that led the standings for almost three months have now gone six games without a win.
Their last league win was almost two months ago, at Osasuna in early November.
On Sunday Real were held to a 1-1 draw by third-from-bottom Alaves and fell to seventh in the standings with 30 points in 19 games, out of the running from European spots for the first time this season. (Reporting by Fernando Kallas, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
