Sevilla is verdiblanca, Barça back on top and Calero gets the boot: LaLiga Matchday 14 recap

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The temperature may be getting colder, but LaLiga is hotting up, with plenty for Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Román De Arquer (@Aeroslavee) to unpack from Matchday 14.

We begin at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, where Betis confirmed their superiority in the city of Seville. Victory here made it back-to-back gran derbi wins for the first time in 30 years! What a watch to celebrate the renewal of Manuel Pellegrini's contract.

We then turn to the title race, which could barely be much closer. Just three points separate the top four. Real Madrid dropped points for the third consecutive match – this time at Montilivi – to cede leadership of the league and hand it back to Barcelona, just a month after beating them to go five points clear. We ask why it's going wrong lately, and where they go from here (Bilbao, because they have yet another away game).

Despite being top anew, Barça have problems of their own, not least Hansi Flick's demeanour on the bench or the club's problems with the digital tickets at the new Camp Nou.

In Part Two, we headline with the goal-fest of the weekend, as Villarreal maintained their rhythm, domestically that is. A genuine two-faced team, they fought to the end to ward off the La Real comeback and position themselves nicely in third spot.

Atleti won their seventh game in succession, but the big test is Tuesday night in Barcelona.

Elsewhere, Espanyol keep up their bright start, Celta still can't win at home, Getafe keep doing their thing, and a referee sent off a former referee.

Last, but by no means least, Levante are looking for a new coach after they sacked Julián Calero following their 2-0 defeat at home to Athletic. Winless at home, albeit with a tough run of fixtures, Luis García Plaza is the favourite to replace Calero.

Two big LaLiga matches and the next round of the Copa del Rey to look forward to this week, as well as plenty of content at lllonline.substack.com. Subscribe now for all the access.

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