Gonzalo Garcia hat-trick powers Real Madrid past Betis in La Liga

Real Madrid beat Real Betis 5-1 with Gonzalo Garcia scoring a hat-trick, keeping pace with Barcelona in La Liga. Atletico Madrid drew 1-1 with Real Sociedad, while Levante, Girona and Oviedo also featured in key weekend results

Mardid: Young striker Gonzalo Garcia scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid stayed on track with FC Barcelona at the top of La Liga, registering a comfortable 5-1 home win over Real Betis.

Garcia, who started in place of the injured Kylian Mbappe, opened the scoring with a far-post header in the 20th minute and doubled the lead with a volley early in the second half. Raul Asencio made it 3-0 with a header before Cucho Hernandez pulled one back for Betis. Garcia then completed his hat-trick with a back-flick, and Fran Garcia added the fifth in injury time.

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Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid dropped points in the title race after a 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad, whose new coach Pellegrino Matarazzo was making his debut. Alexander Sorloth put Atletico ahead in the 50th minute, but Takefusa Kubo set up Goncalo Guedes to equalise five minutes later. Atletico now sit fourth in the standings, seven points behind Real Madrid and 11 adrift of Barcelona.

Luis Castro’s reign as Levante coach began positively, with his side recording a 3-0 away win over Sevilla. Iker Losada scored just before halftime, Carlos Espi netted his first league goal in the 77th minute, and Carlos Alvarez sealed the win in stoppage time.

Real Oviedo, showing improvement under Guillermo Almada, drew 1-1 away to Alaves. Federico Vinas put Oviedo ahead but missed a chance to double the lead, and Lucas Boye punished the miss with a stunning free kick in the 69th minute.

Girona climbed out of the bottom three with a 2-1 win over Mallorca. Viktor Tsygankov and Vladyslav Vanat put Girona 2-0 up before Vedat Muriqi converted a late penalty for Mallorca.