📝 In a parallel universe ... Ødegaard shows where his loyalties lie | OneFootball

We would have been enjoying another gripping instalment of the LaLiga title race this weekend, but sadly we aren’t.

Here’s what may have happened if football wasn’t on hold…

Ødegaard’s tale of two halves

Real Madrid were burnt by Martin Ødegaard again on their visit to the Anoeta on Sunday.

In scenes reminiscent of the Copa del Rey quarter-final, the Norwegian tore apart his parent club and set up two goals for Alexander Isak as Sociedad stormed into a 2-0 lead.

During half-time, Ødegaard took the unprecedented step of completing a permanent transfer to the hosts but got sent off five minutes after the restart for dislocating Sergio Ramos’ shoulder.

Sociedad hung on to claim the three points, strengthening their grip on a Champions League spot.

Another hat-trick for Messi

The little magician has done it again.

Lionel Messi scored his 37th LaLiga hat-trick in a thumping 5-1 win over Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan on Saturday night.

Barcelona extended their lead at the top of the league and it looks like Quique Setién’s methods are finally starting to work.

However, a number of eye witness accounts recalled seeing Barça legend Xavi giving the half-time team talk in the away dressing room. Something must have worked, as Barça were 1-0 down at the time. Is this a sign of things to come?

Oh, Diego

Atlético Madrid kept up their resurgent form by beating Real Valladolid thanks to a late Álvaro Morata goal.

The winner has seen Atleti close the gap to the top four however the game ended in controversy when Diego Simeone was sent off  amidst the celebrations.

El Cholo received his marching orders after appearing to throttle Valladolid manager Sergio. Simeone responded post-match and defended his actions, stating that this was a ‘show of affection’.

Atlético will now likely be without their manager for the trip to the Camp Nou.

Relegation scrap

Leganés shook up the relegation battle after coming out victorious in the six-pointer against Real Mallorca.

Southampton loanee Guido Carrillo headed home the winner to pull Javier Aguirre’s side out of the drop zone.

Celta Vigo replaced them in the bottom three after falling to a shock 6-0 defeat to Alaves. Maybe even Iago Aspas won’t be enough to save them this season.

Espanyol look like they are being cut adrift from the rest after failing to beat Levante at home. LaLiga’s bottom side are now five points from safety.

Eibar can’t quite remove themselves from the picture either, and fell to a 2-1 defeat to Champions League-chasing Getafe thanks to goals from Jaime Mata and Ángel Rodríguez.

Elsewhere

There was an eight-goal thriller at the San Mames as Athletic Bilbao and Real Betis drew 4-4 in one of the games of the season, possibly the decade. All three months of it.

38-year-old Joaquín continues to defy logic. Scoring a brace was one thing, but beating Britney Spears’ 100m world record in 5 seconds during the game was breathtaking.

Villarreal’s hopes of European qualification are fading after a 0-0 draw with Granda, but Valencia are back in the Champions League race after comfortably dispatching of Osasuna 3-0 at the Mestalla.