Real Madrid beat Sevilla 4-2 on Sunday in 39-year-old veteran right winger and full-back Jesus Navas’ last game as a professional footballer.

The Sevilla captain came off the bench in the second half as the crowd at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium paid tribute to him.

Navas played 705 games to score 39 goals for Sevilla and made 119 assists for his club across two spells. He helped Sevilla win four UEFA Europa League titles.

Navas also won the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the EURO 2012 and 2024 titles with his native Spain.

He also played for Manchester City to bag the 2014 English Premier League title.

In Sunday’s home game against Sevilla, Real Madrid drew first blood as The Whites’ French superstar Kylian Mbappe scored a long-range stunner.

Real Madrid’s Uruguayan midfielder Federico Valverde also sent a long-range missile towards the goal to double the gap in the 20th minute.

Brazilian winger Rodrygo made it 3-0 for Real Madrid only a minute before Sevilla striker Isaac Romero scored a header.

Real Madrid forward Brahim Diaz finished in the box following fine teamwork in the 53rd minute, making it 4-1.

On a quick counterattack, Sevilla’s Dodi Lukebakio scored a low shot that beat Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois in the 85th minute, making it 4-2.

Winners Real Madrid leapfrogged their bitter rivals Barcelona into second place in the Spanish La Liga table.

Atletico Madrid have 41 points in 18 matches to end 2024 as the Spanish leaders.

Their city rivals Real Madrid have 40 points. Meanwhile, Barcelona are third with 38 points after they lost to Atletico Madrid 2-1 in a Saturday home match.

The La Liga is set to enter the Christmas break to observe the annual holy festival, and there will be no football fixtures in the Spanish top division for the rest of this year.

The league will see the Valencia vs. Real Madrid fixture at Mestalla Stadium on Jan. 3, as the matchweek 12 game was previously postponed due to Storm Dana.

La Liga’s best attack vs La Liga’s best defence

Saturday’s match sees La Liga’s best attack go up against the division’s best defence in a huge match between Hansi Flick’s wobbling Barca and a red-hot Atletico.

The Catalans giants have bagged 50 goals in just 18 games this season – making them La Liga’s most prolific attack – but they were surprisingly kept out by Leganes last time out.

Atletico will hope to do the same on Saturday as La Liga’s best defence – which has conceded just 11 goals – comes to Montjuic.

Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha will be the main goalscoring threats for Barcelona and will come up against a defence that may well include a familiar face.

Clement Lenglet is being tipped to start against his parent club as there’s no fear clause in his contract.

The Frenchman has made eight starts this season for Simeone’s side in La Liga, including last time out in the win over Getafe, and is enjoying life in Madrid at the moment.

The Yamal Factor

Barcelona will be without Lamine Yamal for the game which is a tremendous blow, particularly when you consider their poor record without the teenager this season.

The teenager is out with an ankle problem, giving manager Hansi Flick something of a headache ahead of the game when it comes to his line-up.

Yet it’s a game Flick really can’t afford to lose if his team are to go on and challenge for the title this season – as the stats show.

Ferran Torres currently seems to be the most likely option to come into the team after scoring four goals in five games since returning from injury. The only thing is, he seems much better as an impact sub than a starter.

The stats show that Atletico are currently the most in-form team in Europe after winning their last 11 games in a row, but they head to Barcelona with a terrible record. They have not won any of their last 18 away games against Barcelona and have not even scored in their last four games.

Watch out for Griezmann & Sorloth

Antoine Griezmann will take on his former club in spectacular form after scoring seven goals in his last six matches for Atletico. And some of those have been pretty special you have to say.

The Frenchman has never scored against his former team and will want to put that right on Saturday. In fact he’s scored against 29 of the 30 opponents he’s faced as an Atletico player in La Liga – with Barca the only team missing from that list.

Alexander Sørloth will also pose a threat, albeit most likely off the bench. The Norwegian has scored 24 goals in La Liga in 2024 – only Robert Lewandowski has more – and has netted more headed goals than anyone else in La Liga over the last 12 months.

Barca’s defence has looked a little insecure recently with Flick’s famously highline having been found out a little bit by opponents. Fatigue also appears to be an issue – but Barca know this is just one last push before a period of rest over Christmas.

Jules Kounde has had an incredible year for club and country and has barely missed a minute for either Barcelona or France.

A new study by the CIES Sports Observatory has revealed he’s played more than anyone else in the biggest leagues in the world in 2024.

Kounde has actually played an eye-watering 5,872 minutes in total and has featured in 69 matches in total.

The Barcelona defender also still has one more game to play. He’s due to feature for Barcelona against Atletico on Saturday which will be appearance No. 70.

Kounde tops the charts ahead of Fluminense’s Jhon Arias (on a mere 5,599 minutes) and Real Madrid’s Fede Valverde who has mustered just 5,573 minutes.

It’s an extraordinary set of stats and made even more interesting when you realise that Kounde has admitted he goes in for extra training sessions.