La Liga to hold a minute of silence before games for victims of train crashes

By Canadian Press on January 22, 2026.

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — La Liga will hold a minute of silence before this weekend’s matches in memory of the victims of the two deadly train accidents in the country in the past week.

At least 43 people were killed in southern Spain last Sunday when a high-speed train jumped the track and caused a second train passing the other way to derail. That was followed by another crash on Tuesday when a commuter train outside Barcelona hit a retaining wall that collapsed, killing one person.

The father of Getafe player David Cordón was among the victims of the first incident, the Madrid-based club said. Getafe plays at Girona on Monday. Cordón is unavailable due to injury.

The incidents have stunned the nation that leads Europe in high-speed rail travel and has millions of workers who rely on commuter service every day.

Key matches

Despite its recent turmoil and coaching change, Real Madrid visits Villarreal in an important game on Saturday with the chance to retake the lead.

A win by second-placed Madrid over third-placed Villarreal would let it leapfrog Barcelona and recover the lead before its top rival plays Real Oviedo on Sunday.

Villarreal, which has played one less game, trails Madrid by seven points. So the match at home is an opportunity — perhaps its last — to keep alive its outside bid at a run for the title.

Against lowly Oviedo, Barcelona will try to shake off last weekend’s loss at Real Sociedad, which ended an 11-game winning run for Hansi Flick’s side.

Sociedad, for its part, is at home against Celta Vigo on Sunday. It remains undefeated in four games across La Liga and the Copa del Rey under new American coach Pellegrino Matarazzo, who has taken it into ninth place.

Players to watch

Vinícius Júnior helped to placate Madrid’s angry fans by scoring one goal and assisting on three others in a 6-1 rout of Monaco in the Champions League on Tuesday.

He has been targeted for jeers by Madrid’s fans for the team’s poor play and for him reportedly not supporting now ex-coach Xabi Alonso, who was fired last week and replaced by Álvaro Arbeloa.

Brahim Díaz is expected to return to Madrid practice on Thursday after he helped Morocco reach the final of the Africa Cup of Nations where it lost to Senegal 1-0. Díaz flubbed a chance to potentially win it when he chipped a penalty in stoppage time right into the arms of the goalkeeper before Senegal’s goal.

Barcelona midfielder Fermín López, who was close to a move to Chelsea in the summer, is on a tear. He has 10 goals across all competitions, including two in a 4-2 win at Slavia Prague.

Out of action

Pedri González, the motor who makes Barcelona’s passing game go, hurt his right hamstring in Prague and was substituted early in the second half. The club has yet to say the extent of his injury or how long it expects him to be out.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Joseph Wilson, The Associated Press