Al-Zabiri leads Santander back to winning ways

Moroccan international forward Yassir El Zabeiri helped Racing Santander secure a much-needed victory in La Liga, scoring the winning goal against Espanyol in a 2-1 match on Saturday during the tenth round, ending a four-match winless streak.

The 21-year-old El Zabeiri netted the decisive goal six minutes before the end of regular time, after Edo Exposito opened the scoring for Espanyol in the 62nd minute. Frenchman Janouel Merik Pelousian equalized for Santander in the 69th minute.

With this goal, the Moroccan striker raised his tally to eight goals in La Liga this season, tying with Barcelona's Lamine Yamal for third place in the top scorers' chart, behind Brazilian Raphinha, who leads with 12 goals, and Frenchman Kylian Mbappé of Real Madrid, who has scored nine goals.

El Zabeiri has been delivering impressive performances for Santander since joining the team on loan from French club Rennes during the last summer transfer window, benefiting from the momentum of his victory with the Moroccan national team at the Under-20 World Cup held in Chile in the fall of 2025.

The Moroccan forward had scored a hat-trick against Elche in the third round, in a match that ended with Santander winning 3-2, and then added a brace against Deportivo Alavés in the fifth round, contributing to his team's 2-1 victory.

El Zabeiri also scored a goal against Barcelona, in a match that ended with Santander losing 2-7 after he came on as a substitute, and netted the first equalizer against Valencia in a match that ended 2-2 in the eighth round.

His goal against Espanyol marked the end of a tough period for Santander, which had suffered three defeats against Barcelona, Celta Vigo, and Osasuna, along with one draw against Valencia in their previous four matches.

With this victory, Santander's third of the season, the team now has 11 points, sitting in 11th place, while Espanyol remains at eight points in 18th place.

In another match of the same round, Elche secured an away victory against Rayo Vallecano with a score of 3-0, with Argentine Federico Redondo scoring the first goal from a penalty in the 24th minute, followed by Fer Niño adding a second penalty goal in the 36th minute, and Germán Valera scoring the third goal in the 68th minute.

Elche now has 10 points in 13th place, after settling for two previous goalless draws against Villarreal and Celta Vigo, while Rayo Vallecano remains in 17th place with nine points.

The round continues with Valencia facing Villarreal, and Atlético Madrid taking on Deportivo La Coruña, while Sunday features a highly anticipated match between Barcelona and Real Madrid, along with encounters between Athletic Bilbao and Getafe, Celta Vigo and Real Betis, and Real Sociedad and Levante, before the round concludes on Monday with a match between Sevilla and Osasuna.