LaLiga: Barcelona sack head coach Ernesto Valverde

LaLiga leaders Barcelona have decided to sack head coach Ernesto Valverde on Monday, even though he has led the club to back-to-back league titles during his two years in charge. The 55-year-old coach was replaced with Quique Setien, who was in charge of Real Betis until this summer. Barcelona are currently at the top of the table in LaLiga, tied on 40 points with rivals Real Madrid, but last week they got beaten 3-2 by Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup semi-finals. Moreover, Valverde was unable to lead the club to success in the UEFA Champions League during his two seasons at Camp Nou. 

Barcelona have released a statement saying they had reached an agreement with Valverde to terminate his contract, thanking him "for his professionalism, his commitment, his dedication and his always positive treatment towards all that make up the Barca family". Quique Setien signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Barcelona and he will most likely be expected to win both LaLiga and the Champions League this season, despite having taken charge midway through the campaign. 

Quique Setien, aged 61, has never managed a big club before. He was in charge of a few lower league sides and also of the Equatorial Guinea national team before getting the Las Palmas head coach job in 2015. He led them to a good 11th-place finish in LaLiga and then moved on to Betis, which he led to a sixth-place finish during his first season in charge. Setien's Betis managed to beat Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid during his two years in charge. The new head coach is expected to bring results to Barcelona but also the fluid and spectacular football that the Blaugrana had produced in recent years. 

Barcelona are 10/19 at NetBet to win the LaLiga title this season and 5/1 to win the UEFA Champions League.