Friday, May 18th, 2012
La Liga finally returned this weekend and in the first weekly instalment of our new regular feature, En Resumen, Kieran Canning looks at what we learned from the first round of fixtures.
1. Valencia are great fun
All lovers of Spanish football will be praying that Victor Ruiz’s arrival at the Mestalla will give Valencia the solidity they will need to make an impression in a tough Champions League group, but many like me may be wishing he was only available for European ties because without a centre-back Valencia are great fun to watch in La Liga.
Saturday’s fixture with Racing should have been one of their more straightforward games this season but thanks to Roberto Soldado’s thirst for scoring (no matter what net it goes in) and a defence as strong as Angel Di Maria in a tackle, Valencia had to rely in two more Soldado goals in the final three minutes to claim victory. This wasn’t a one-off either, last season’s results at the Mestalla included a 3-3 with Osasuna (yes that’s true EL Rojillo did once score three goals in a match), a 4-3 win over Malaga and a 6-3 defeat to Real Madrid reserves.
Fans of Los Che may be hoping for more games without heart palpations but neutrals like myself will be hoping for more of the same. In other Valencia news, Sergio Canales; class!
2. Malaga have a long way to go
This was it. Stand aside Valencia, Villarreal, Sevilla, Athletic, even Atleti. Here was Spain’s new third force, the one with the financial backing to put really give the big two the shits. We’d waited an extra week due to a strike and until literally the 11th hour of La Liga’s new marathon Sunday schedule, but within a minute the illusion was destroyed, and so were Malaga.
Alvaro Negredo scored twice and looked very good in doing so, even if he did miss a sitter for his hat-trick in the second-half. Malaga were disjointed and slightly hampered by Manuel Pellegrini’s team selection that saw Eliseu at left-back ahead of Nacho Monreal and the unlikely strike partnership of Salomon Rondon and Ruud Van Nistelrooy. Their major summer signing, Santi Cazorla, did score and will prove to be a great signing but maybe the Malaga hype can die down slightly over the fortnight long international break.
3. Who deserves a place in the Spanish squad more Negredo or Soldado?
This point struck me after both put in great performances this weekend to continue the fine form in which they ended last season.
The striker position in the national team is an interesting one, Vicente Del Bosque has included Negredo along with David Villa, Pedro Rodriguez, Fernando Llorente and Fernando Torres for the friendly against Chile and qualifier against Liechenstein next week, but with Torres, and even Llorente to a lesser extent, looking out of sorts and neither of the Barca duo being guaranteed a position in Pep Guardiola’s starting XI this season the Valencia and Sevilla hitmen could stand a chance of being included for the Euros at the end of the season.
4. Real Madrid and Barcelona will both get 100 points this season
As Real put a poor and rebuilding Zaragoza to the sword on Sunday and Barca were equally as ruthless when thumping a Champions League side in Villarreal without Pique, Alves, Xavi or Villa in the starting line-up, for the first time in the Spanish league a century of points seem inevitable.
Two seasons ago Barcelona and Real Madrid got 99 and 96 points respectively and that included a draw for Real on the final day when they knew the league was lost. They seem set to surpass even that record points tally this season in a league that simply cannot compete with the behemoths as they currently stand.
5. Bielsa’s Bilbao will need time to adjust
Outside Malaga the greatest anticipation surrounding the start of the league campaign was to see how Athletic Bilbao would look under the tutelage of the extroverted and brilliant Chilean coach Marcelo Bielsa. So far things haven’t gone completely to plan with two disappointing draws at home in his only two competitive matches to date.
The most obvious malfunction at the moment seems to be the transformation from the traditional Atlhetic direct style of play that was used by Joaquin Caparros to the more fluid pressing game that Bielsa has become famous for. In particular, Llorente seems uncomfortable with the ball being played into his feet rather than battered towards his head from 40 yards. The one player who did excel in the weekend’s 1-1 draw with Rayo and will do well in Bielsa’s system was Iker Muniain, but after his withdrawal for Gaizka Toquero (in a swap of artistry for industry equivalent to the Guggenheim being torn down for the reconstruction of the Bilbao steelworks) Athletic never looked like scoring a winner.
6. You can always rely on Osasuna for the first 0-0 of the season
Supporters of Jonathan Wilson’s goals are overrated theory have no fear. Perpetual goalaphobic Depor may have gone but trust in your Navarran friends to deliver plenty of noughts in the coming campaign.
Also, José Luis Mendilibar must go he’s doing far too well away from home for an Osasuna boss.
7. Atleti’s frontline looked beautiful
Sunday morning and as Atleti fans thanked God for a brilliant new excuse to miss mass and poured into the Calderon they would have been lifted by the gorgeous sight of their new strike partnership. The only problem was Radamel Falcao and Diego Forlan were in the stands, one not signed in time to play, the other on his way to Milan, and despite the work rate of Adrian the sooner Falcao is on the field the better.
8. Espanyol and Mallorca need a striker
In one of the more overlooked games on Sunday Espanyol went down 1-0 at Mallorca.
Both sides looked decent but lacked a cutting edge up front. Mallorca got their goal rather fortunately through a deflected Jonathan De Guzman shot but with the Canadian likely to join Villarreal before the end of the window and Espanyol having just sold Osvaldo to Roma both looked in desperate need of one of them striker things.
9. Miku is bloody brilliant
The only thing at Getafe better than the marketing campaign, the little Venezuelan didn’t quite show his best at the Copa America but his goal at the weekend was a thing of beauty (and something that a rather bigger side in Madrid could have done with on Sunday). It also gave an early showing of what could be a special relationship between Pablo Sarabia and Miku this season with added Dani Guiza to come.
10. Fair play to Levante, Rayo and Racing
Three of everyone’s favourites to go down, two in administration and the other with probably an even smaller budget, these three went on the road this weekend and showed they won’t go down without a fight. Levante and Rayo got creditable points at Getafe and Athletic whilst Racing were two minutes away from a win at the Mestalla. If all three can compete then the relegation race could hopefully end in the sort of manic anyone in the bottom half can go down of the last day madness of recent seasons.
Tags: Athletic Bilbao, Barcelona, Levante, Malaga, Miku, Muniain, Negredo, Osasuna, Racing, Rayo, Real Madrid, Soldado, Valencia
Brilliant article thank you very much
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