CSKA Moscow 1 (Wernbloom 90+3) Real Madrid 1 (Ronaldo 28)

Pontus Wernbloom scored on his CSKA debut deep into stoppage time to deny Real Madrid a lead to take back to the Santiago Bernabéu in three weeks time.

The Swede’s volley from close range was the first goal Real have conceded on the road in the Champions League this season, but what will irk Jose Mourinho even more is that the tie should have been sewn up long before Wernbloom’s late intervention.

Despite losing Karim Benzema early on to an abductor injury, the visitors were well in control for almost the entirety of the match. Sergey Chepchugov made a fine double save from, Benzema’s replacement, Gonzalo Higuain and Sami Khedira on 17 minutes before the opening goal arrived 11 minutes later. Fabio Coentrao’s cross from the left wasn’t dealt with by Zoran Tosic and the ball fell for Cristiano Ronaldo to fire below Chepchugov.

As CSKA became a little more adventurous in their search for an equaliser after the break Real were finding the gaps on the counter-attack that they are normally so deadly at exploiting, but after Jose Maria Callejon sliced his shot wide from a narrow angle, Ronaldo himself passed up a wonderful opportunity as he pulled his effort just past the post from the edge of the area.

However, Mourinho’s men didn’t look in any danger of conceding until in the final minute of stoppage time Alan Dzogoev’s cross was headed back into the area by Alexei Berezoutski and finished clinically by Wernbloom.

That goal does at least give CSKA some hope for their trip to the Spanish captial, but Real should still be confident and will be heavy favourites for the return on March 14.

At Spanishfootball.info we have undertaken a level of expansion this season that has required us to devote more time to its progress. New features and categories have been introduced, as well as our regular day-to-day editing of the website to make sure it’s much more viewer/reader friendly.

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Although we don’t offer payment for this role (the majority do not) due to the nature of the site, we can offer the platform for you to build your journalistic career upon. We are a friendly, hardworking and motivated team who seek similar individuals to join us in our attempts to deliver an excellent website. You’d be of course accredited for all your work via the means you wish, such as Twitter and/or promotion of your own blog. There is of course huge opportunity for progression, as many of our writers have attracted various esteemed positions elsewhere. In the past we’ve been let down by people not willing to be serious about the site and writing, we hope to find people on the contrary. A good grasp of the English language is essential, and if you have Spanish skills that would be a most desirable. Also, important to us, is knowledge of the Spanish game. We are not centric to just two particular teams, so please only apply if you have strong knowlege of La Liga as a whole.

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Meanwhile in the capital Real Madrid put four past Racing Santander to extend their lead at the top of the table to 13 points.  It took the hosts just 6 minutes to open the scoring with talisman Cristiano Ronaldo getting on the end of a Kaka header across the face of goal to nod home. The game changed further in the home side´s favour on 37 minutes when Cisma was harshly shown a second yellow card and sent off. Madrid doubled their lead and effectively killed off the game on the stroke of half-time when Karim Benzema escaped his marker to lift a Xabi Alonso free-kick over Toño in the Racing goal. The second half saw the return of Angel Di Maria and the Argentine marked it in style with the goal of the night on 73 minutes cutting in from the wing and curling a great effort past Toño. After scoring in the final minute of the first half, Benzema repeated the trick with the four and final goal at the death when he fired a powerful shot into the roof of the net. Real Madrid now turn their attention to European matters and the upcoming visit to Moscow to face CSKA.

Staying in the capital, in the early kick off Getafe and Espanyol shared the goals and points in a 1-1 at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez. Despite being on top for large parts of the game, Getafe went behind to an Alvaro Vazquez who escaped his marker to fire past Moya. The visitor’s lead only lasted four minutes as Mike pulled Getafe level from the penalty spot after Thievy had fouled him in the area. With ten minutes remaining the hosts had a chance to push for the winner when Galan was shown a second yellow but Luis Garcia’s side were unable to capitalise and had to settle for a point. A win would have moved Getafe into the top half of the table but as it stands they sit 12th while Espanyol moved into fourth place, all be it having played one game more than their nearest rivals.

The return of the Europa League was overall a good one for the Spanish sides as Atletico Madrid and Valencia look well set to complete their passage to the last-16 next week, whilst Athletic Bilbao will at least have an away goal to count on as they try to overturn a first-leg deficit.

Lazio 1 Atlético Madrid 3

The focus was on Diego Simeone as he made his European bow as boss in another of his old stomping grounds.

His side’s proud record of not having conceded in his six-game long reign went within 19 minutes as Thibaut Courtois spilled Cristian Ledesma’s long-range effort and Miroslav Klose showed all his experience as he nipped in ahead of the Atleti defence to bury the rebound.

The goal had been harsh on Atleti who had been the better side to that point, but they soon made amends as Radamel Falcao headed Juanfran’s cross into Adrian Lopez who slotted home his sixth goal in Europe this season.

The front two were involved again as the visitors went in front 12 minutes later as Adrian lovely flick into Diego freed the Brazilian inside the area and his cross come shot was slid into the net at the back post by Falcao.

Atleti continued to boss the game in the second period, showing a swagger and confidence on the ball which hadn’t previously been visible even since Simeone’s appointment at the club and they deservedly got a third goal that should have sealed the tie. Again Adrian was involved as he was played in down the right and his low cross was perfectly timed for Falcao to apply the simplest of finishes from two yards.

All in all an extremely satisfying night for Simeone and one that should signal Atleti’s intentions to once again challenge for the trophy they won only two years ago.

FT: Lazio 1 (Klose 19) Atlético Madrid 3 (Adrian 25, Falcao 37 & 62)

Stoke 0 Valencia 1

Valencia produced a polished and professional display to see of a workmanlike Stoke side and ease their passage into the last-16.

There were some raised eyebrows when Unai Emery left Roberto Soldado, Ever Banega and Victor Ruiz on the bench, but the Valencia boss was vindicated as Los Che stood up to the English side’s physical approach and took advantage of their greater technique to control the game.

Jonas was denied by a brilliant save from Asmir Begovic on 20 minutes before the only goal of the game arrived via an incredible strike by Mehmet Topal that rocketed into the top corner 10 minutes before half-time.

The visitors continued to have the better of the game after the break and Sofiane Feghouli nearly put the tie to bed as he hit the post with 20 minutes remaining, but the Vicente Guaita showing great maturity in dealing with Stoke’s trademark long throws and corners, the hosts were impotent and Valencia will be confident of finishing the job next week at Mestalla.

FT: Stoke City 0 Valencia 1 (Topal 36)

Lokomotiv Moscow 2 Athletic Bilbao 1

Athletic face the toughest task in their big to qualify for the last-16 after a spirited second-half comeback from Lokomotiv handed them the advantage in freezing conditions in Moscow.

With snow lining the artificial surface the requirement for an orange ball brought some antiquated intrigue of European days gone by to a match that was fascinating as much for the difficulty of the conditions as the quality of play.

Somehow though there was some decent football played and from one particular piece of skill Athletic took the lead midway through the first-half. Markel Susaeta doing brilliantly to turn inside two desperate Lokomotiv challenges before squaring for Iker Muniain to slot home a vital away goal.

Athletic had already survived a couple of scare towards the end of the first-half but were finally pegged back when Levante old boy Felipe Caicedo theatrically fell under pressure from Jon Aurtenetxe and Denis Glushakov fired home the penalty.

And Aurtenetxe’s poor evening was complete when his poor clearance was picked up by Caicedo on the edge of the area and the Ecuadorian placed a fine shot low beyond Gorka Iraizoz.

Both sides had chances for more goals as Iraizoz parried Renat Yanbaev’s fierce effort before at the other end Guilherme Marinato made a great recovery save to tip Muniain’s spectacular overhead kick over the bar, but with the score as it is all is to play for in Bilbao next week.

FT: Lokomotiv Moscow 2 (Glushakov (pen 60), Caicedo 70) Athletic Bilbao 1 (Muniain 35)

Celta de Vigo 4-1 Recreativo Huelva

Celta extended their unbeaten run to nine league games and moved up to 2nd with a convincing comeback home win. Pablo Sanchez gave Recreativo the lead on the stroke of half time, a Iago Aspas brace along with Orellana’s and a Manolo Martinez own goal completed the comeback.

Saturdays’ Matches

AD Alcorcón 2-0 SD Huesca

Alcorcon stay in the chasing pack for a play-off position after a 2-0 win over relegation threatened Huesca. Two goals in the last ten minutes gave the hosts the win, Babin and Saul were the goal scorers.

Barcelona B 4-0 FC Cartagena

Barca B thumped Cartagena as Gerard Deulofeu added to his growing reputation with a brace, the first a thunderbolt from a very acute angle which went in off the crossbar. Muniesa scored in between Deulofeu’s goals as did Rafinha with a golazo as he dribbled by three defenders before finishing confidently.

CD Alcoyano 2-0 UD Las Palmas

Pignol was dismissed in the 59th minute for a second bookable offence and this was the game changer as minutes later David Torres took advantage of Mariano Barbosa’s fumble to give Alcoyano the lead. Alvaro added a second as he curled in to the far corner of the met after cutting in from the left.

CE Sabadell 3-1 Villarreal B

Sabadell are now four unbeaten thanks to three second half goals which were enough to see off Villarreal B despite Trigueros’ injury time goal for the relegation battlers.

Córdoba CF 2-0 Real Valladolid

Javier Patino and Borja Garcia gave Cordoba victory over 3rd place Valladolid, the gap between 2nd and 7th is only 6 points after this result. Valladolid will rue the defeat as they drop out of the automatic promotion spots.

Gimnàstic Tarragona 1-1 CD Numancia

Gimnastic were the only team out of the bottom five to collect a point this weekend. It could have been all three but for Del Pino’s 80th minute equaliser for the visitors.

Guadalajara (ESP) 1-2 Xerez CD

Xerez moved seven points clear of safety after a much needed away win despite playing the last 12 minutes with ten men after Jose Vega’s sending off.

Real Murcia 0-2 Elche CF

Murcia fell to their third defeat in a row as Elche moved to 5th. Ruper and Generelo with a goal in each half that secured victory for Pepe Bordalas’ men.

Sundays’ Matches

Girona FC 0-1 UD Almería

Girona are now joint bottom of the table with Gimnastic after Juanma Ortiz’s goal extended Girona’s run to six league games without a win. Almeria meanwhile are the inform team in the division after Deportivo and Celta.

Hércules CF 1-4 Deportivo La Coruña

Deportivo sent out a message to the rest of the league on Sunday that they are the team to beat for the remainder of the season, we all probably knew that but it is without doubt now as they trounced Hercules 4-1.

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A difficult weekend in which any hope of retaining the La Liga title for the fourth consecutive year all but disappeared heaped an extra burden of pressure on Barcelona as they travelled to Germany this evening, but they responded in Champions style with a 3-1 victory that will surely secure their passage to the quarter-finals for a fifth successive season.

Alexis Sanchez again proved his increasing importance to the side with a goal either side of Michal Kadlec’s reply for the hosts and Leo Messi capped another virtuoso performance with the third two minutes from the end.

Pep Guardiola had as expected restored Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas to the starting XI from the side that lost 3-2 at Osasuna on Saturday but there was still no return for Xavi Hernandez as his fitness problems continue and Gerard Pique was dropped from the squad entirely with Javier Mascherano starting alongside Carles Puyol in central defence.

Not that it mattered in the first-half as Leverkusen failed to test Barca at all, the Germans aiming a series of aimless balls down the middle of the field that were easily swallowed up by Victor Valdes and allowed the visitors to get back on the attack. However the hosts reluctance to take any chances was given some  justification when the opener arrived just before half-time as on a rare occasion in which they tried to play the ball out from the back Kadlec was dispossessed and Messi slipped through a wonderful pass for Sanchez to run into the area and slot the ball between Bernd Leno’s legs.

With Barca having the away goal though the second-half was a far better spectacle as Leverkusen were forced onto the front foot. And they were level with their first real chance of the match as the visitors failed to clear on a number of occasions before Vedran Corluka crossed to the back post for Kadlec to power in a fine header.

The Germans were only on terms for three minutes though as Fabregas split the Leverkusen defence with an excellent disguised pass for Sanchez to again charge through on goal before rounding Leno and slotting into the empty net.

Victor Valdes was then called into action to deny Renato Augusto before making an even better save as he diverted Gonzalo Castro’s goalbound shot onto the post.

Messi nearly put the tie to bed with an audacious piece of skill 18 minutes from time as he jinked past Arne Friehrich, nutmegged Daniel Schwaab and lifted the ball over Leno only to see it come back off the outside of the post.

Both keeper were called into action again as the game flowed from end-to-end, Valdes saving comfortably from Sebastian Kiessling before Leno made a more impressive stop to deny Sanchez his hat-trick. Another goal was coming though and it duly arrived when Messi released Dani Alves down the right and he waited for Messi to join him in the area before squaring for the Argentine to slid in his seventh goal in the competition this season and the 19th he has scored in the knockout phases of the Champions League, surpassing the previous record held by Raul and Andriy Shevchenko.

FT: Bayer Leverkusen 1 (Kadlec 52) Barcelona 3 (Sanchez 41 & 55, Messi 88)

Villarreal B 0-0 Barcelona B

Villarreal B’s impressive home run continues as they try to stay above the relegation zone. This latest 0-0 draw made it five games unbeaten at home for the hosts despite having to the last 20 minutes with only 10 men after Jaume Costa was sent off.

Saturdays’ Matches

Recreativo Huelva 0-1 Deportivo La Coruña

Deportivo’s marvellous run in the league now stretches to eight wins and a draw in their last nine league games. The ever reliable Juan Carlos Valeron with the only goal of the game after 16 minutes.

Xerez CD 2-2 AD Alcorcón

Inigo Velez’s brace gave Xerez a point as they had to come from behind vs. Alcorcon twice after Sales and a Cordero own goal gave Alcorcon the lead on two different occasions.

UD Almería 2-1 Córdoba CF

Two late goals for Almeria gave them a huge victory over Cordoba though Garcia had given the visitors the lead. Corona and returning loan signing Ortiz from Rangers in the 93rd minute with the goals.

SD Huesca 0-0 CE Sabadell

Huesca ended their run of four straight defeats that finds them in the relegation zone. This result leaves Huesca four points from safety.

UD Las Palmas 3-2 Guadalajara (ESP)

Las Palmas won what was the game of the weekend by far, which contained late late drama. Vitolo opened the scoring after only 5 minutes and Jony equalised on the verge of half time. Moreno made it 2-1 to the visitors as they looked good for the win up until the 90th minute. Gonzalez levelled from the spot on 90 minutes and talisman Jonathan Viera gave them the lead in the 94th minute. Both teams ended with 10 men as both had players who saw red.

CD Numancia 2-0 CD Alcoyano

Numancia saw off Alcoyano 2-0, thanks to a goal in each half from Natalio and De Cerio. Numancia move up to 8th and must be seen as the outsiders for the play-offs after an impressive last few weeks.

Celta de Vigo 1-0 Real Murcia

Celta kept their 7th clean sheet in a row to see off Murcia, Orellana scoring the only goal of the game on 58 minutes. Murcia slip down to 9th place after back to back defeats.

Elche CF 1-0 Girona FC

Jordi Xumetra scored after 53 minutes to end Elche’s run of three consecutive defeats which saw them fall from 1st down to 6th.

Sundays’ Matches

Real Valladolid 4-0 Gimnàstic Tarragona

Oscar’s hat-trick along with a Javi Guerra goal gave Valladolid a convincing 4-0 win over bottom of the table Gimnastic. This result leaves Valladolid within 3 points of Deportivo in 1st place.

FC Cartagena 0-3 Hércules CF

Hercules remain level in 4th with Almeria after a 3-0 win at 19th placed Cartagena. Carlos Calvo, Arbilla and Michel with a penalty gave them the win.

It may have been on a low heat but the race for European places in finally coming to the boil

La Liga’s race for Europe has until now been treated with all the enthusiasm of a Tory party conference held in Brussels over the past few months. Contenders, or theoretical ones at least, contantly falling over themselves to hand the initiative to someone else. However finally it appears Athletic Bilbao and Espanyol fancy a seat at Europe’s top summit next season.

Athletic, beaten only at the Bernabeu in their last eight league games, lead then trailed then lead again before Espanyol, unbeaten in their last seven and strengthened rather than weakend during a January window for once, finally ended the scoring with a wonderful injury time volley from Juan Albin.

Questions remain over both sides’ ability to compete for fourth place. Athletic due to their punishing schedule which includes the Europa League and a Copa del Rey final, whilst despite the recruitment of Coutinho and Kalu Uche, it remains to be seen whether Espanyol have the firepower to sustain their current form, but both are brilliantly led by shrewd Argentines who are an example of what is possible with excellent coaching  despite modest resources.

Spain really is the big Scotland

Having been brought up on a healthy (oxymoron?) diet of Scottish football during my 20-odd years of football watching I often have to vehemtly refute the claims that La Liga is but a glitzy, more glamorous version of the SPL. However, as I sat shivering at the Calderon on Sunday watching two, supposedly good teams, play out one of the most tepid 0-0 draws you have ever seen I felt strangely at home, and most certainly not in a good way.

Zaragoza – so bad they even make Marca look clever

As Zaragoza extended their winless streak to 17½ years on Sunday night, something amazing happened, and it wasn’t the consolidation of Helder Postiga as the top-scorer of a top-flight club. No, Marca actually came with an imaginative headline, “Ni un Rayo de esperanza” (Not even a ray of
hope) was their summation and it is hard to argue that if it wasn’t before, the Zaragoza ship is sinking faster than the Costa Concordia.

Villarreal finally find a cure for their homesickness

….and it’s called opponents desperation. Marcelino threw everything at the Yellow Submarine in a bid to save his job on Sunday, but if there was ever a lesson in less is more then this was it. Sevilla lined up for the second-half with a midfield and forward line consisting of Trochowski, Rakitic, Manu del Moral, Navas, Rayes, Kanoute and Negredo. The result? Endless number of counter-attacks with Villarreal players sauntering through unchallenged until they were repelled by Javi Varas. Eventually the winner did arrive as Javier Camunas thundered in his first goal for the club, enough for Marcelino’s P45 to also be delivered 24 hours later.

Sevilla are here once again; another coach no one really wanted, another spell of insipid football, and another sorry end. Marcelino Garcia Toral was removed from his position at the Andalucían club on Monday morning, after being called to a meeting he previous night, following another disgruntled, lethargic loss. This time, it was in front of their fans, and Villarreal, a side still searching for their own souls, were the protagonists. A last ditch gamble of 3-5-2 with every creative outlet available on the field, only confused more than concocted.

The final whistle from one man on the field was met with whistles from a thousand men in the stands. It was poisonous, and directed towards various sources. The Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán is a chaotic whirl of sound in its pomp, but it can be corrosive when things aren’t going well.

Marcelino is the latest in a long line of mistakes made by Sevilla as a project, both on a management and personnel level. The glory days of Juande Ramos and his electrifying side, are now but a distant memory, confined to the halls of the famous Pizjuán. Dani Alves, Seydou Keita, Christian Poulsen, Adriano, Renato, Luis Fabiano, Jesús Navas, Frédéric Kanouté and many more. It was a glorious team of which now few remain.

The trophy haul began in Ramos’ first season, and continued up until his departure. Those are the days Sevilla’s passionate supporters long for, and the senior management have attempted to replicate. Ultimately, it has been a case of several false dawns.

A scouting policy that was the envy of Spain, has seemingly disintegrated. Monchi, the man in charge of such operations, has for many lost his Midas touch. His high wage packet has only increased the level of dissatisfaction at his record in recent years. Monchi recently bemoaned that it was becoming more difficult to find another Dani Alves. “I remember watching Dani, and on that night there was around two other scouts. “I travel to Brazil now, there are 30 scouts watching the same player. Things have changed”, Monchi recently stated. They may indeed have changed, but he hasn’t. There has been a slow acknowledgment of new markets, and where Sevilla used to be pioneers in such a thing, they are now latecomers. Players like Keita and Dani Alves left for generous fees, but Monchi’s inability to replace them has left the club in this position. ‘Project Africa’ as Sevilla fans labelled it, the arrival of Arouna Koné, Kofi Romaric, Mouhamadou Dabo and Abdoulay Konko (the latter two of African descent), was a complete disaster. Around this time too, Luis Fabiano was signing a new deal yet engineering his exit at the same time. A humiliating saga. Sevilla failed with moves for players too; incompetence during negotiations with Borja Valero only deterred the player, and he moved elsewhere.

Monchi netted Luca Cigarini instead, and less said about the Italian the better.

These errors at playing staff level, were of only a greater magnitude at a technical level. Upon Ramos’ departure, Manolo Jiménez was brought in – a popular figure amongst fans for his work with the youth team. He did well for a period, but the inevitable deterioration came, and he was moved on. Antonio Álvarez was next up, also chosen from within the club. This was only after Luis Aragones turned down the job, belief was he cited working work with a character like Del Nido as the reason – few blamed him. Álvarez for awhile, like Jiménez, did well and even managed to win the Copa Del Rey. His ability had a ceiling however. Throughout the spells of both coaches the football was negative, and it was difficult for many who experienced the Ramos years to be enamoured with such a thing.

It was then a shock, that Gregorio Manzano was handed the job. Sevilla again, had flirted with other coaches, but to no avail. Manzano never built any relationship with the players or supporters, and despite fantastic work at Real Mallorca, his psychological methods never enthused the squad. His tactics made Álvarez and Jiménez look expansive, opting in several games to fielded two holding midfielders – at an infuriated Pizjuán. Navas’ trademark wing wizardry was also reigned in.

At the end of the season, Manzano’s time was up.

The summer was then a defining moment for Sevilla. For the first time, Del Nido and Monchi had time to draw up their plan approach the man they truly wanted. Marcelo Bielsa seemed to be that man. It came to light that he’d had several contacts with the hierarchy, and had gone as far as to create dossiers on the current squad and attend youth team games. With a contract all tied up, Sevilla, out of nowhere, pulled out. Del Nido was fearful of the power that Bielsa could wield, and the sweeping changes he wished to make to a club that had been stagnant for too long. Again, Del Nido thought of himself before the club. The Argentinean coach moved to Athletic, and since then has never looked back. Former Coach Joaquín Caparrós was then considered, but a previously fraught relationship with Del Nido came into play. It was a shame, given that Sevilla cantera was bursting with life, and Caparrós’ work with the younger players in his previous spell, is well renowned.

So, it was left to Marcelino. No one wanted him, and as much as Del Nido and Monchi tried to convince anyone who still listened to them, they didn’t believe it themselves.

The trust between club, and fans, evaporated – that’s without even going into Del Nido’s murky affair passing through the Spanish legal system. He was found guilty of fraud, but the saga will rumble on for some time. Ironic, in that the majority of the Pizjuán want to trial him on that exact count.

Marcelino looked to build from the back, and there were glimpses his message was being taken on board. Sevilla defended competently, and looked organised, capable of stifling any team. Barcelona found this out at the Camp Nou. A defeat to Granada only exposed the systems flaws. The transition from defence to attack was insipid, and despite various creative outlets and pace in wide areas, Marcelino failed to find the cohesion required to execute the system fully. José Antonio Reyes came home but instead of bringing balloons and cake, he’s brought a curse – they haven’t won since he arrived. Álvaro Negredo has even lost his spike. It was left for Gary Medel to do everything– and the Chilean has shown nothing but fortitude throughout. Then, a bust-up between Marcelino and Kanouté in training over the Malian’s fitness cranked up the tension.

Marcelino clearly couldn’t motivate the team any longer, and the response, or lack thereof, to Villarreal’s second goal, confirmed that. Míchel will be the safe pair of hands installed to carry Sevilla over the line, but his appointment is indicative of the approach in recent years – short-termism. Summer remains a daunting prospect.

Figures show that few places in Europe see more sunlight on average per year thanSeville, only Del Nido wants every bit to himself. Until he departs, Sevilla, and the fans’ aspirations, will forever remain in the shade.

After watching Denis Suárez in the recent Copa Atlántico tournament I felt inclined to note down a few observations.

I’ve followed Suárez since his Celta Vigo days, specifically with the Juvenil team, so have taken a continued interest in his development. The midfielder has stated in interviews playing alongside David Silva in training has brought his game on, and that he’s learning every single day how to improve both his decision making with the ball, and running off it. Judging by his performance in the tournament based in the Canary Islands, he’s an efficient learner.

Here is an assessment of his performance at the tournament:

Vs. Denmark

Suárez was operating here, in quite advanced areas throughout. Raúl de Tomas was the central striker, and it was the Manchester City player who was closest to him throughout. I found this strange because on a few occasions only, have I seen him operate as advanced. He often picked the pall up 25/30 yards from goal, making short passes to the wide players – he had a particularly good understanding with Atlético Madrid’s highly rated Javi Manquillo, cutting in from wide areas. The neat interchanges are key in the Spanish game at youth level, to learn the prestige of possession. Suárez rarely misplaced a pass, even when under pressure he contorted his body well and manoeuvred out of a potentially dangerous situation, again distributing the ball neatly. Off the ball his movement was intelligent too, sometimes moving into an area with his back to goal turning 180 degrees and lifting his head up – again moving the ball into channels, or to De Tomas. Everything went through Suárez, and there can’t have been a single move that didn’t involve him within the build-up. It was a solid display to begin the tournament with.

Vs. Canary Islands

Here, Suárez was situated in a deeper area, where I’ve been more used to seeing him, both at Celta and while with the Spanish youth set up. I imagine, given what occurred in the first game, Coach Julen Lopetegui decided he needed to create more space for Suárez to dictate within. It worked too, as for much of the game he remained unmarked, and despite picking the ball up from deeper zones, he carried the ball in a much more purposeful way compared to the first. Again, he maintained to distribute the ball into wider areas when getting into the final third, though he seemed to be playing on a more individual level without Manquillo, who was rested. The relationship between the two really was that significant in the opening game. Suárez’s body movement continued to amaze, and just when it seemed he was being closed down a subtle drop of the shoulder took him away from any oncoming opponent. He crowned a dominating display, with a goal. Receiving the ball inside the penalty area he showed fine control, before evading a challenge and slotting into the bottom corner. With the game closing out, Suárez found time for a party trick too; he made himself some space in central midfield, and a 40 yard pass from the full back was plucked out of the air, and brought under control. The crowd, and commentators on Marca TV, duly let out a huge gasp.

Vs. Russia

This was probably Suárez’s weakest game of the tournament, though it speaks volumes despite this he managed to provide the key moment within the 90 minutes. He reverted to the role he played in the opener against Denmark, with Coach Lopetegui perhaps being of the mindset he needed more definition within attacking areas. Spain needed to win the game to take the trophy – a loss, or draw, wasn’t enough. Russia pressed up high on Spain in the first half, and were probably the better side. It squeezed Suárez, and Spain, much deeper than they would’ve liked. Without him dropping deep the distribution on the counter attack wasn’t precise enough, and unusually for a Spanish side, they were out hustled by a determined Russian side. A late substitution saw Spain take the lead, and after that the game opened up more. Suarez began to find space to create within, and he was feeding balls into the frontline often. The decisive moment then came, as Spain put both hands on the trophy. Russia failed to clear their lines, and with two body feints, Suárez opened himself up a yard of space, and drilled the ball home. It was a fantastic strike, especially given the small area to work in.

Conclusion:

Suárez had a fantastic tournament, and there has been clear development within his game. He seems a more confident individual, and obviously has a clearer view of the ability harnessed. In fact, from what I gathered, he was one of the stronger personalities within the dressing room too, and along with Manquillo and Óliver Torres (another outstanding Atlético Madrid prospect), he will no doubt lead this next generation of Spanish talent on to success. If I had to give him a mark, it would be 9/10. City have a gem.