The second round of matches in La Liga didn’t produce many goals until the last game on Sunday when Levante and Real Madrid shared six in the wonderful chaos of the Ciudad de Valencia Stadium. Here are some things we learned this weekend in Spain.
1 Equality ruled this weekend
Of the eight games played so far in LaLiga, only one (Levante – Real Madrid) produced more than two goals and out of the eight games played to date, five were draws, while in the other three games, no team won by more than one goal.
That implies that in a summer of few signings, equality looks to be the watchword in La Liga this season and we can expect a season of close matches with the result in doubt until the end.
With few big-name signings, the work of coaches getting the best out of the squads at their disposal could be more important than ever.
2 De Jong lifts Barca to save a point
For 70 minutes in Athletic Club Bilbao’s San Mames Stadium on Saturday night, FC Barcelona were outplayed by the home side, who harried them high up the field and stopped them from playing their traditional passing game.
With Athletic’s players pressing the ball from the edge of the Barca penalty area, Ronald Koeman’s side were unable to string more than two or three passes together until the last 20 minutes as Athletic began to tire.
By then an exhausted Pedri had left the pitch and it was Frenkie de Jong whose vision, work-rate and range of passing were able to drag Barca into the game. Memphis Depay also showed his importance with Barca’s equalizing goal and work in attack, but it was his fellow countryman who was Barca’s savior.
3 Correa is Atletico’s angel
There is a longstanding debate over whether Atletico Madrid forward Angel Correa is best as an impact player who comes off the subs’ bench in the last 20 minutes or whether he should be in the starting 11, but the Argentinean’s displays in recent games look to have ended that debate for good.
Correa scored the goal that put Atletico on their way to a title assuring win in Valladolid at the end of last season and then scored the two goals that saw them kick off this season with a 2-1 win in Vigo.
Despite this there were a few eyebrows raised when he was named in Sunday’s starting 11 ahead of Luis Suarez at home to Elche, but Correa again showed his worth with the only goal in a 1-0 win.
Perhaps we had better start wondering if 34-year-old Suarez had better prepare himself for a spell on the bench.
4 Beautiful chaos, but worrying signs for Ancelotti
Real Madrid’s 3-3 draw away to Levante had everything you could ask for in a football match: goals, turnarounds in the score and late drama as Levante ended up with 10 men and central defender Ruben Vezo playing in goal.
But while the game confirmed Levante to be a team that could surprise more than a few people this season, it must have been worrying for Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti see his team concede three goals.
With Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane both gone and David Alaba covering on the left, Eder Militao and Nacho Fernandez struggled at the back and although Madrid looked effective in attack, Ancelotti knows that if they want to win the league, they cannot afford to leak goals like this on a regular basis. Enditem
