It’s no surprise that José Mourinho’s Real Madrid kept a clean sheet the coach’s La Liga debut, but Mallorca’s ability to do the same to Los Blancos has sent a minor shock through Spanish soccer. In a season in which Barcelona and Real Madrid are both expected to challenge (if not eclipse) 100 points, Real Madrid dropped two of only fourteen points they can leave (if they are to hit triple digits). In that respect, it was a disastrous start to the season.
La Liga Weekend Review: Real Madrid Loses Crucial Points In First Match? That’s This Year’s Primera
Atlético Madrid sits top of the table after one week, but the story in Spain is still the two giants. Barcelona was their typical selves, winning 3-0 and pulling two points ahead of Real Madrid, tripped-up in their season opener.
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By conventional standards, La Liga is not a very competitive league, but when you consider the season ahead for Barcelona and Real Madrid, it’s difficult to imagine a more competitive environment. Each of those clubs are going to play 38 matches knowing one spell of poor play will take them out of the title race. Whereas eventual champions Chelsea went through a full-fledged identity crisis midway through last season’s Premier League, Barcelona and Real Madrid have only a few matches’ margin of error. The losses of one bad spell, the odd draws you accumulate throughout season, the head-to-head matches between the two - the fourteen points can pile-up quickly. After one weekend, Real Madrid has already given away two.
Whether it’s irony, justice, or paradox, there’s something special in Mallorca being the team to trip Los Blancos in week one. Save Manchester City, Real Madrid spends more money than any club in the world. They’ve engineered three of the four most expensive transfers of all-time, and this summer they’ve added Mourinho, Mesut Özil, Sami Khedira, Angel Di Maria, Ricardo Carvalho, Sergio Canales and Pedro Leon. Contrast that with Mallorca, a club that had to go into administration after last season and were kicked-out of Europa League (for failing to meet the competition’s standards regarding club solvency). The islanders are the opposite end of the spectrum from Real Madrid, and although they played very conservatively in doing so, they were able to keep the Merengues from full points. Irony? Justice? Both?
Regardless, Real Madrid is on one point after the opening weekend, having their biggest weakness highlighted by Mallorca’s approach. While they have capable forwards in Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema, Real Madrid does not have a true “number nine,” a fact José Mourinho bemoaned as training camp closed. Against the likes of Mallorca, you would think they’d still have enough firepower, but without a traditional target man to provide a more direct option against a bunkered team, Real Madrid would be in for more results like Sunday’s. While the team did not have a number nine last year either, this season’s opposition may be more pragmatic about facing a team that scored 102 times. Justifiably, José Mourinho wants another option.
Conversely, Barcelona had no problem opening their title defense. Lionel Messi scored minutes into the season, followed by Andres Iniesta a half-hour later. David Villa opened his Barcelona account in the second half, giving Barcelona the relatively straight-forward win - the type of victory to which we’ve becoming desensitized over the last three years. Barcelona was fluid, artistic, synchronized. They were Barcelona. At some point, there are no new ways to describe a match we’ve seen time-and-time again over the last three years. Barcelona is as good as they’ve been since they day Pep Guardiola took over, probably the best team in the world.
But for one week, Barcelona is not on top of the Primera’s table. That honor goes Atlético Madrid, whose 4-0 victory over Sporting Gijon on Monday provides the final assurance that last year’s slow start is a thing of the past. Diego Forlán continues his campaign to be considered the best goal scorer on the planet, starting his quest for a third Pichichi with a brace. Adding goals by José Jurado and Simão, the Atleti’s +4 goal difference puts them first after one week.
In between them and Barcelona is the Sevilla’s continuing roller coaster. Antonio Alvarez’s club rebounded from last week’s Copa del Rey and Champions League disappointments to give Levante a rude welcome to the Primera. Fullback Abdoulay Konko’s brace combined with goals from Álvaro Negredo and Renato to counter a 10th minute Rubén Suárez penalty kick, giving Sevilla a 4-1 win, snapping their three match losing streak. Perhaps the storng performance portends to a Sevilla upswing, but given the uneven nature of the club’s performances, Sevilla should be ready for a downturn by the time they return to the pitch on September 11th against Deportivo La Coruña.
Like any other league’s opening weekend, Spain had their share of surprises, the biggest of which took place in Barcelona. Espanyol, the league's other Barcelona team, only scored 29 goals last season. On Sunday, they scored four, three of them for themselves, in a 3-1 (mild) upset of Getafe. Pablo Osvaldo, returning after a half-seaosn at Bologna, had a brace, with Argentine attacker Jesus Dátolo, on loan from Napoli, scoring the third.
Slightly less surprising than Espnayol’s offensive explosion, reigning Segunda champions Real Sociedad marked a triumphant return to the Primera with a 1-0 win over Villareal, their goal scored in the second half by Xabi Prieto. Forward Joseba Llorente, who returned to Sociedad this summer, played 78 minutes before being replaced by Raul Tamudo, failing to score against his former team.
The rest of the weekend results from Spain:
Valencia assuaged fears that their summer sell-off would send them crashing down the table, winning 3-1 at Málaga on Saturday. Aritz Aduriz scored within ten minutes of his debut with Los Che, and Sebastian Fernández’s first Málaga goal went for not after a second half brace from Joaquin.
Deportivo La Coruña started the season with disappointment, unable to get a win at home against relegation candidate Real Zaragoza, the two teams playing to a nil-nil draw.
Likewise, Osasuna failed to score against visiting Almeria while still managing a point from the nil-nil.
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