What once had the promise to be a season of unpredictability in La Liga, following Mallorca’s draw with Madrid and Barcelona’s defeat at home to Hercules, is now in danger of becoming the two horse race that everyone in Spain had once expected.
That’s not to say that fans aren’t appreciative of the presence of Real Madrid and Barcelona in their league fixture schedule. Particularly if Saturday’s drab games are anything to go by.
Whilst teams like Villarreal and Valencia do continue to chase Spain’s big two in the league, lower down the table, goals are proving harder to come by.
Saturday saw Real Sociedad edge out Racing Santander at home, in a tight encounter at the Estadio Anoeta. Joseba Llorente scored after just seven minutes to settle the match, firing home from 12 yards to notch up his third goal of the season.
Elsewhere, the fanfare that had greeted the appointment of Manuel Pellegrini at Malaga was quickly silenced by an Espanyol side that had the opportunity to temporarily go fourth, with Valencia facing Sevilla on Monday night.
It didn’t take long for the Barcelona based side to silence away fans, with Javi Marquez scoring with a stunning strike from 35 yards. And whilst the performance may not have been a stellar one, the result was the Parakeets fifth league victory in a row.
The honeymoon period could be all too brief for Pellegrini. With Malaga third from bottom and losing, things got even worse, as those below gained morale boosting points.
For Real Zaragoza, in truth, the troubles still seem far from over. However the team can take some heart from a battling win at home the Real Mallorca, which was only secured with virtually the last kick of the game.
On a topsy turvy day at La Romareda, it was Mallorca that took the early initiative, with Cameroonian Pierre Webo grabbing the opening goal on 19 minutes with a delicate lob. The home fans had to wait until the 57th minute for a reply with Angel Lafita scoring after good work from Braulio.
But Zaragoza’s defensive frailties were exposed just four minutes later at Michael Perreira combined with Webo to score Mallorca’s second and put the visitors back in control.
And the scores stayed that way until five minutes from time when Nicolas Bertolo volleyed home from a Braulio flick, to seemingly save a point for the home side. But then moments later, a handball from Jose Luis Marti suddenly gave Zaragoza the chance to take all three. And Fernandez Gabi promptly did, scoring from the spot to send the home fans wild, as they drew level with Malaga on points and came off the bottom of La Liga.
Yet the most impressive result coming from the bottom three was most certainly Deportivo La Coruna’s away win at newly promoted Levante. The visitors have drawn wide criticism from fans and pundits alike for Miguel Angel Lotina’s dour tactics which had previously seen the former Champions league semi finalists drop to bottom in the league.
But Sunday’s result saw these criticisms cast aside as former Getafe striker Riki got things off to a great start, cutting in from the right to score with a well taken shot after just ten minutes. Depor’s second win of the season also happens to be their second in the space of a week, and was sealed on 53 minutes when defender Aythami Oliva smashed home from the edge of the box.
And although Levante rallied late on as Juanlu Hens scored with 18 minutes to go, they could not gain parity. An equaliser was rightly ruled out for offside and the away side held on to move up the table, whilst Levante’s third defeat in a row meant consignment to fourth from bottom.
Another of the newly promoted sides suffered a similar defeat with Hercules going down 3-0 at Osasuna. Full back Nacho Monreal opened the scoring on 40 minutes, after a poor back pass from defender Paco Pena.
Ten minutes into the second half, Lolo added a second for the home side with a neat header from a free kick set piece. And the impressive win was sealed in added on time with Krisztian Vadocz poking home from close range to give Jose Camacho’s men a win which saw them go level on 9 points with the visitors.
Also on 9 points are Sporting Gijon, who carved out a 1-1 draw away to the team just one point behind them in the table, Almeria.
The home side were looking to end their poor form at home this season, which has seen Almeria fail to pick up a win at the Mediterráneo Stadium this term. And they made the best possible start with Miguel Angel Corona scoring from a Pablo Piatti cross.
The second half saw Gijon on the attack, as Almeria clearly looked nervous. With just 17 minutes to go, Nacho Novo scored with a well timed volley straight from a corner to send the travelling fans wild, and though the visitors couldn’t find a winner, it was certainly a case of a valuable point gained rather than two lost. The same could not be said for Almeria.
Sunday of course, also saw Barca and league title outsiders Villarreal facing tests, though in both instances it was a familiar story, with both passing with flying colours.
The yellow submarines came up against an Athletic Bilbao side in some form. Seven minutes in, the home side’s task was made even tougher, as new Spain sensation Fernando Llorente gave Bilbao the early lead.
It tookVillarreal until the 40th minute to respond, with Nilmar scoring from a Borja Valero cross following a spell of sustained pressure from the home side. As the visitors looked to consolidate their position and go in level at half time, a 25 yard thunderbolt from Santi Cazorla put Villarreal 2-1 up at the break.
From here, the home side took complete control, though the result was only sealed with six minutes to go as Giuseppe Rossi added a third thanks to another pinpoint cross from Borja Valero.
There was still time for Jefferson Montero to add a fourth, as Villarreal maintained the pressure on Madrid and Barca. The latter travelled to an unpredictable Getafe, knowing that a win would see them go top, with Madrid set to play in the evening.
The Catalans have a 100% record away from the Nou Camp and quickly showed why with David villa teeing up Lionel Messi for the opener on 23 minutes. Eleven minutes later it was two, as Messi turned provider for Villa with a through pass allowing the Spain striker to finish past Jordi Codina.
Twenty minutes after the restart, Pedro added a third with a left footed drive to seemingly seal the points. But there was to be at least one more talking point as Gerard Pique saw a second yellow card for a hand ball in the box, to reduce Barca to ten men on 69 minutes.
Manu converted the kick to give the home side some hope, but the similar dismissal of Derek Boateng with 10 minutes to go, ultimately ended any remote chance of a fight back.
With Villarreal and Barca both grabbing valuable wins, the stage was set for the Galacticos of Madrid on Sunday evening. And what better stage than in the Madrid derby with Athletico.
Mourinho’s men offered up another dominant display, with Athletico reduced to the role of bystander at certain points during the match.
The game was effectively sealed within the first twenty minutes. Ricardo Carvalho slotted home the opener on 13 minutes following a deflected pass from Angel Di Maria. Five minutes later Mezut Ozil scored the second with a low struck free kick which crept into the near post corner.
The win was Mourinho’s 11th in 15 games at Madrid, with the other four results all draws. As ever in La Liga, the bar for the league title crown has been set high. At least fans can expect some more high quality football in the coming months.