Whilst the January transfer window provided big business in Serie A and the Premier League, La Liga clubs opted to save their pocket money for the usual summertime antics.
The last couple of years have been dominated by one club alone, with Real Madrid making headlines and breaking records in World Football.
First, there was the signing of Kaka, at a cool €68.5 million. Whilst a loss of form and long term injury have seen the Brazilian deemed a flop, the former AC Milan man continued on the road to recovery with the opening goal against Real Sociedad on Sunday.
But the day belonged to another record signing...in more ways than one. Cristiano Ronaldo turned 26 in style this year courtesy of a brace before half time that took his tally to 24 for the season.
And though the second half saw Sociedad pull one back with an Alvaro Arbeloa own goal, Real did add a fourth late on courtesy of belated loan signing Emmanuel Adebayor who continued his impressive early form for the home side.
Ultimately though, Ronaldo’s birthday celebrations proved somewhat muted in the wake of Barcelona’s own achievements, with the Catalans securing their fifteenth straight La Liga win to break a fifty year record – which had previously been held by....Real Madrid.
Worse still, the record came via a comfortable 3-0 win over cross town rivals Atletico Madrid, whose fans may have taken some solace from the misery the result seemingly heaped on their bitter enemies.
And whilst Ronaldo’s brace provided personal pleasure following a two game drought of sorts, the weekend belonged to Lionel Messi, whose hat trick at the Nou Camp saw the 23 year old Argentine draw level with the Portuguese star in the La Liga scoring charts.
A world away from the race for the title, Valencia took full advantage of a Villarreal slip up to close to within a point of the Yellow Submarine.
Going into the game, Villarreal had taken an impressive 31 points from a potential 33 at home with the visit of local rivals Levante deemed something of a formality for the league’s third best side.
But a first half stalemate, coupled with a breakaway goal from Valmiro Valdo just after half time saw the visitors in front as Villarreal laid siege to the Levante goal in what ultimately proved a fruitless endeavour.
Valencia closed the gap through a home win over Hercules. Goals either side of half time from Aritz Aduriz and Alberto Costa Tino settled the match, as Los Che maintained their grip on fourth place.
Six points behind, in fifth are Athletic Bilbao who enjoyed a 3-0 win over Sporting Gijón. The game was turned after just 15 minutes, following the dismissal of defender Gregory Arnolin for the visitors, after a second yellow card.
The resultant penalty was converted by David López before Gaizka Toquero added a second before the break, following excellent build up play from Iker Muniain. And 17 minutes from time Fernando Llorente finished from close range to seal an impressive win which saw the Basque club move above Espanyol after the latter’s defeat to Almeria.
Previous weeks had seen Barcelona’s other team impress, but the writing was on the wall after just five minutes when Marcelo Silva headed Almeria in front following an error from Cameroon keeper Carlos Kameni.
Things got worse for the Espanyol number one just a minute later, when Kalu Uche’s tame shot slipped under the international shot stopper. And when Hernan Bernadello added a third on 19 minutes, the away side were in freefall.
But to Espanyol’s credit, the visitors regained their composure, with Joan Verdú pulling one back just after the half hour mark. And when sub Álvaro Vázquez popped up with a second, three minutes into the second half, a comeback suddenly seemed on the cards. But ultimately Almeria stood firm, to record a much needed win which built on the previously impressive draw with Real Madrid.
One side that has proven less than impressive this season, and remain six points off Espanyol, are Sevilla who held on to striker Luis Fabiano during the transfer window and despite the interest of Tottenham Hotspur.
The Brazilian’s appearance proved to matter little though, with the mid table strugglers being held by a newly star studded Málaga. The signings of Julio Baptista, Enzo Maresca and Martin Demichellis had added glamour to the Arab rich la Liga side’s line up but had previously yielded no points. The draw could yet prove the turning point for Manuel Pellegrini’s side.
Sevilla meanwhile may have one eye on the teams behind them, after Getafe moved to within a point following a 4-1 win over an increasingly dour Deportivo La Coruna.
An Adrián Colunga brace along with a goal from Miku saw Madrid’s minnows race into a 3-0 lead by half time. Pedro Rios then added a fourth in the second half before Riki scored a consolation penalty that offered little in the way of respite to the visitors who look increasingly relegation bound.
Another side close to relegation, despite a recent win over Real, are Osasuna who contrived to drop points at home to Real Mallorca. Miguel Flaño had given the hosts the perfect start after seven minutes, but any hope of inflicting a fourth straight defeat on the visitors seemingly evaporated with Gonzalo Castro’s 38th minute leveller for Mallorca, as both sides settled in for a draw.
Real Zaragoza meanwhile ended a three game winning streak with a draw against Racing Santander. It could have been worse for the hosts, with Christian giving the visitors the lead on 14 minutes. Five minutes before half time though, Said Boutahar equalised and Zaragoza poured forward in search of another valuable win. That said, the point gained did leave the strugglers in 12th. But with just three points separating them from their position now and second from bottom, the race for relegation could prove more enthralling than that for the La Liga title.