It was Dorothy Parker that once said “If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.”
And though it is unlikely that the American satirist had football in mind, the saying is appropriately apt when looking at the upper and lower echelons of La Liga.
It would certainly appear that if there is indeed a God, a debate for another day at least, he is certainly looking less than favourably on the big spenders in Spain.
At the top, the duel between Real Madrid and Barcelona continued to offer little in the way of an actual duel. Since Madrid dropped points away at Depor a week ago, Barca have been back in imperious control after the most minor of wobbles.
Despite spending big in the summer, Real continue to be some way off the pace of Guardiola’s men, who continued their seemingly unstoppable march to the title with a 1-0 win over lowly Zaragoza.
With the spine of the side coming from the Barca youth system, Madrid and manager Jose Mourinho could at least take some respite from the fact that in a tight match, it took a goal from Seydou Keita, a man signed from Sevilla for twelve million three years ago, to decide the game.
But the win meant that, twenty four hours on, the best that mega spending Madrid could look forward to from their trip to Racing Santander was maintaining the seven point gap on their Catalan rivals.
And whilst first half goals from new big signing Adebayor and forgotten big signing Karim Benzema, seemingly put Los Blancos in control, the second half saw the home side fight back.
Santander first missed a penalty before Kennedy Bakircioglu reduced the arrears with twenty minutes remaining. But just when things looked shaky for the away side, Benzema popped up with another goal and another stark reminder to Mourinho that he is more than simply a thirty million pound bench-warmer.
Elsewhere, perennial overachievers/bankrupt giants Valencia, consolidated third place and the lucrative automatic Champions League qualification spot with a 2-1 win over mid-table Mallorca.
Pablo Hernández was the two goal hero for Los Che who initially fell behind when Ivan Ramis scored a penalty for the visitors just after the half hour mark. The response was quick though, with Valencia level just two minutes later before Hernández struck the winner on 56 minutes.
The result was made all the more sweet by the antics of Spain’s own Jekyll and Hyde creation, AtleticoAtletico Madrid, who took apart fourth placed Villarreal at the Vicente Calderon.
Jose Antonio Reyes opened the scoring after just five minutes, but the Yellow Submarine were level before half time through Spurs target Giuseppe Rossi.
However, the second half saw Atletico take full control with two goals in the space of four minutes from former big money signings Diego Forlán and Sergio Agüero. Despite the impressive result though, the other big spending club in Madrid remain in seventh place and some twelve points off their opponents.
Villarreal meanwhile, fell four points behind Valencia, with the prospect of having to play a qualifying round for next seasons Champions League looming large.
The battle for Europa league qualification meanwhile, remains a battle between the haves and have nots of La Liga. With Atletico winning, the gap between fifth and eighth is marked by just three points.
The team currently in pole position though, remain staunchly entrenched in the grouping of “have nots.”Athletic Bilbao have always prided themselves on a strict Basque only transfer policy.
And despite flirting with relegation in previous seasons, it would appear that their continued adherence to youth development and regional loyalty is paying dividends once again.
Fernando Llorente had spearheaded an impressive season for Bilbao which had seen the Basque’s challenging at the right end of the table. But, a recent run of four defeats had seen fans fear the worst with Bilbao dropping to seventh.
However, Sunday’s match against league rivals and familiarly sounding big spenders Sevilla, provided a welcome return to the good times. It took a second half own goal from Federico Fazion on 66 minutes, followed by a last minute Andoni Iraola penalty but it proved enough to secure a win that’s sure to raise more than a few eyebrows in Spain.
And whilst Sevilla and Atletico remain off the pace, there was some respite for those underachieving clubs, with fifth placed Espanyol suffering a shock loss to Levante, which saw the hosts drop one place.
The visiting players, who have endured weeks without pay and nothing other than the hope of survival, dug deep to claim a valuable win courtesy of a first half goal from Manchester City reject Felipe Caicedo.
And in the battle for relegation, it would seem that money means little for those involved. First up, there was Sporting Gijón, a club known for their shoe string budget, who faced off against a previously impressive Getafe.
First half goals from Miguel de Las Cuevas and Andre Castro set the home side on their way to ending a five game winless run. And though the second half saw some questionable defending from Gijón, culminating in the dismissal of Alberto Lora with five minutes remaining, Getafe failed to capitalise, with Sporting moving two points clear of the relegation zone.
Elsewhere, two relegation strugglers with little in the coffers other than some grit and determination faced off in arguably the biggest game of the weekend.
Bottom club Almeria took on Hércules knowing that a win could see them move off the basement of La Liga, but when Abraham Paz headed the visitors into the lead early in the second half, home fans feared the worst.
But with twenty minutes remaining, Almeria levelled the scores through Sofiane Feghouli and with barely a pause to breathe, the home side found themselves in front courtesy of Cameroon international and free summer signing Modeste M’Bami.
What Málaga would pay for such a result, God only knows of course. Back when Qatari investor Abdullah ben Nasser Al Thani bought the club back in June, the message was clear: this would be the start of a new dawn in Spanish football with Malaga competing with Barcelona and Real Madrid for league titles!
But six months into the new season and Málaga could soon be competing with Real and Barca’s B teams in the dreaded Segunda division. The January signings of manager Manuel Pellegrini and high profile names like Júlio Baptista and Martin Demichellis, whilst improving the standard of football at La Rosaleda, have done little to bring the much needed results.
And Sunday proved little better than further tales of woe. The visitors Osasuna rallied to record their first away victory of the season courtesy of an injury time header from Sergio Fernández.
Bottom of the table and four points from safety, Málaga’s endless pit of money seems to matter little when you’ve hit rock bottom yourself.