With the lowest goals record looming large prior to the last game of round one, round two of La Liga gave us some good displays of attacking football and some big scorelines to boot. This article covers all of the games from the second week of La Liga, including a big win for Real Madrid, more dropped points for Sociedad, Barca toiling at home and the big match of the weekend — Sevilla vs Atletico Madrid.
La Liga Review: Round Two
Where else to start than at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán in Seville, which on Sunday saw Champions League chasing Sevilla, face off against title hopefuls Atletico Madrid. New signing Fernando Llorente started for Sevilla, whilst Atleti new boys Jackson Martinez and Luciano Vietto were left on the bench; Atletico boss ‘Cholo’ Simeone preferring the work rate of Fernando Torres to support Antoine Greizman in attack.
A crowd of almost 39,000 were vociferously throwing their support behind the home side but it was the visitors who struck first, Koke poking the ball past Sevilla’s Portuguese ‘keeper Beto ten minutes before the break. The introduction of Martinez in place of Torres in the 78th Minute proved to be the match-winning move. Just as Martinez was making his way onto the pitch, Atleti captain Gabi let fly with a right-footed shot deflecting off of Grzegorz Krychowiak and into the net. The goal of the night, though, was left until last.
Martinez played a one-two with Greizmann on the edge of the box before striking a delightful left footed shot into the top corner of the net that left Beto stranded. A big away win and a big statement from Atletico, with Sevilla fancied to push hard for a top four finish this season.
FC Barcelona did it the hard way against CF Malaga at the Camp Nou; ex-Arsenal defender, Thomas Vermaelen lashing in the winning goal from inside the area following a corner, just 17 minutes before the end of the game. The 29-year-old has found game time difficult to come by following an injury-ravaged first season at the Catalan giants. His opportunity to play has come courtesy of Gerard Piqué’s four match ban incurred in the Supercup against Athletic Bilbao. His defensive partner, Javier Mascherano, told reporters after the game:
“…with everything he had to fight against last year, when he couldn’t really demonstrate how good he was, I am very happy for him.”
Barça boss Luis Enrique was also pleased with the defender’s contribution:
“I’m not surprised by his level of play. He is still not 100% and has to keep accumulating minutes. He is a big asset at set pieces; he has a lot of character and is an expert player.”
This result means that Barcelona enter the international break with two wins from two. The other major positive for Enrique and Barcelona fans will have been the return of Brazilian forward, Neymar, who had missed part of pre-season after suffering from mumps. His return will have been a boost to a squad looking a little light on the ground following the restrictions in registering new players, this being part of terms of their transfer ban for signing non-EU under-18 players for their academy.
The other two teams to join Atletico Madrid and Barcelona on a maximum six points are Celta Vigo and Eibar. Eibar enjoyed a famous 2-0 win against their Basque big brothers, Athletic Bilbao. The Ipurúa stadium holds just 5,500 spectators and is comfortably the smallest ground in La Liga, but it is reminiscent of the old English-style grounds, with the fans right on top of the pitch. This can prove to be an uncomfortable experience for teams more used to the steep stands of the bigger grounds, especially Athletic Bilbao with their stunning new San Mamés stadium.
A foul by Aymeric Laporte on Sergio Enrich gave the hosts a penalty in the 33rd minute, which was duly dispatched right footed by Saúl Berjón. This had followed plenty of chances for the home side, and were it not for Athletic goalkeeper, Gorka Iraizoz, the score could have been much worse for the visiting Bilbao fans at half time. After the break, Eibar continued to press forward towards the Athletic penalty area and were rewarded with a second goal, former Elche midfielder Adrian Gonzalez heading past Iraizoz following a Saúl cross. The 2-0 win gave Eibar a first ever victory over their more decorated neighbours.
Celta Vigo are the top of the league on goal difference following their 3-0 home win against Rayo Vallecano. Rayo ‘keeper Antonio Rodríguez Martínez, better known as Toño, conceded a penalty and was shown a red card just nine minutes into the game. Juan Carlos was sent on as the replacement goalkeeper as forward Bebé was sacrificed by coach Paco Jémez. Nolito converted from the spot and from there on it was an uphill task for Rayo; especially once centre-back Zé Castro had to be substituted through injury inside 25 minutes. Further goals in the second half from Nolito and Andreu Fontás gave Celta an easy victory.
The late game on Saturday saw Real Madrid host La Liga new boys Real Betis. A flying Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez were the stars of the show as Rafa Benitez’ side finally seemed to click as an attacking unit. Bale opened the scoring inside two minutes following James’ cross to beat former Real Madrid ‘keeper Antonio Adan with a near post header.
James opened his account in the 39th Minute with a sumptuous free kick following a foul on Cristiano Ronaldo. Leading 2-0 at the break, Real Madrid started the second half in whirlwind fashion, barely two minutes on the clock again – and the visitors still with the manager’s half time words ringing in their ears – Karim Benzema sprang to life in the middle of the six-yard-box to head home Bale’s cross following a good passing move. James, seemingly determined to have his own goal of the night competition, scored again in the 50th minute. Toni Kroos hit a shot which went into James’ path, the Colombian controlling it before sending a bicycle kick into the top corner of the net, a stunning piece of individual skill.
Try as they might, the Real Madrid midfield were unable to provide Ronaldo with a clear enough chance to score; Ronaldo relying on generating opportunities himself in which to open his Pichichi Trophy (golden boot) account.
Stat of the week: This is the first time since both were playing in La Liga that for two consecutive rounds, neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo has scored a goal.
Round Up:
In the other fixtures in week two: David Moyes’ Real Sociedad will have been disappointed to have had a second 0-0 draw in a row. Despite being at home against Sporting Gijon — the heroes of last week’s draw against Real Madrid — there will have been a big difference in mood between both dressing rooms. Sociedad will have been hoping for six points from six from their first two fixtures, whilst Sporting Gijon manager Aberlado will no doubt be delighted to have two points on the board from what looked to be a tough start to the season, with Valencia next up for the Asturian club.
Valencia and Deportivo La Coruña shared the points at the Mestilla on Sunday evening. Lucas Pérez opened the scoring for Depor in the 39th minute, before Alvaro Negredo equalised just on the stroke of half-time. Antonio Barragán was sent off six minutes from time for a second yellow card offence.
The Friday night offering this week was Villarreal versus Espanyol at El Madrigal. It was a bad start for Marcelino’s boys as Felipe Caicedo shocked the Yellow Submarine by scoring after just five minutes; the assist coming from ex-Villarreal player, Gerard Moreno, via a through ball. Roberto Soldado scored on his return to La Liga last weekend and followed it up with another strike to draw Villarreal level. Soldado only scored seven times for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, so his return to Spain is already beginning to look like a good way to re-energise his career. He assisted the second and third Villarreal goals for Cédric Bakambu who has recently joined from Turkish side Bursaspor. A 3-1 win for Villarreal is a boost ahead of the autumn international break, although I bet Soldado wishes he could play every day at present, given the form he is in.
The final two games of week two saw Getafe face Granada CF and Las Palmas play hosts to Levante. Getafe end the second round of games in the bottom three after a 1-2 loss at home to Granada. Granada took a 2-0 first half lead through a Youssef El-Arabi penalty, Emiliano Velázquez bringing down the Moroccan striker, who promptly dusted himself off to convert the spot kick. A second Granada goal was scored barely three minutes later as El-Arabi’s strike partner, Issac Success Ajayi, slotted home following a slick breakaway. Ángel Lafita pulled one back late on for Getafe, but it proved too little too late for the Azulones.
Las Palmas and Levante played out a 0-0 draw in Gran Canaria. This was the Islanders’ first home game in the top flight since the 2001/02 season. A draw at home to Levante in an uneventful game is not necessarily what the supporters of Los Amarillos will have been dreaming of. However, points on the board is what Las Palmas will be looking for and avoiding away defeats is what Levante will be targeting if they hope to stay away from relegation troubles later in the season.
