Back from the international break, La Liga decided to give us a trio of matches where the big teams faced off with Basque opposition. Saturday started with Atletico hosting Eibar, followed by the debut of the new Anoeta when Real Sociedad took on Barcelona. The night capped off with a rocking battle at San Mames between Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid.
Madrid Clubs Drop Points and Barcelona Fight Back
Atletico Madrid
We have to start at the Wanda, where Eibar outplayed Atletico Madrid and at the 90th-minute mark, were ahead 1-0. But luckily for Atletico, their youth product, 19-year-old Borja Garces, scored with a lovely finish to give them the draw. But that lovely youth product finish only belies the real issues with this side.
This was supposed to be the most talented Atletico side of the Diego Simeone era. However, it has turned into Simeone’s worst start in the league at Atletico. Dropped points against Valencia, Celta and now Eibar does not bode well for their chances. What’s been concerning is the lack of chances Atletico have been creating.
With additions like Thomas Lemar, Gelson Martins and Nikola Kalinic, many expected Atletico to have much more attacking threat – especially considering the returning talent it felt like a couple of playmakers like Lemar or Martins would allow them to challenge Barcelona and Real.
But so far, that has certainly not been the case. And with both Barcelona and Real Madrid looking strong, so far their chances get slimmer by the day. Barcelona have already opened up a seven-point advantage over Atletico thanks to four wins in four games. The most impressive of those wins came on Saturday at Anoeta against Real Sociedad.
Barca
Anoeta is a bit of a horror ground for Barcelona. Last season, they managed their first win in 13 matches in San Sebastian. It was only their second come-from-behind win at Anoeta in its over-40-year history; but that was about to change. Early on, it felt like past demons had come to haunt Barca, epescially when Sociedad went 1-0 up through a lovely finish from Aritz Elustondo. When they went into half-time at that score, the Basques really started to believe.
But Barca did not sit and wait for that eventuality, they brought on Coutinho at half-time and Busquets shortly after. From there, it was a different game and Barca created the chances we would expect. However, in very un-Barcelona fashion, they scored two goals from sloppy shots inside the box. Samuel Umtiti won a header on a second ball that then fell to Luis Suarez for the first. Then, Ousmane Dembele had a shot from about 15 yards that took two deflections on its way into the net.
Real Madrid
It was then up to Real Madrid to keep pace against the other Basque giant, Athletic Bilbao. Julian Lopetegui’s side knew going to San Mames is always a test, and boy was it rocking on Saturday night. But that test was made ever so harder by Casemiro being left on the bench to start the game, starting Dani Ceballos in his place.
Whether that was a decision based on fitness or tactics, it backfired for Madrid. They went down a goal thanks to a lovely finish by Iker Munian to give his Basque club the lead. Bilbao had been the better side for all of the first half and it was punctuated by Casemiro coming on at half-time for Ceballos.
Madrid played much better after that change but it wasn’t until Lopetegui brought on Isco for Luka Modric that Madrid took it to the level we expect. And as it went, 10 minutes after being subbed on, Isco scored the game-tying goal. From there, Madrid tried but could not score again as the game ended in a 1-1 draw. Their first dropped points of the season see Real Madrid two points behind Barcelona after four rounds.
Player of the Weekend
Devoid of a world-beating performance, Eibar’s Marko Dmitrovic was the Player of the Weekend. The Eibar goalkeeper traveled with his side to Madrid and did not expect to come out alive. Yet, there was Dmitrovic popping up all over the place making eight saves and from nine shots on target, a great day for almost anyone.
Surprise of the Weekend
Don’t mess with Getafe. The side from the south of Madrid have been very fiesty since their most recent promotion and Sevilla found out the hard way Sunday night. They were outclassed at home as Getafe defeated Sevilla 2-0 thanks to two lovely goals from Angel Rodriguez. The win gives Getafe seven points in four games and sits them fifth in the table.
Still to Come
A lovely little clash between Girona and Celta Vigo awaits us on Monday. Celta are coming off a big win against Atletico Madrid before the break. Girona have looked stronger than expected under Eusebio, should be a lovely game. The big game next weekend is no doubt Villarreal and Valencia. This local derby is always hostile but will be made better by this being two strong sides.
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