La Liga Hangover: Cristiano Ronaldo, a Familiar Top 2 and the Raul Garcia Story
Welcome to La Liga Hangover, a weekly column running throughout the season in which we take a look at the key stories and talking points from Spanish football's top flight's most recent weekend of action. With a focus on the biggest teams, such as Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Barcelona, and a worthwhile nod toward the rest, we take a look at how the league is shaping up each week and what to look out for going forward.
Ronaldo, Ronaldo, Ronaldo, Ronaldo, Ronaldo
Just in case you didn't get the memo, Cristiano Ronaldo broke his scoreless start to the season with a five-goal haul against Espanyol on Saturday.
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The 6-0 scoreline wasn't hugely surprising as Espanyol aren't normally the most impenetrable and unforgiving of opponents for Real Madrid—they now total 29 goals conceded to Real in the last nine league fixtures between the two and 16 in the last four alone. We're not saying Espanyol aren't learning from their mistakes or anything, but...
While the obvious arguments and discussions will break out about Ronaldo having chances laid on a plate for him by his team-mates, they completely miss the real point of discussion: Just how many goals does a multiple Ballon d'Or winner need to score before a defence will pay attention to him inside the penalty box?
Those scenes were for four and five for Ronaldo, five and six for his team. And yes, the buildup owed much to the selflessness and abilities of others.
But you see, that's the idea of a good team. Lots of players who can play good football, create chances and choose the right moment for the pass to the person who can score—which is invariably Ronaldo because he knows how to find space and utilise it, because his timing of runs and movement is incredible and because he single-mindedly gets himself into position time and time again.
Not because Real's other 10 players just look to give the ball to him.
If any further evidence is needed as to why he doesn't just score tap-ins, even when the actual goal is simply a six-yard finish, just look at his movement, timing and the energy he expends into actually getting into the positions he scores from.
Sprint, hold, assess, sprint, finish. Sixty yards covered with ease, having already netted a hat-trick, with his team four goals to the good and without a single defender looking at him. That's how you get 40 goals a season, boys and girls.
In any case, the win puts Real Madrid on seven points from three games without a single goal conceded. They're up to second place in La Liga behind only Barcelona, who have the last remaining 100 per cent record.
Jornada 3 Results
Levante 1-1 Sevilla
Espanyol 0-6 Real Madrid
Sporting Gijon 0-1 Valencia
Atletico Madrid 1-2 Barcelona
Real Betis 1-0 Real Sociedad
Granada 1-3 Villarreal
Athletic Bilbao 3-1 Getafe
Celta Vigo 3-3 Las Palmas
Malaga 0-0 Eibar
Atletico to Athletic and an Immediate Success
After no doubt much soul-searching and wondering how much emphasis to place on minutes on the pitch versus possibility to win titles, Raul Garcia opted to switch the Vicente Calderon for San Mames at the end of the transfer window.
He was still wanted by Atleti but wouldn't have been a regular starter, so it was off to the Basque Country for the Pamplona-born midfielder. His trophy-laden time at Atleti won't be replicated with Athletic despite their more than reasonable challenge for cups over the last five years and the fact they ended their long wait for silverware with the Supercopa in August, but he will play a huge part in the evolution of the team.
Still only 29, Garcia has an awful lot to give, and his combination of aggression and technique will be a massive boost for an Athletic side that struggled to link midfield to attack in the first two games this season. It's one game, one goal for Raul Garcia at his new club.
Goal of the Weekend
Steven N'Zonzi was known for heavy tackles and occasional long-range strikes in the Premier League with Stoke City. Now in La Liga with Sevilla, he has shown both: two appearances, one red card and one goal.
"Levante y Sevilla abrieron hoy la jornada en España con un 1-1. Goles de Steven N'zonzi (vine) y Víctor Camarasa. https://t.co/iC2v8xLxFh
— Carlos Miranda (@carlosmirandafc) September 12, 2015"
Runner-up Edition
"#LIGABBVA | Vine | #Athetic 2-0 #Getafe (24' RAUL GARCIA) https://t.co/psiVpGMMPz
— Alerta G⚽L (@alerta_gol) September 13, 2015"
"VINE: Neymar Jr Free-Kick #fcblive https://t.co/n6jjlei3EA
— Luis Suárez (@elpistolero009) September 12, 2015"
Points of Authority
- Friday's Ultimate Liga Guide column saw predictions made for Real Betis to be the first promoted club to win (check), a clean sheet for Valencia (check) and a clean sheet for Real Madrid (check). As such, bribes are now actively being sought if you would like your club mentioned in the forthcoming edition.
- Barcelona dominated against Atletico Madrid, which was both predictable and perfectly fine for the home side, but it still took Leo Messi to finally break through for the win. Absolutely crucial, though, was the timing of the equaliser—Neymar's free-kick, scored just minutes after Atleti took the lead, was the decisive factor here. The Brazilian played very well before Messi was introduced and even better afterward.
- Nolito and Iago Aspas are showing plenty of signs of linking extremely well with each other, playing through spaces and creating chances for each other in the Celta Vigo attack. Both, however, have vented frustrations with Fabian Orellana this season for seemingly being too selfish in the box when a pass would find a better-placed team-mate for a shot.
- There is absolutely no need for two lineups to have as many "z"s as the Athletic-Getafe fixture did on Sunday. Gorka Iraizoz and Aritz Aduriz is bad enough from the Basque side's regular XI, but Getafe also chipped in with two Rodriguezs (Victor and Juan) and Emiliano Velazquez. To pile on the misery, Mikel Balenziaga was on Athletic's bench, both teams named a Gomez as sub and Getafe, quite frankly, went too far by bringing on Alvaro Vazquez in the closing minutes.
Tactical Notes
- Atletico Madrid went with their usual 4-4-2 from the start against Barcelona, but even before half-time, they had left Fernando Torres up front alone. Diego Simeone might have hoped a 4-3-3 would provide greater support and counter-attacking threat, but such was Barca's dominance that this was a flat five across the middle and Atleti barely broke out enough to warrant the change.
- Once again, Real Sociedad struggled to create enough clear chances to find their first goal of the season—two 0-0 draws and a 1-0 loss don't make for enticing reading for the season so far. Even against 10 men, La Real couldn't break down Real Betis often enough, and David Moyes must be questioned for waiting until the last 10 minutes to bring on Sergio Canales, the most inventive attacking midfielder at his disposal, against a defence that bedded in and asked the question of Sociedad's attack.
- Villarreal's 4-4-2 continues to be exciting to watch, with their wide men very much sticking to the flanks and looking to attack space, but it is the link-up play of the front two that bodes best for the Yellow Submarine. Roberto Soldado partnered Cedric Bakambu from the start this time, and they fashioned several chances between them. Bakamu hit his third of the season in the 3-1 win against Granada, and Adrian Lopez also featured late on. Once again, Villarreal have an array of mixed-style forwards at their disposal.
- Late on in Real's win, Rafa Benitez withdrew Karim Benzema for Lucas Vazquez and let Ronaldo and Gareth Bale play through the centre in a loose 4-4-2/4-3-3 hybrid in which nobody really played on the left and Mateo Kovacic tucked in on that side in midfield. It wasn't long enough to draw conclusions about playing the pacy duo as a pairing, but it's an indication the manager has at least thought about it.
Good Week, Bad Week
The Good
Valencia are running out of goalkeepers with Diego Alves on the long-term injury list and Mat Ryan joining him recently—but 24-year-old Jaume Domenech came in to make his debut and was superb against Sporting, making a number of important blocks, including a spectacular triple save at 0-0 in the game. To round off his excellent weekend, he was immediately given a new contract by the club.
As much as Raul Garcia deserves praise for his quick impact, Aritz Aduriz continues to embody Athletic Bilbao. The veteran striker is so powerful and dynamic he doesn't look remotely close to his 34 years. Another brace took him to six in all competitions for the season already.
Las Palmas have only lost one game and deserve enormous credit for their comeback against Celta on Sunday. Down 2-0 and reduced to 10 men after only 18 minutes, they could have sat back, accepted a loss and opted for damage limitation. Instead, they countered intelligently, stayed positive and rallied to pull back and draw 3-3 away from home.
Back-to-back key performances from Gareth Bale, hey? Two assists, plus a penalty won and involved heavily throughout.
The Bad
Granada's inability to pass out of defence cost them two goals in five minutes on Sunday—and goalkeeper Andres Fernandez was at fault on both occasions, first giving the ball away and then putting a team-mate under pressure. The ball ended in the net both times and the match was away from Granada in an instant.
The entire Getafe team comes next—the players simply haven't put in the required effort or the technical level of ability to start taking points this season, and it is no surprise to see them rock bottom after three defeats from three. They have Malaga at home next, and if not an outright must-win game, then it is at least a must-not-lose affair.
Alvaro Negredo was an obligated big-money signing for Valencia this summer and has been the first-choice striker at the start of the season. But much like last year, he has merely been useful in the buildup and a total flop inside the penalty box. He missed several chances against Sporting and was subbed with 15 minutes to play—his replacement Paco Alcacer scored the winner.
It'll get overlooked as Athletic ended up comfortable 3-1 winners over Getafe, but the away side's goal from Emiliano Velazquez—a volley from the edge of the box—was a terrible spill by Basque 'keeper Gorka Iraizoz. He hasn't kept a clean sheet yet or started the season in the most confident of form, so he's fortunate his team were superior on the day.
