The Spanish Take: La Liga Round Up Gameweek 3

Lewandowski and Benzema ignited the race for the Pichichi as Atleti bounced back from their loss against Villareal

Also read: The Spanish Take: La Liga Round Up Gameweek 2

Rampant Barca Brushed Aside Valladolid At Home

Barcelona kicked off against Real Valladolid earlier than usual and ensured the 82k fans in the stadium went to sleep feeling giddy about their team. Over the past two games, this team’s attack has really clicked into gear. Lewandowski did what he does best and put on a show, a heel flick for his second was a peach of a goal.

Dembele and Raphinha seem to be building a solid partnership, with the two fluidly swapping sides and wreaking havoc. They combined to provide 3 assists in this game.

The team seemed to have their mojo back, and the quality of players Xavi was able to bring off the bench was frightening. In this game, Ansu Fati, Frenkie, Ferran, Kessie and Roberto came on in the second half.

Barca kept a clean sheet in spite of a late surge from the visiting team, but debutant Kounde was on hand to make a vital goal-line clearance. All signs point to a hotly contested La Liga title race this season.

🔝 ⚽️ @lewy_official and @BorjaIglesias9 end matchday 3️⃣ as the joint top scorers in #LaLigaSantander. pic.twitter.com/tP1qqnotYG

— LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN) August 29, 2022

Real Madrid Stole All 3 Points Against A Valiant Espanyol Side

Once again, Real Madrid left it very late to secure the win. Who else but Benzema to save Madrid again; a bonafide legend who delivers week-in & week-out.

The Frenchman scored first in the 88th min to take the lead with a side-foot volley at the back post and then a pin-point freekick in the game’s dying minutes.

While Madrid did eventually win and continued their perfect start to the season, this seems unsustainable in the league over the next 35 games. Yes, they did do it in the Champions League, but I believe this will eventually catch up with them unless they improve their performances.

Madrid conceded possession to Espanyol in the second half, played on the counter, and needed Courtois to pull off a few blinders. But I guess in a match like this, you just take the 3 points and move on to the next game.

With the win against Espanyol in the books, it’s now Real Madrid’s best start to the season since 2018.

🤍🔝🤍 @realmadriden
💚🔝🤍 @RealBetis_en

We end matchday 3 of #LaLigaSantander with joint leaders‼️@socios | #TheFansGame pic.twitter.com/ec6LXeZEBG

— LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN) August 29, 2022

Griezmann To Atleti’s Rescue

Off the bench again, on the scoresheet again, Simeone asks, and Griezmann delivers. That seems to be the story of the season for Atleti so far.

Atleti are using an intelligent tactic to avoid paying Barca the obligatory 40m to sign Griezmann by playing him only for 28 minutes per game. If you notice, in every game so far, he has been brought on only after the 62nd minute.

Musah initially opened the scoring with a beautiful long-range shot, but VAR ruled it out for a foul in the build-up. Griezmann scored the only goal of the game immediately after coming on. In spite of a valiant effort, Valencia endured their second loss in a row.

FT #ValenciaAtleti 0-1

❤️🔱🤍 @AntoGriezmann gives @atletienglish the win at Mestalla!#LaLigaSantander pic.twitter.com/TybhdJikIw

— LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN) August 29, 2022

Best Of The Rest

New boys Almeria continue to impress as they picked up an impressive 2-1 over Sevilla.

They played really well against Madrid and were unlucky not to take any points, and last week, they dropped 2 points that they should have won, but not this time.

Both their forwards, Sadiq and Ramazani, scored to secure a comeback victory after Oliver Torres scored for Sevilla.

Also read: Winners and Losers: Premier League Gameweek 4