The Spanish Take: La Liga Round Up Gameweek 1

Barcelona Left Frustrated As Both The Madrid Sides Get The Job Done

The Spanish La Liga returned earlier this week as we got the first chance to see the teams actually play. It’s been popping off in the transfer window.

Madrid took an L with the Mbappe situation right at the start of the window, Barca activated “economic levers” to make a huge splash in the market while the other teams in the league also have strengthened well.

Also read:Winners and Losers: Premier League GW2

Barca Not There Yet

For all the excitement that the Cules had with the arrival of Lewandowski, Kounde, and Raphinha among others, they had to settle for a 0-0 draw at home to Rayo Vallecano.

Barca did create chances and dominated possession but Vallecano held firm. After spending over €150 million on new players with three of them starting, the lack of cohesion was visible. The frontline of Lewandowski, Raphinha, and Dembele played well but the team always seemed to miss the final pass.

Barca huffed and puffed but in the end, were left frustrated as they couldn’t find a way past Dimitrievski. To sour the occasion further, club captain Busquets saw a late red card meaning he’ll miss the next match.

I think it was a little unrealistic to expect Barca to click into gear right from the get-go. There’s no instant connection between this front three and it’ll take some time before we see them at their best.

Another Remontada For Real

Real picked up where they left off last season. Making it a habit of scoring late goals to win games. David Alaba netted a glorious match-winning freekick with his first touch of the game after being subbed on.

This was a heavily rotated team with 5 changes from the team that won the Super Cup, yet they should have beaten the newly promoted side more comfortably.

Almeria, to their credit, put in a solid showing. Their striker Ramazani did well to control a ball over the top of Real’s backline and fired a low shot past Courtois. Vinicius Jr tormented the Almeria backline as the “fire a ball over the top to Vinicius” tactics were in full effect.

In spite of not being at their best, Madrid did what they do best – get the job done.

The Prodigal Son Returns For Atletico

Alvaro Morata enjoyed his return to Atletico as he bagged himself a brace while Griezmann added a third after coming on in the second half.

It was Joao Felix who took all the headlines though as he bagged 3 assists in his free role behind the striker. Axel Witsel made his debut and had a solid game in the middle of the park.

A great start to the season for Atleti as they dominated Getafe with their high press and Oblak put out all fires at the back. Simone seems to have switched to a midfield 5 and the extra man in midfield helped them control proceedings.

They seemed more free-flowing and could have won the game by a higher margin if their forwards had been more clinical.

Best of the Rest

Osasuna got a surprise win against Sevilla in the opening day fixture. Sevilla had more of the ball yet it was Osasuna who took more shots and ultimately got the win.

Villareal kicked off their season in style with a 3-0 win over Valladolid. Alex Baena scored twice from outside the box following Nicolas Jackson’s opening goal.

To end the first matchweek it was Betis who also secured a 3-0 win over Elche as Juanmi and Iglesias’ goals guided their side to a comfortable win.