Euro Bites: Impressive starts for Barca and Real but Atletico suffer late drama

La Liga finally returned to our TV screens this weekend and whereas last season’s opening fixtures were quite dull, with just three goals scored in the first seven matches, this year got off to an explosive start and it literally rained goals - 33 of them to be precise. Here are the winners and losers so far:

THE WINNERS

Messi and Suarez start the season in same vein they finished the last one

Often the first fixture can be a potential banana skin but you wouldn’t have guessed that seeing Barcelona dismantle Real Betis at the Camp Nou. With Neymar at the Olympics it was Arda Turan who was tasked with joining Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez up front - and he didn’t disappoint. All three got on the scoresheet, Messi and Suarez getting two and three goals respectively, while Arda was the one who got the ball rolling after just six minutes.

The mercurial Argentinian had one of his best games for a long while and pulled the strings throughout as Betis just couldn’t contain him. Even the setback of conceding an equaliser didn’t phase Luis Enrique’s men as they made it 3-1 at halftime. A late consolation, Ruben Castro’s second of the game, couldn’t take the gloss off what was a very impressive performance from Barcelona.

Bale inspires Real Madrid to glory

Last season finally saw Gareth Bale emerge as a leader in this Real Madrid side as he took over when Cristiano Ronaldo got injured. Without his goals and influence they wouldn’t have run Barcelona so close in the title race. The Welshman appears settled; happy at Madrid, and his two-goal haul against Real Sociedad helped fans forget about the absence of their Portuguese legend.

Bale scored the first and last goal, but he wasn’t the only one to impressive. Despite missing an array of stars including the aforementioned Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric and Pepe, the performance from Zidane’s men was top draw. Alvaro Morata slotted in perfectly but lacked a little bit of composure while Marco Asensio scored the goal of the game with a deft chip over Geronimo Rulli in between Bale’s strikes. Selection headaches aplenty for Zidane, but of a good kind - can he keep everyone happy though?

Sevilla’s epic 6-4 encounter with Espanyol

Now if you’re a defensive coach then this wasn’t the game for you but, if you’re a fan of end-to-end football and pure entertainment, you couldn’t find a better match than Sevilla vs Espanyol. Jorge Sampaoli’s reign got off to the start so many of his fans had predicted but I’m not sure the hearts of the Sevilla fans could take too many more 6-4 matches over the course of a season.

It was amazing as much as it was terrible at times with so many defensive errors on display. In fact, the entire first half lacked any real semblance of defending at all. Espanyol were the worst culprits as normally scoring four away from home is good enough for at least a point, but not on Saturday. They shipped six and in reality it could’ve been double that. In amongst the chaos of goals one man stood out from the rest: Franco Vazquez. He makes the game look easy and his touches and movement were from another planet.

Honourable mentions: New boys start with draws - Osasuna and Alaves are both off the mark straight away, taking points on the road from more established sides. Deportivo - last season’s form was disgraceful but they showed real grit and determination to come from behind to beat Eibar. Sporting Gijon - after a summer of upheaval they proved their doubters wrong with a very impressive victory over Athletic Club

THE LOSERS

Atletico are out-Atletico’d by Alaves

Diego Simeone had seen his main rivals both pick up maximum points from their opening fixtures and his line-up showed he wasn’t afraid to go on the attack. Debutant Kevin Gameiro led the line with Yannick Carrasco and the hosts dominated the opening period of the game but couldn’t find a breakthrough. At halftime Fernando Torres was introduced for Tiago, giving Gameiro a more natural partner.

The second half was much like the first with Atletico firmly in the driving seat but unable to find a way through a dogged and determined Alaves rearguard, one they themselves would’ve been proud of. Fernando Pacheco made an unbelievable double save from point blank range only to see his side concede a penalty in the 93rd minute. Gameiro scored, resistance undone. However in a league that hasn’t been boring for some time, little Alaves went straight up the other end and Manu Garcia scored a screamer in the 95th minute to earn them a point. As for Atletico, they’re already two points down in the title race.

Another slow start for Athletic Club

Last season, following the hangover of beating Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup, Athletic Club only registered one victory in their first six fixtures (4L, 1D). Preseason was a mixed bag for Ernesto Valverde’s team but the victory over Dortmund had given fans hope that they’d start this season better. Well, perhaps that optimism was misplaced as they fell to a largely superior Sporting Gijon side at El Molinon.

The first half was a forgettable affair for both sides but early in the second half Sporting struck - and what a goal it took to break the deadlock. Duje Cop spent last season on loan at Getafe and his spectacular volley put Sporting ahead. Three minutes later and it was 2-0 as Athletic were caught on the counterattack. It could’ve been worst had Gorka Iraizoz not saved Isma Lopez’s horrible penalty attempt. Iñaki Williams grabbed a late goal for the visitors but they didn’t deserve anything other than a defeat. Plenty of work to be done for Valverde.

Gus Poyet learns how hard facing La Liga’s big guns can be

Now I’ve tipped Real Betis to be one of the surprise packages of the season, and that doesn’t change even in the aftermath of a Barcelona beating, but they can’t afford to take too many results like this. Espanyol will be extremely disappointed at conceding six themselves but they at least put pressure on their opponents whereas Betis were simply toyed with. Yes, there’s a disparity in quality between Barca and Sevilla but that doesn’t excuse such a limp display.

La Liga’s detractors tend to point to results such as these as reasons for why it’s ‘a boring league’, which is a ridiculous statement in itself, but Betis didn’t help matters by gifting so many chances to their opponents. At 1-1 they had a chance to consolidate matters, take stock and reach halftime with the crowd feeling a little restless. Yet they didn’t. Instead, for some bizarre reason, they allowed Messi the time and space to cause damage - and damage he did to the tune of six goals. Most fans would’ve accepted an opening day loss away to Barcelona, but not a drubbing. Welcome to La Liga, Gus.

Honourable mentions: Racist abuse - it’s 2016 and there are still racist chants from the crowds in Spain. The sad reality is you can be fined more for having an empty stadium than being found guilty of racism. Villarreal - still look off the pace despite getting some first teamers back; need to score more goals. Espanyol’s defence - the Harry Houdini of defensive displays as we were all left wondering: “Where did it go?” Real Sociedad - they didn’t really try until the final 10 minutes against Real Madrid and by then, the damage had already been done.

Monday night’s matches: Celta Vigo vs Leganes, Valencia vs Las Palmas