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EURO BITES: Northern delights & young starlets but trouble in Andalucia.

THE WINNERS

Athletic Club

They started the season on a high after comprehensively beating Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup but the hangover from that victory carried into the opening few games of La Liga. They also struggled to find a balance when rotating the squad for the Europa League matches, narrowly getting past MSK Zilina in the 4th qualifying round. It was looking precarious for Valverde’s men when they followed up a victory over Getafe with back-to-back defeats and a dull 0-0 draw against rivals Real Sociedad.

Valverde to his credit corrected the errors of his rotation policy and instead stuck with his big guns for every game it’s worked wonders. The evergreen Aduriz has picked up from where he left off last season since he was given a continued run in the side. The 34-year-old, as he more often than not does, scored against his former side Valencia and has 4 goals in his last 4 league games. In fact, in all competitions the San Sebastian born hitman has 14 goals in 18 appearances. It’s unforgiveable that Del Bosque continues to overlook him.

Aduriz’s form can also be attributed to Raul Garcia’s increasing influence on the side. He’s taken like a duck to water at Athletic. In the last 4 games he’s scored 1 and assisted 4. That goal came last weekend as he beautifully powered home a volley from outside of the box after a cushioned header into his path from - you guessed it – Aduriz.

The duo have been joined by Iñaki Williams, another who got his first start of the season against Valencia. The tricky winger bagged a brace at the weekend taking his tally to 3 goals and 1 assist in Athletic’s last 4 games. It’s great to see him back and full of confidence. And finally, the glue that has held this team together in recent weeks: Beñat. The central midfielder hasn’t really got going in an Athletic shirt since his move from Betis but has arguably been Man of the Match in 3 of the last 4 matches. Oh, and there’s still Muniain to return.

Celta Vigo

Every couple of weeks you hear the doom merchants predict the Celta Vigo bandwagon to veer off track but, low and beyond, they remain fighting at the top of the table. Those quick to dismiss them only need to check their form at the back end of last season. They’ve accumulated more points after 10 matches than they did after their first 21 league games last year.

Nolito has created 30 chances, more than any player in La Liga this season. The front three always take the headlines and it was Iago Aspas who stole the show against Real Sociedad. He scored 2 goals while the winning goal came courtesy of Pablo Hernandez, an absolute delightful finish. It bounced up perfectly for him to power it into the top hand corner; spinning away from the grasping Rulli.

It’s perhaps behind that attacking trio where more plaudits deserve to be handed out. Augusto Fernandez has been fantastic protecting the defence. He missed the game against Real Sociedad, but is probably having one of his best ever seasons. Wass is another that deserves more praise. Brought in to replace the influence of fellow countryman Krohn-Dehli on the side, he’s shown a great eye for goal as well as busting a gut to get back and help out the defence.

This Celta side isn’t going away any time soon. They welcome Valencia next.

Lucas Perez

When Deportivo La Coruña signed Lucas Perez this summer I don’t think even the most ardent supporter could’ve expected the start he’s had under Victor Sanchez. A journeyman in every sense of the word if you look at the list of his former clubs – he’s played for 5 different sides in the last 5 years. However, back home in Coruña, we’re seeing one of the best performers in La Liga this season.

It’s a shame his achievements don’t get more recognition because they certainly deserve to. More often than not played as a secondary striker he’s taken on the mantel of chief goalscorer at Riazor, scoring a remarkable 6 goals in 10 matches so far. Sometimes it is simply being around familiar surroundings that inspires footballers into finding an extra gear; an extra level to previous campaigns. That appears to be the case for Perez as he’s not only a technically sound, hardworking runner but someone that also has the great asset all strikers need: being at the right place at the right time.

At 27 he’s unlikely to break into the Spain side but much like Aduriz, is probably deserving of a chance to prove himself after an exceptional start to life at Deportivo. He’s helped most people forget the awful side on display at Riazor only 12 months ago and given renewed hope that they could remain in the fight to bring back European football next season.

Bakkali

There isn’t a lot of joy to be found around Valencia these days. The buzz and excitement of last season has quickly turned to discontent and anger after a less than stellar start to the current campaign. Yet if you ask most Valencianistas to name a positive addition to the side over the summer most will reply with one name: Bakkali.

Prior to his arrival at Valencia the only things most people knew about him were his disciplinary fallouts at PSV and how great he was on FIFA. As with any fallout on the scale that Bakkali experienced with the top brass at PSV, there’s two sides to every story and the young Belgian has respectively declined to talk about the subject.

He would probably be an established member of the Belgium senior side if it wasn’t for his troubles at PSV but you’d be naïve to rule him out of getting into their Euro 2016 squad. Most expected him to be mainly used in the reserve side after over 12 months without playing competitive football and then loaned out to a senior side in the January transfer window. For this he wasn’t included in the Champions League squad for Valencia.

Unlike the bad guy persona some would have you believe, Bakkali is actually very humble and shows no sign of the alleged arrogance that disrupted his time in Holland. He’s taken his chance in the side with both hands and instantly makes the Mestalla a happier place when on the pitch. If he’s left one-on-one against a defender you can hear the sound of thousands of seats snap back up into place and the crowd waits in anticipation of something special. Against Levante, he produced that moment again when he cut inside and unleashed an incredible shot into the far corner from 25 yards out.

More Bakkali, less boos.

Honourable mentions: Eibar - another key victory against Rayo continues their fine start, Halilovic - the driving force behind Sporting Gijon’s attack. Agirretxe - another 2 goals at the weekend keeps Jonathas out of the side. Suarez, Neymar and Cristiano - the big three all scoring ahead of El Clasico in 2 weeks.

THE LOSERS

Real Betis

It was supposed to be a season to remember at Betis after they signed Rafael Van der Vaart and brought home club legend Joaquin. Dani Ceballos, the young prodigy, ready to take the next step and help drive the side towards the top of the table and perhaps even towards the Europa League spots. Ruben Castro, Mr. Consistent, trusted to score the goals.

And yet the initial buzz has quickly faded and Pepe Mel is under major pressure to keep his job after 3 consecutive losses at home. And it’s at home where they need to turn it around as the situation isn’t too bad on their travels. They’ve won 2 and drawn 1 of their last 3 away fixtures.

The loss against Athletic Club was expected but the performance was below par. Most know Rome wasn’t built in a day but Beticos will always expect to see their side give 100%, even if it ends in disappointment. It doesn’t help that it came off the back of two very disappointing results against Espanyol and Deportivo respectively. Atletico Madrid and Celta Vigo are the next vistors to the Benito Villamarin – could Betis fans accept losing 5 in a row at home?

Late goals cost Granada

Granada will be absolutely kicking themselves after conceding another late goal against Espanyol, giving the home side a very fortunate share of the spoils. It was actually a decent performance from the Andalucían side and one they should’ve killed off way before the 90th minute. Countless times they got in behind the Espanyol defence but a combination of poor finishing and bad decision-making meant they left the game open. They were then, of course, duly punished. It was the 4th goal the team have conceded in the last 5 minutes of games.

The draw against Sporting Gijon, when they incredibly conceded 2 after the 87th minute, and the subsequent draw against Espanyol mean they are 4 points worse off than they should be. That could prove to be very costly come the end of the season as the league appears tougher than in recent years. With games against Rayo, Malaga, Levante and Las Palmas coming up before Christmas they need to get points on the board as January isn’t kind to them at all.

Gimenez gaff gifts Depor a point

It’s easy to forget Jose Maria Gimenez is just 20-years-old when you watch him play as he’s already an established centre-back at both Atletico Madrid and Uruguay. He’s as reliable as they come, solid both in the air as well as with the ball at his feet. He’s going to develop into one of the best centre-backs in world football in the upcoming 5-10 years, without any doubt.

Against Deportivo we saw a rare moment of naivety from the commanding defender as he attempted to shield a ball out of play, only to be robbed by Lucas Perez and it resulted in Atletico missing out on the chance to temporarily move into 1st place. He was visibly distraught at his error, burying his head into his shirt and crying at full-time.

It’s important he puts his error to the back of his mind and focuses on the great job he’s done so far.

Levante

Sometimes a change of manager can give a struggling side an initial boost. It looked good for Levante in the first half versus city rivals Valencia as they carved out chance after chance but ultimately couldn’t find a way past Jaume Domenech.

The second half then exposed some of the flaws which demonstrated why they are in the position they find themselves in. Some comical defending coupled with pure bad luck meant they were on the receiving end of a 3-0 defeat. The latest of which makes it 3 losses in a row and 4 in their last 5 matches.

Rubi has his work cut out to save this Levante side from freefall.

Honourable mentions: Sevilla - a tough loss to Villarreal after a very poor opening half. Real Sociedad - back to back defeats for Moyes at home won’t keep the boo boys away. Las Palmas - new manager, same result. Rayo Vallecano -after a brief run of form find themselves slipping to the wrong end of the table again.