EURO BITES: Real & Barça match blow for blow, Valencia in disarray

THE WINNERS

Atletico Madrid and Sevilla hit their stride

Both had question marks over their heads this season as some began to question whether they were capable of achieving their respective objectives but last weekend both produced their best performances of the campaign to date.

In Atletico’s case their objective is to be an outside bet for the La Liga title, but a defeat to Villarreal and a draw against city rivals Real made it look like they weren’t quite ready for that. They welcomed Valencia to El Calderon at weekend in yet another test of their progress and this time passed with flying colours.

Simeone got the selection and system 100% spot on. Jackson Martinez partnered Griezmann up front and the Colombian international looked dangerous throughout the first half, scoring the important opening goal of the game as he capitalised on some shoddy defending from the Valencia centre backs. While Jackson was good, Carrasco was even better. The Belgian winger is still trying to find his feet in Spain but produced a masterclass of wing play and dribbling. He scored the second after skipping past a couple of challenges, drifting inside from the left wing before placing it just beyond the reach of Jaume in the Valencia goal.

The 2-1 scoreline doesn’t do Atletico justice. They were head and shoulders above Valencia on the night and could’ve scored 4 or 5. And while focus remains on the Big 2, Atletico find themselves just 2 points behind the duo despite arguably having the toughest fixture list of the three sides.

Sevilla’s objective is to finish in the Top 4 again but after a disastrous opening period of games, where they found themselves bottom of the table, some thought the wheels had well and truly come off for Unai Emery’s men. After beating Barcelona, then outplaying Manchester City they blew away Getafe 5-0, overtaking Valencia (due to goals scored) and moving into 8th placed.

It was great to see Konoplyanka finally get a start in the league and boy, he didn’t disappoint. He scored the last of the three penalties Sevilla were awarded in the game but also provided 2 assists – Unai can’t drop him now. The tricky Ukrainian caused problems for the Getafe backline all game. Another important performer was Kevin Gameiro, the striker who was entrusted with leading the line after Bacca moved to AC Milan. No one doubted his ability but confidence in front of goal was an issue, squandering various chances this season. He was back to his clinical best against Getafe though as he scored a deserved hat-trick.

Neither of those men were man of the match however. Step forward Ever Banega, who timely rediscovered the form which made him one of the best creative midfielders in La Liga last season. He’d had a so-so start, much like the rest of the side; injuries playing their part too but he was back to his scintillating best against Getafe. If Sevilla are to maintain their challenge for the Top 4 again this season while balancing the demands of the Champions League, Ever Banega will need to be the driving force behind it.

The “Big Two” match blow for blow ahead of the impending El Clasico

In amongst the quickly disappearing claims of officials being pressured into making decisions in favour of Real Madrid, the traditional Big Two are where you’d expect them to be in the table - first and second.

Barcelona haven’t fallen away despite the loss of Messi and Iniesta, responding to their defeat at Sevilla by picking up 6 points from their last two games. While they are hardly pulling up trees by besting Rayo Vallecano and Eibar at home, both were tough challenges that they came through unscathed.

Rayo took the game to Barcelona, characteristic of Paco Jemez, but they responded with lethal finishing. Eibar also proved to be a stern test as the vistors grabbed an early lead, exposing the defensive frailties some fans are worried about. Barcelona found an equaliser just before half time and after the break, as the game went on, they slowly found another gear; eventually running out 3-1 victors courtesy of a Luis Suarez hat-trick.

Suarez has 7 goals in 8 games this season with 3 assists and his partner in crime Neymar has a slightly more impressive 8 goals and 4 assists. Every side in the world would miss the influence Messi – and Iniesta – bring to a side but Barcelona have proved that even if the little magician doesn’t recover in time for El Clasico, they can trust Neymar and Suarez to come up with the goods.

Real Madrid, like Barcelona, continue to juggernaut forward this season despite looking a little too open defensively. This was the case again at they made the tough trip to Balaidos and despite being put under a lot of pressure came away with the 3 points, something their illustrious rivals couldn’t quite manage a few weeks back.

It was the first defeat inflicted on Celta Vigo this season and their first at home since the end of April when they lost to, you guessed it, Real Madrid. This was a much tougher fixture than the scoreline suggests and Real once again owed the victory to Keylor Navas. The Costa Rican international has barely put a foot wrong this season and was only beaten at the end by a wonderful Nolito strike.

The main positive Madrid fans can take into the tough away trip to Sevilla next week is that despite not hitting top gear, they’re leading the way on points, goals scored and least amount of goals conceded. It’s been an impressive start to the season and all this with Pepe, James, Bale and Benzema to come back into the side. Cristiano appears to have found his shooting boots again, scoring at the weekend to move within 1 of Neymar at the top of the scoring charts.

Going to Sevilla probably looked an easier proposition 4-5 weeks ago but they’ll need to be close to their best to come away from the Pizjuan with 3 points.

Real Sociedad thump Levante to save Moyes’ job

It looked bleak for David Moyes after defeat to Atletico Madrid but they came flying out of the blocks to beat a very poor Levante side with Carlos Vela the architect. While it doesn’t guarantee Moyes’ long-term future at the club it does at least afford him some breathing room – for a week at least!

Carlos Vela was the main man and much like Moyes, has come in for a lot of criticism from fans for his poor displays. He’s their star and his comments about wanting to leave in the summer, promising to give his all until January when the transfer window opens again, didn’t do much to quell their dislike of his tepid performances so far.

Vela scored his first goals of the season, neither of which were particularly nice on the eye, but all that matters is they hit the back of the net. If David Moyes really wants to salvage his Spanish dream, it’s the Mexican that holds all the cards. The issue will come the next time Real Sociedad face defeat, especially now the Aston Villa job is available.

Honourable mentions: Bebé – I wrote about how he was showing his best form in Spain and he was wonderful again in Rayo’s 3-0 victory over Espanyol. Athletic Club – Beñat is in the form of his life, while the attacking trio of Aduriz, Garcia and Iñaki continue to torment defences. Eibar – gave as good as they got but ultimately lost out to the brilliance of Neymar and Suarez. Nolito – might of ended up on the losing side but put in another good performance against Real Madrid scoring Celta’s only goal.

THE LOSERS

Valencia get it horribly wrong against Atletico

It was a weekend to forget for Nuno and his charges as a side they hope to challenge in the league tactically dominated them for the entire 90 minutes. There was so much wrong with the formation and personnel that most Valencia fans knew the outcome before a ball was even kicked.

Some of Nuno’s choices just don’t make any sense at all. Alvaro Negredo trains like everyone else but is unable to find himself being named on the bench at the moment, despite the side failing to score enough goals. He cost close to €30m, remember. Okay, so logically you’d assume that if Negredo didn’t travel and Alcacer has started the last few games, he must start in Valencia’s biggest match of La Liga so far.. but he didn’t. From out of nowhere Nuno decided it was the best time to try out Rodrigo Moreno as a striker.

What must Paco Alcacer be thinking? His main rival can’t even make the squad yet he’s dropped to make way for an underperforming second striker that had played a combined 11 minutes over the last 3 games. And it gets even worse for Alcacer as Nuno actually chose to play 4-4-2, matching Atletico, but chose Santi Mina as Rodrigo’s partner. What a way to alienate your two best strikers in one fell swoop. Truly mind-boggling stuff.

Then there’s Rodrigo De Paul and Ruben Vezo. De Paul was one of the biggest talents to emerge over the course of La Liga last season but appears to be in the same boat as Negredo. He was tried in a more central role when Andre Gomes wasn’t available and didn’t do too well, but that doesn’t explain how he has apparently been banished from the first team squad altogether. He isn’t a starter when everyone is fit but deserves a place on the bench at least because he can offer something others can’t: creativity.

Vezo’s case is even more bizarre. Fresh off the back of his finding his best form again this season he also fell victim to Nuno’s axe, failing to make a squad since the Athletic Club defeat. It can’t simply be a technical decision as you should reward your players when they play well, especially younger ones, but Vezo seems another that is way off the first team picture without a valid explication.

Those grumbles returned after defeat to Atletico as most fans would’ve probably accepted a loss if they side had put up a fight or had at least matched their opponents during periods of the game – but they didn’t. 2-1 doesn’t tell the whole story and Valencia were lucky they didn’t receive the 4 or 5-0 defeat their performance merited.

Levante crumble, then sack Lucas Alcaraz

Perhaps there is something in the water over here in Valencia as Levante are also in crisis, going one further than their city neighbours by actually sacking their manager Lucas Alcaraz after their latest home defeat to Real Sociedad.

Having watched Levante over the last few weeks they’ve been frustrating to say the least. A hardworking side but one is that is often undone by its own mistakes. You felt the game against Sociedad was essentially a pink slips match between the managers with both likely to fall on the axe if they lost. David Moyes won the duel, whereas Levante look lost at sea.

It’s a good project for someone to work on but it’s also a tough ask as finances are tight. The first game for the potential new manager is the Valencia derby against another manager facing a lot of pressure to deliver. It could either be the ideal time to play them or the worst, depending on how both sets of players react to the disappointment of last weekend.

Sporting Gijon continue to huff & puff but need to do more

The plucky side from Asturias have forged the reputation as a tough nut to crack but they are starting to leak goals and were below par against a resurgent Athletic Club. Their, up till now, relatively solid defence couldn’t cope with the movement of Aduriz, Raul Garcia and Inaki Williams and didn’t provide any type of threat to Iraizoz’s goal either.

There are no points for bravery in La Liga and Sporting find themselves just one point outside the relegation zone. You could argue that they weren’t expected to beat Athletic Club but it was the manner of the defeat which was the most worrying. The side appeared to lose faith in itself to mount a comeback, something they’ve been famous of doing already.

It’s going to be a long season for Sporting but there have been enough signs to suggest they could stay up but do need to start finding the back of the net with more regularity and, of course, get points on the board.

Honourable mentions: Deportivo – They had the chance to impress against a topsy-turvy Malaga side but were really, really poor. Outplayed from the start and didn’t look like getting anything from the game. Clos Gomez – the referee has a moment of madness where he flashed a yellow card 3 times in about 30 seconds. Ruben Perez – speaking of moments of madness, Perez’s handball cost Granada 2 vital points against Betis. Villarreal vs Las Palmas – the only good thing about this match was that it ended after 90 minutes so we didn’t need to suffer any more.