EURO BITES: The winners and losers after La Liga’s opening weekend.

The long wait for the return of Spanish football is over as the first round of La Liga fixtures concluded last night. Goals were hard to come by at first, especially amongst the top teams, but by the end the goals flowed as we’ve come to expect. Here’s a round up of the winners and losers from this weekend’s fixtures.

WINNERS

The new boys

Las Palmas, Real Betis and Sporting Gijon did themselves and their fans proud. Most coupons probably had them all down to lose but I think they earned the respect of everyone after their fine displays.

Las Palmas fell to defeat in the Calderon against Atletico Madrid but matched their title aspiring opponents for large periods, showing no fear and only being undone by a deflected goal from a Griezmann freekick. They perhaps need to sharpen their play in the final third but defensively stood firm against one of the best attacking sides in Europe.

Real Betis started off at home in the Benito Villamarín and deservedly came away from a point, despite Villarreal taking the lead after 30 minutes. Truth be told, it was a scrappy affair but Ruben Castro – who else – scored the decisive goal to send their near 40,000 fans home happy. The hard work and industry which is part of Betis’ DNA was plain to see as they weren’t overawed by the occasion.

Sporting Gijon were arguably the team of the weekend as they halted the juggernaut that is Real Madrid. In fact, they gave as good as they got and some even thought they’d scored when Antonio Sanabria’s header bounced off the underside of the crossbar onto the goal line. Alas, La Liga is still yet to embrace goal-line technology! Yes, they rode their luck thanks to some wasteful finishing from Real and some inspired goalkeeping but, much like the aforementioned Betis, Sporting were inspired by their rapturous home support – all 28,000 of them.

Premier League cast-offs

Roberto Soldado’s poor form in England has been well documented but he didn’t take long to find the back of the net again in Spain – just 32 minutes to be precise. A Villarreal corner was cleared but a looping long ball into the box caught the Betis defenders cold, stepping out far too late and allowing Soldado to find himself one-on-one where he made no mistake. The relief on his face was plain to see.

Former Liverpool frontman Iago Aspas also had a debut to remember at the weekend as his goal helped Celta Vigo overcome a stubborn Levante side, one which played most of the game with 10 men. Aspas’ goal perhaps wasn’t as sweetly taken as that of Soldado but as the old saying goes: they all count. The cross came in from the right but Aspas’ swung and missed. Luckily the ball hit his trailing leg, rebounded onto the other one and ended up going in.

Thomas Vermaelen has spent more time on the injury table than he has playing football since his move to Barcelona from Arsenal last summer. He arrived with what appeared to be a minor problem but complained of discomfort over the next two months. Unfortunately surgery was required and this meant he essentially missed the entire season. With a full preseason under his belt he was trusted to replace the suspended Pique and null the effect of Aduriz who had hurt him – and Barcelona – in both Spanish Super Cup matches. He produced a commanding performance at the back, making some last ditch tackles as the Athletic Club turned on the pressure towards the end. A display such as that will do his confidence a world of good.

Sergio Roberto

Barcelona started the summer with a plethora of options at right back but after selling one (Montoya) and another two falling to injury already (Douglas and Alves) it could turn out that their young defensive midfielder is the answer to their problems. Dani Alves suffered a groin injury as he stretched to quell an Athletic Club counter-attack in just the 18th minute. Up stepped Sergi Roberto and he didn’t disappoint, delivering a marvellous display. It was arguably Roberto’s best showing to date in the senior side, causing panic in Athletic’s defence whenever he surged forward, often getting in behind the fullback.

LOSERS

Opening day red cards

Steven N‘Zonzi was desperate to impress after being handed his debut for Sevilla in the inaugural match of this season’s La Liga but his enthusiasm sadly got the better of him. His first booking came after he needlessly pulled back a Malaga player as he looked to take a quick throw in. The second was the typical challenge you expect from him, but mistimed. It left Sevilla a man down at a period in the game when they were already second best.

Simao Mate’s start to La Liga was even worse than that of N’Zonzi. It only took him FIVE minutes to receive his marching orders. Simao contested a header with Aspas, the front man guilty of leading with an elbow into the defender’s chest but it didn’t stop there. Aspas ended up being bundled to the ground and left his foot entangled with that of Simao’s, who then inexplicitly stamped on the Celta frontman’s leg. Mate, that isn’t how you want to start your season.

Santiago Vergini, on loan at Espanyol from Sunderland, was also unable to time his tackles well and picked up two yellow cards. Salva Ruiz of Granada, another loanee this time from Valencia, picked up a straight red card after leading with his studs in yesterday evening’s match versus Eibar.

Slow start from La Liga’s big hitters

Barcelona and Atletico were the only teams from last year’s Top 7 to win at the weekend. As we’ve already mentioned Real Madrid couldn’t overcome a valiant Sporting Gijon and Villarreal limped to a 1-1 draw against Betis but they weren’t alone in finding three points hard to come by. Valencia started brightly at Vallacas but faded in the 2nd half against a tireless Rayo Vallecano. Toño in particular had a fine game for the home side. Sevilla lacked rhythm against Malaga but it could have been a different story if Gameiro had tucked away one of three great chances presented to him.

Jackson Martinez

Much was made of the Colombian’s summer move to Atletico Madrid but Jackson Martinez’s debut fell a little flat as he struggled to make an impact in the game. He spent three successful seasons at Porto notching an impressive 67 goals in just 90 appearances so expectation levels are high for the prolific hitman. Up against a Las Palmas side that refused to give an inch, he was restricted to challenging for headers and dropping deep to get on the ball. He was outshone by last year’s standout Antonio Griezmann.

It’s worth remembering Martinez arrived back late from the Copa America, then he had to wait even longer for his move to Atletico to be made official. Martinez at least did a better job of impressing Simeone in training to get a start. The same cannot be said for Luciano Vietto who was left on the bench and is finding it hard going under Simeone’s notoriously tough training sessions.