LaLiga: Atletico are the big winners, Barcelona extend advantage while Real Madrid and Valencia lose ground in the title race

It was a weekend of upsets and surprises in LaLiga as only one of the top four sides emerged victorious.

Atletico Madrid are slowly hitting form and could throw a spanner in the works for Barcelona’s title plans. Elsewhere there was a hard dose of reality for Valencia and the same old problems for Real Madrid.

Here’s a full review of the weekend’s football in Spain, courtesy of Andrew Gaffney.

THE WINNERS

Atletico Madrid are sneaking into the title mix

LaLiga don’t do perfect weekends but for Atletico Madrid, this one comes pretty close. Cast aside as non-runners despite sitting on the same points total as their city rivals Real going into the weekend, Diego Simeone’s team thrust themselves into the title picture with victory over Real Sociedad.

Like the Terminator, if you want to make sure Atletico’s title hopes are over you better kill them off when you have the chance.

In amongst the drama at the summit of LaLiga, Atletico faced off against a tough Real Sociedad side at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium. The away side’s draws against Girona and Las Palmas were stumbles but hardly reasons to panic. La Real showed no signs of feeling sorry for themselves and went 1-0 up just 29 minutes in.

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New stadiums are like new shoes and to feel truly comfortable, you need to bed them in. Back to back victories in the opening fixtures at their new home were followed by three draws. Barcelona, Villarreal and Real Madrid are pretty strong competition but alarm bells were beginning to ring. Had Atletico been replaced by Valencia as the outside bet for the title?

Yet even in the face of criticism and doubters, you know this group won’t walk away without putting up a fight. Filipe Luis is one of the best people to represent this attitude. His return to the side was a welcome one and it was his assist which brought Atletico level midway through the second half. Suddenly, everything appeared a lot brighter.

In the dying embers it was Antoine Griezmann who popped up to seal all points for the hosts. He too has faced stern criticism, most of which is fully justified, but Griezmann is slowly beginning to find his feet this season. Four goals and two assists in his last three games is the form we expect to see from the Frenchman. Atletico are just six points behind Barcelona now but they’re still somehow going under the radar. Just how they like it.

Barcelona drop points but extend their lead at the top

When you draw at home to Celta Vigo, it feels strange to consider it a good week. And less so when you also dropped points the week before, allowing those who were cast adrift to regain hope. However a point saw them at least match two of their three nearest rivals and remain in a commanding position at the top.

Celta have become something of a bogey team for the Catalan giants. They’re the only side to have beaten Barcelona at least once in each of the past three seasons. Adding this weekend’s fixture to those previous six, Celta have scored an impressive 12 goals against their more illustrious opponents. Essentially when the two sides play each other it generates plenty of goals and the outcome is relatively even.

This weekend was no different.

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It’s ironic that Barcelona have been accused of playing poorly despite amassing a fine points total. Yet when they’ve played well they’ve actually dropped points. Celta gave as good as they got but the home side, led by Leo Messi, were irresistible at times on Saturday.

Celta’s early lead lasted just two minutes when Messi drew Barcelona level. Luis Suarez, still far from his best, made it 2-1 before it was time for Celta to claw their way back into the contest. The injury to Samuel Umtiti will no doubt be a greater blow than Maxi Gomez’s equaliser. Still, the title remains Barcelona’s to lose.

The little guys are no longer pushovers

For casual LaLiga watchers the accusation thrown around is that the lesser sides aren’t very good. They aren’t very rich, that’s true, but they are pretty decent. Getafe found their ‘inner Atleti’ to inflict defeat on second-placed Valencia. With a rock solid defence as a base to work on, they then took their big chance in the second half. Getafe are only two points off the Europa League places.

Leganes are one point closer to European football after besting Villarreal 3-1 at home. These were their first points after losing the last four in a row but they were simply too good for the visitors. To approach the Christmas break within touching distance of Europe is fantastic and more so when they’ve just come through a tough set of fixtures.

And there’s finally life in everyone’s favourite overachievers Eibar. The Basque minnows were in the relegation zone just three weeks ago. But after nine points from the last nine they’ve surged to mid-table safety. In those games they’ve scored a whopping 10 goals and only conceded two. Plucky Eibar are back!

THE LOSERS

Real Madrid aren’t learning from their mistakes

It feels like Groundhog Day for Real Madrid fans these days. After a season where they flexed their muscles and left the football world quivering in their boots, they seem to have replaced that all-star cast with some unknowns from the audience for the second season. Because this, this isn’t the same team which was being talked about leaving a legacy over the next 4-5 years.

Zinedine Zidane commited the cardinal sin by messing with something that worked: the formation. Gareth Bale’s injury problems are no excuse either. They were forced to play without the Welshman for large parts of last season but the formation and system remained the same. Isco slotted in on the right side of attack. So why move him?

Isco is phenomenal, one of the most naturally gifted attacking midfielders in the country. It’s also true that he plays better just behind a striker or two. However he was earning plaudits whilst playing on the right of a front three last year. This suited Karim Benzema who prefers to run things in the middle. It also worked out well for Cristiano Ronaldo as he knew that Isco’s passing ability would create chances for him when cutting in from the left. It simply worked.

The 4-4-2 system doesn’t function correctly without pace on the wings. Marcelo is a fine fullback but continues to struggle with his fitness. So why demand so much of him now Cristiano is more central? Dani Carvajal would give the Energizer Bunny a run for his money but is in danger of burning out because no one helps him on the right either.

Cristiano is essentially playing like a centre back who has been pushed up front to grab a goal. Drop off, play a simple pass and then run to the penalty spot. You are making your most explosive goalscorer nothing more than a target man. It’s no surprise he isn’t happy. A 0-0 draw against Athletic cost them yet another chance to rescue their faltering league campaign.

Valencia come back down to Earth with a bump

Life can come at you fast. For Valencia fans they’ve tried so hard to avoid talk of being labelled as title contenders. They know better than most how quickly things can change in football. Just look at this season compared to the last one! Light-years apart.

However when Barcelona dropped points against Celta Vigo, then so did Real Madrid, nearly everyone got sucked into believing it could be their year. And there’s nothing wrong with that. As football fans, if we can’t dream, what’s the bloody point?

And that’s why the body punch from Getafe hurt. Valencia saw everything falling into place and assumed that a professional job would see off a plucky Getafe. You know, another one of those gritty victories that potential champions manage to produce throughout a season.

But Getafe, like Valencia, are proving their doubters wrong and outfought a subpar Los Che. Sometimes that fighting became literal and Getafe were a man down for over 65 minutes. But it’s credit to them that they ever appeared to be missing an extra body on the pitch. The hosts were rightful victors.

While their pride might hurt at the moment this might turn into a positive for Valencia. Sometimes you learn more from defeat than from victory. If those players want to challenge for the title then they will never want to feel like this again. The proof will be in pudding as they host Celta next.

Quique Setien and the art of defending

We all want to see beautiful football. We want to be entertained, to feel like those 90 minutes were worth watching. Quique Setien is a keen believer of this and sets out his teams to do one thing above all else: entertain.

And if you saw his Las Palmas side last season you will know he came through on his promise. The best goal of the season came from Kevin Boateng after a wonderful passage of play. ‘It was just like watching Brazil.’

Unfortunately it also contained similar defending to what we saw from Brazil at the 2014 World Cup against Germany.

Setien has the attacking aspect down to a t but is often lacking when it comes to defending. It was the case at Las Palmas and the early signs are that it’ll be the same at Real Betis. Going forward they are a joy to watch but at the back it’s a display that would give any defensive coach a nightmare.

Betis have conceded 28 goals this season, the same as Malaga and only behind his old side Las Palmas (32). You know, two of the three sides in the relegation places. That leaky defence will stop them progressing and it’s important Setien tries to solve it. If not, I sense he’ll have a similar fate to the one he faced at Las Palmas.