MADRID, Oct. 10 — FC Barcelona and Real Madrid both had narrow wins at the top of La Liga this weekend, although neither impressed less than seven days ahead of the first ‘Clasico’ of the season. Here are some things we learned this weekend in Spain.
1. Barca looking flat
Injuries could be taking their toll at Camp Nou as Barcelona produced a disappointing display despite winning 1-0 at home to Celta Vigo.
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen rescued a point for Barca with a string of saves as Celta controlled the second half and produced enough chances to have won clearly.
“We were flying three weeks ago and now we aren’t,” admitted Barca coach Xavi Hernandez after the game, but with Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Memphis Depay, Hector Bellerin, Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie all injured, his options to make changes are limited, and that is a big factor in a week that sees Barca play a vital Champions League match against Inter Milan before visiting Real Madrid.
2. Real Madrid does enough.
Real Madrid was far from their best as Eder Militao’s third-minute goal gave them all three points in Getafe. Carlo Ancelotti rested Karim Benzema and it’s fair to say that his side missed the Frenchman’s intelligent link-up play.
However, while Celta pulled holes in Barca’s defence, Real Madrid kept Getafe at bay with relative ease and Andriy Lunin had a comfortable night in goal.
Real Madrid would no doubt like Thibaut Courtois to recover from his back problems for the ‘Clasico’, but while Barca looks vulnerable and lack defensive options, Real Madrid looks solid and Ancelotti will be able to rest players for their European game against Shakhtar Donetsk.
3. Brais Mendez repaying his transfer fee with Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad only beat Villarreal 1-0 on Sunday, but the winning margin should have been much bigger as they controlled 61 per cent of the ball and had 17 shots against their rival’s 5.
While Villarreal disappointed in San Sebastian, Real Sociedad is hitting some excellent form, despite the continued absence of Mikel Oyarzabal and the loss of Umar Sadiq with a knee injury.
Brais Mendez cost 14 million euros from Celta during the summer, and the midfielder is very quickly repaying that fee with five goals this campaign, including the winner on Sunday night.
With their place in the knockout stage of the Europa League looking safe and Oyarzabal due back soon, things are looking good in San Sebastian.
4. Sampaoli has work to do.
Jorge Sampaoli rang the changes for his debut as the new coach of Sevilla with regulars, Ivan Rakitic, Marcos Acuna, Erik Lamela and Bono all out of his starting 11 against Athletic Bilbao.
The plan seemed to work as Sevilla got off to a flying and aggressive start, but after 15 minutes Athletic began to take control of the game.
Although Sevilla had a chance in the last attack of the game, they were second best after the break and with better finishing, Athletic would have taken all three points.
While the result confirms their options for a top-four finish this season, Sevilla and Sampaoli still have plenty of work ahead of them. (Xinhua)
