La Liga Matchday 12: Winners and Losers
Posted on November 7, 2011 10:27 pm
After the final whistle of the match between Real Madrid and Osasuna, my first thought was: “If Barcelona win in San Mamés, the league is done”. It is clear that, eventually, the title will be won by one of the big two, but the key is knowing how long it will take them to steal the tournament. Fortunately, Athletic’s great match on Sunday maintained a semblance of competitiveness that will last a little further.
Winners
Angel Di Maria: Since his time at Benfica it was clear he was a player destined for really great things. However, on his arrival at Real Madrid seemed to suffer with the big stage and alternated good performance with games in which he disappeared completely. In this tournament, however, the Argentine has been spectacular. He has greatly improved his decision-making process and his teammates thank him for that. Against, Osasuna he has played his best game since arriving to the country, and his injury is as terrible for los merengues as it is for the league as a whole.
Marcelo Bielsa: My bold forecast: Athletic Bilbao will finish the league in third place and will win the Europa League. Almost always, the formula good manager+good squad=good results. As I said at the beginning of the season, the slow start of the Lions was attributable to the difficult Bielsa system and the normal period of adaptation of the players to his concepts. Once this period has passed, we are seeing the results. Against Barça, Athletic deserved to win on Sunday, and that’s just the prelude to the successes that will definitely come.
Rayo Vallecano: Four years ago, the team was in the Second Division B. Last year, the players were not paid and they knew that their only hope was to win promotion to the top flight for the team not to go into bankruptcy and keep their jobs. The Rayo Vallecano players are survivors. The board change meant that, for the first time in years there is a semblance of a peaceful atmosphere in Vallecas and the results show it. Their eighth place is absolutely deserved.
Losers
Atletico Madrid: What happened to them on Sunday was a disgrace. They were winning 1-0 after half an hour and they were one man up. What could go wrong? In short, everything. They ended up losing 3-2 after an shameful display. It is the never ending story with Los Colchoneros. Good players, good managers terrible board and a terrible fan-base. A team simply can’t function well if they are always under pressure, and the board has to stop thinking that serially sacking managers is the solution for their troubles.
Real Sociedad: Total disaster. After an encouraging start, the txuri-urdin have plummeted to the bottom of the table. Their defeat in Vallecas was textbook on how to lose a game. Coach Montanier not only sent a starting XI with only one striker, Vela, playing out of position, but Iñigo Martinez completely blew the game plan after 10 minutes with a penalty and a red card. Impossible to win a match like that.
Pep Guardiola: The three-point lead that Real Madrid has over Barcelona right now, represent the largest margin since Guardiola sits in the Blaugrana’s bench. Actually, that speaks far more of his extraordinary stint than of a “crisis” of the current team, but the fact is that, numerically, this is the lowest point of his tenure.
What about the petro-dollars?
After the crisis of a couple of weeks ago, Malaga seems back in the right track. Not because of their boring goalless draw at Betis but because that result allowed them to remain in the European zone. Their fans should be happy with the sixth place even though, squad-wise, the team should be fighting for a little more.
Degree of competitiveness of the league: 30%
Athletic Bilbao saved us for one more week, thank you Loco!
The phrase of the week
“I told Bielsa that his players are beasts” with these words, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola honored Athletic Bilbao after the game in San Mamés.
The question of the week
Will Barcelona manage to keep the distance of at least three points with Real Madrid before the derby in December or will they continue to lose ground?
Madrid has played an easier domestic schedule up to this point. The next 5 games or so will really determine how it will go in my opinion.
This can’t be emphasized enough. Madrid’s toughest 3 matches so far have been @Levante, @Santander and @Malaga. The rest of their schedule has been minnows (which, to Madrid’s credit, they’ve handled very well for the most part)
Barcelona’s 3 toughest have been @Valencia, @Bilbao, and vs Sevilla, and they’ve also played Atletico. You’d have to have some pretty meringue-tinted glasses to not acknowledge the schedule differences.
Madrid gets Valencia and Atletico before El Classico (along with Gijon), and then Sevilla after. Barcelona gets Levante and the rest are minnows. Any proclamations about which team will finish better should wait until after the season balances itself out a bit before Christmas.
[quote]After the final whistle of the match between Real Madrid and Osasuna, my first thought was: “If Barcelona win in San Mamés, the league is done”.[/quote]
I don’t get it. Weren’t you saying recently that Barcelona needed to start worrying and that RM were at the moment Spain’s best team? Why does a thrashing of a minnow lead to thoughts of the league being done if Barcelona won at San Mamés?
I think it was meant to imply that if Madrid and Barcelona both won at the this point than any sense of competition in the league is done.
Not that I agree with the notion that who wins and loses is the only thing that matters in the league.
I see. I also disagree that anything hinged on this game, but at least that makes sense given his previous statements.
Well, San Mamés is probably the hardest venue outside Camp Nou or Bernabeu. If Barça won there, their only real challenges would be against Real Madrid. As for Real Madrid they are being lights out the best team in the league. So, yeah, there was a symbolic value on the game.
Yet some fans are grafiti-ing the stadium, against Pelligrini and the Malaga players:
http://www.marca.com/2011/11/07/futbol/equipos/malaga/1320659424.html
Wow, absurd, still, by reading the comments, that’s far from the opinion of the majority of Malaga fans.
Madrid is going to need a six point cushion since I don’t see them beating Barcelona.
About Martin del Palacio
My name is Martín del Palacio Langer, I live in Barcelona and I'm a freelance contributor to FIFA.com, World Soccer magazine, Kicker, MedioTiempo.com, PasionSports and some other publications around the world. I love the tactical and statistical side of football but understand that passion is the most important ingredient in the game. Hope you enjoy this blog and feel free to contact me in the comments section or in www.twitter.com/martindelpENG (for English) and www.twitter.com/martindelp (for Spanish)Popular Store Items
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