Valencia are top of the league after the latest rounds of matches held during this midweek. Malaga and the newly promoted Betis occupy the second and third spot in the table. Much had been made of the dominance of Barca and Real Madrid, but both have had the going a little rough. Nonetheless these are very early days in the league. But the form and strength shown by some of the teams suggest an interesting season ahead. Valencia, Malaga, Betis, Sevilla and Atletico Madrid have shown they can challenge, but can they sustain? Your guess is as good as ours.
On Tuesday, Osasuna hosted Sevilla. The visitors could pick up only one point, thanks to their custodian a�� Javi Varas, who had an exceptional game. Osasuna responded well after being humbled by Barcelona last weekend. However, had it not been for Varas, the hosts could have notched up all three points. Osasuna custodian Andres Fernandez too was in inspiring form and also saved quite a few, eventually ending the match in a deadlock.
Elsewhere, Granada, after an inspiring victory against Villarreal, were brought to ground by Real Sociedad. Daniel Estrada struck around the hour mark, with an excellent long-ranger, to get the only goal against the recently promoted side. Sociedad were without their star midfielder a�� Xabi Prieto, due to an ankle injury. However, that didna��t deter the hosts from acquiring all three points from the match and their second win of the season.
Villarreal bounced back from a shocking defeat against Granada and managed to grab all three points against Mallorca. The two strikers a�� Rossi and Nilmar were on target for the Yellow Submarines. Surprisingly, this was Villarreala��s first win of the season. Had it not been for Dudu Aouate, Villarreal could have won by a more convincing margin. Former Mallorca midfielder a�� De Guzman too played a key role. Perhaps the absence of Cazorla is proving to be too much of a void for Villarreal.
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Wednesday had majority of the games including the two key games a�� Valencia v Barcelona and Racing Santander v Real Madrid. When the big two of Spain,failed to inspire, Atletico Madrid produced yet another stunning display and won their second consecutive game, scoring four and conceding none. Radamel Falcao got a brace late into the match and could have scored his second hattrick in as many matches. In comparison to Atleticoa��s 19 shots and 11 on target, Gijon had just 3 shots with one of them being on target. This exemplifies the dominance of the hosts. Although it looks like the loss of Aguero and Forlan hasna��t affected them as much but an upcoming match against Barcelona will definitely test the rejuvenated Madrid outfit. Alvaro Dominguez scored the third and an own goal from Gijona��s Ramos rounded up things for the Rojiblancos.
Real Madrid did what they couldna��t afford to do. They drew their match against a gritty Santander. Statistics might prove that Jose Mourinhoa��s side dominated the match, but a rigid Santander denied them all three points and perhaps an opportunity to overtake Barcelona. Varane, Diarra and Callejon got a rare start but none to make it count. In the dying moments of the match Iker Casillas produced a fantastic save to deny the hosts a�� that perhaps was the eventual difference between the two sides, albeit they ended on level terms.
Barcelona and Valencia played the match of the week. Los Che were nothing short of outstanding. An own goal from Eric Abidal got the hosts off the mark. However, a brilliant build up by Messi and Cesc handed Pedro the opportunity to equalize. The latter didna��t disappoint. Pablo got the hosts yet another goal and Valencia went into half-time, ahead of Barcelona. Jeremy Mathieu had an exceptional match and tormented Barca from the flanks. Had it not been for the misses of Soldado, Valencia could have taken a lead, perhaps unassailable. Daring substitutions from Guardiola in the form of Alcantara, Adriano and Villa in lieu of Puyol, Keita and Pedro respectively provided the Catalans with a wake-up call. A Messi-assisted Cesc Fabregas goal eventually earned Barca the much needed parity. David Villa could have won it for the Catalans but for the heroics of Guaita, who made the best save of the match. The match ended on level terms, thereby giving Real Madrid a breather.
Upset Of The Week
Racing Santander 0 – 0 Real Madrid
Real Madrid were back from a defeat at the hands of Levante. Racing was expected to receive the backlash of Reala��s defeat in the weekend. But in a scrappy match filled with fouls and cards, neither team managed a goal. And to Reala��s frustrations, they have now lost 4 points in two games. They lacked serious problems in creating chances and imagination. Real Madrid were missing key players in defense. Pepe, Coentrao and Khedira all missed due to injury and suspension. It was a rare start for Diarra. But the team struggled to break down Racing. In fact Racing had some good chances to even snatch a win. But thanks to Casillas, Madrid managed to pick just a point from this match
Player Of The Week
Santi Cazorla (Malaga)
Valencia, Barca and Real Madrid might be making all the headlines; but Malaga is slowly starting to show their true worth. They have started the season calmly and are gathering speed. The player who runs their midfield is a former Villarreal midfielder Santi Cazorla. The player with vision, grace and who is capable of opening any defense has had a wonderful start to this season. He has now 4 goals in 4 games and is the key factor in Malagaa��s emergence on the field. With his goal against Athletic Bilbao, Malaga moves to take the number 2 spot in the table for now.
Goal Of The Week
Daniel Estrada against Granada. One needs to see it to believe it.
Assist of The Week
Fabregas and Messi are currently playing like they have been playing together for a long time. Both of them have combined for a total of 9 goals already. Fabregas seems to have problem not scoring every match. And their partnership is already looking an ominous sign for the defenses. It was again Messi-Cesc connection that provided the equalizer. Messi sucked in the defense towards him and seeing the space, Fabregas made a run from the deep and a beautiful ball over the top was finished brilliantly by Fabregas.
Ita��s far easier to be a world-class player because of your talent than to be a world class player and also perform in the way this Barca side do. The concept of football which they rely on is very, very difficult to learn and when it clicks, ita��s almost impossible to play against. Almost everything you are taught at La Masia is about gaining superiority of numbers a�� finding two-on-one or, more likely, three-on-two situations in all areas of the pitch. Cesca��s addition means that Barcelona are even better at doing that than they were.
Team Of The Week
Valdes(GK), Juanfran, Ricardo Costa, Lopo, Ujfalusi, Pepe, Banega, Fabregas, Cazorla, Messi, Falcao
Race To Pichichi
- Roberto Soldado (Valencia) – 5
- Lionel Messi (Barcelona) – 5
- A�Radamel Falcao Garcia (AtlA�tico Madrid) – 5
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) – 4
- Cesc FA?bregas (Barcelona) – 4
- Santi Cazorla (MA?laga) – 4
League Table
- Valencia a�� 10 points
- Malaga a�� 9 points
- Real Betis a�� 9 points
- FC Barcelona a�� 8 points
- Sevilla a�� 8 points
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