La Liga Thoughts & Rambles: GW’s 1-3
A big recap.
I’m going to pretend that this wasn’t supposed to be a weekly thing, and that I’d planned to return to thinking and rambling about the Spanish first division now that we’ve got a bit of respite ahead of the international break. That being said, there’s a lot to unpack, so let’s jump in.
The Title Charge
Some might remember my ante-post bet in the last edition, where I made the case for Barcelona to defy their odds-against price tag (11/10) and secure back-to-back La Liga trophies and, whilst still firmly in contention, it’s been far from smooth sailing so far.
Controversy fuelled the title holders’ opening fixture, as Barcelona travelled to the Balearic Islands to take on Mallorca. After Raphinha opened the scoring inside the first seven minutes, Ferran Torres doubled Barça’s lead whilst Mallorca had a man on the deck. Naturally, this infuriated the hosts, who were down to nine men by the end of the first half after a series of bookings. Barça dominated the second half, but couldn’t quite make it count until a moment of pure brilliance from — you guessed it -- Lamine Yamal in the 94th minute who, in trademark fashion, cut in from the right-hand side on the edge of the box and curled one into the top left corner.
Pedri orchestrated a stunning comeback in Round 2, as Barça found themselves 2-0 down at the break against newly-promoted Levante. The 22-year-old scored from twenty-five yards out, and just three minutes later, Torres delighted Valencia fans by volleying home a leveller against his boyhood club’s biggest rivals. The comeback was rounded off in chaotic fashion after a Lamine Yamal cross led to an own goal from Levante’s Unai Elgezabal.
Barça fell short in their most recent encounter away at Rayo Vallecano, however. A first-half spot-kick marred by VAR connection controversy was converted by Yamal, but that was to be all they could conjure against a resilient Rayo side, who were actually the better and more dominant team on the day. They tested new Barcelona goalkeeper Joan García, and eventually equalised in the 67th minute through the young, new man Fran Pérez.
Madrid on the other hand have had the perfect start, with gaffer Xabi Alonso taking all nine points available from his first three matches, and conceding just one goal in the process.
A less-than-spectacular opening fixture against Osasuna at the Bernabéu ended 1-0, with an Mbappé penalty getting the hosts over the line to avoid any early embarrassment. Round 2 saw a more familiar-looking Real Madrid make light work of new boys Real Oviedo, whereby Mbappé was the main difference once again in a 3-0 victory, scoring twice. The first was gifted to him by 20-year-old Turkish delight, Arda Güler, who is, so far, justifying the amount of game time he’s been getting, and the second came in the final ten minutes from a Vinícius Jr. pass, who went on to grab a goal for himself in injury time, having been brought on in the 63rd minute.
Chaos ensued in Real’s most recent encounter, after coming back to defeat Mallorca 2-1 at the Bernabéu, despite having three (yes - three) goals ruled out. Mbappé had one chalked off for offside on seven minutes, just before Vedat Muriqi made amends for his red card vs. Barcelona in Round 1 by opening up the scoring for Mallorca. Arda Güler and Vinícius Jr. scored a goal each just a minute apart late in the first half, before Mbappé was left with his head in hands yet again - another disallowed goal for offside. Ten minutes into the second half, Güler was denied a brace when his attempt was disallowed for handball, and the game remarkably finished 2-1.
There’s no denying Real Madrid have had a strong start, the front three of Mbappé, Güler and Vini are working brilliantly together and will no doubt continue to flourish. Plus, their new signings are proving worth the investments; Trent Alexander-Arnold has played well despite sharing his game time with veteran right-back Dani Carvajal, and Dean Huijsen has slotted straight into centre-half delivering some stellar defensive performances, and even getting himself an assist in the process.
Joan García had some big boots to fill after signing from Espanyol in the summer, following Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s injury, but Barcelona’s addition in between the sticks has impressed so far. And, despite some lacklustre performances from Marcus Rashford, their ever-reliable superstars like Pedri, Raphinha and, of course, Lamine Yamal, have started strongly, presumably as they mean to go on.
I must admit, it came as a bit of a surprise to me to see that the bookies have now u-turned on the La Liga Outright Winner market. The punter is now up against it to find anything as good as, or better, than 10/11 for Barça to win the league, and on the contrary, Madrid are best priced at 11/10. Of course, we’re only three games in, but from what we’ve seen so far, I’d have said that Los Blancos have justified the pre-season favouritism. Nevertheless, it’s a nice sight to see an ante-post selection’s price shorten.
It might be too ambitious (and too early) to mention Athletic Bilbao at this stage and in this “Title Charge” section, but they’ve had a really solid start, beating Sevilla, Rayo Vallecano and Real Betis. They’re 100/1 for the title, but 9/4 to win the league W/O Barcelona and Real Madrid. One to keep an eye on.
The Slow Starters
Atleti have had a bad start, and will be thankful for the international break. Some have speculated that it might serve as a testament to the teams they’ve faced so far, as Diego Simeone’s side went 1-0 up against Espanyol through a first-half Julián Alvarez goal on the opening day, but failed to hold on and conceded twice in ten minutes late on. It proved to be a bitter pill to swallow, and they failed to make amends in the following two games vs. Elche (H) and Alaves (A). Both ended as 1-1 draws.
Atlético won’t be in panic mode just yet, though. Back in 2022/23, they had their worst start to a campaign in the 21st century, losing their first three games without scoring a goal, and they went on to finish 3rd that season. One positive Simeone can take from the season so far, is seeing his son, Giuliano, get off the goalscoring mark for Atleti in the last game against Alavés.
Girona sit bottom of the table after three games and three straight defeats in which they conceded a combined ten goals, scoring just one. They’ll be looking to build on and better their 16th placed finish last year, but haven’t looked very convincing so far. Their remarkable record-breaking season in 2023/24, in which they finished 3rd and qualified for the Champions League for the first time, is merely a distant memory now, and despite boasting a boatload of recognisable names in the roster; Thomas Lemar, Axel Witsel, Donny van de Beek, to name a few, they really need to switch things up if they want to perform anywhere near the level they were at a couple of years ago.
The last couple of seasons were encapsulated brilliantly by former Premier League benchwarmer Paulo Gazzaniga, who started in goal for Girona against Rayo Vallecano in their opening game. He had an absolute clusterfuck of a game - gifting away the first goal to Rayo’s Jorge de Frutos, conceding a tap in from Álvaro García just two minutes later, before rounding off his performance by getting himself sent off for taking down the first goal scorer… all inside forty-three minutes. They went on to lose to Villarreal and Sevilla, 5-0 and 2-0, respectively.
Head coach Michel’s contract expires in 2026, so it’ll be interesting to see how the season pans out for him and his club.
Everything Else
Haters will recall I suggested taking a stab at the 11/8 on offer for Valencia to win their opening game against Real Sociedad. Loyalists will recall that I actually said the game was “screaming draw”. Los Che were winning… for three minutes. It was a rather dull affair and finished 1-1.
On the topic of dull affairs, Valencia travelled to Osasuna for their second match. After conceding within ten minutes by way of Ante Budimir, things went from bad to worse, when skipper José Gayá got himself sent off after taking down the last man.
Los Che got back to winning ways the following round, though, when Carlos Corberán’s side defeated Getafe 3-0 at the Mestalla. Goals from Mouctar Diakhaby, new signing Arnaut Danjuma, and former Getafe man Hugo Duro sealed a more than convincing victory, proving to fans that despite losing some of their best players, they can still get the job done.
Fans of Rayo Vallecano are hoping the fairytale success story of last season will continue into this campaign. Madrid’s third team matched their best ever-placed finish last year, finishing 8th, and thus qualifying for European football for the first time since 2001. After chaotically beating Girona in Round 1, not least thanks to Jorge de Frutos, Rayo travelled to Hungary for a UEFA Conference League qualification match, where they beat Belarusian side Neman 1-0.
Rayo came back to Spain to face Bilbao in the Basque Country, but failed to come away with any points, perhaps due to the fatigue that goes hand-in-hand with playing in European competitions midweek. Oihan Sancet converted a penalty for Bilbao, and sent a tired but determined Vallecano team back to Madrid in a gloomy mood, where they would prepare for a pair of consecutive home matches in their less-than-fifteen-thousand-seater stadium. Firstly, the Conference League Qualification second-leg against Neman, which they won 4-0, and secondly, a game against the reigning champions, Barcelona.
El Matagigantes, translated to English as “Giant Killer”, isn’t a nickname which a club earns lightly, and Rayo held Barça to a 1-1 draw.
How far they advance in the Conference League, and how well they deal with the amount of games and respective magnitude, is difficult to speculate. But they’ve had a tough run of fixtures so far, and have taken each game in their stride. Rayo could be beginning to make a name for themselves, as could their head coach, 37-year-old Iñigo Pérez.
Espanyol might be another team who will advance under the radar. Their last season with any sort of success came in 2018/19, where a seventh-placed finish secured qualification into the Europa League. The less said about the following season the better, though, as the city of Barcelona’s second team found themselves out of Europe by the Round of 32, and bottom of La Liga by the end of May 2020.
After yo-yo’ing from La Liga down to the Segunda División and back up again twice in the last five years, it seems as though this year might be the year they can try and reclaim their status as one of Spain’s top teams. After a really bright, unbeaten pre-season where they faced the likes of Wolfsburg and Newcastle, Espanyol have taken the momentum into the first few competitive games, beating Atlético 2-1, drawing 2-2 away at Real Sociedad, and defeating Osasuna 1-0. They’re currently sitting pretty in fifth, and won’t want to budge any time soon.
Deadline Day
Another busy transfer window in Spain came to a close on Tuesday, as numerous clubs finalised last-minute deals on deadline day.
Antony / Manchester Utd to Real Betis - Betis just about resolved the Antony saga by laying down €25m and a five-year contract for the Brazilian winger.
Sofyan Amrabat / Fenerbahçe to Real Betis - Pellegrini wasn’t satisfied with only one former Man Utd player, and shortly after the Antony announcement, declared they’d secured Sofyan Amrabat on a season-long loan to sure up the midfield.
Dodi Lukébakio / Sevilla to Benfica - A tough one to take for Sevilla fans, but necessary to free up salary space in line with La Liga’s financial regulations.
Vladyslav Vanat / Dynamo Kyiv to Girona - A glimmer of hope for Girona fans, who will be hoping 23-year-old Vladyslav Vanat can replicate fellow Ukranian Artem Dovbyk’s spell at the Catalan side. The striker signs for around €16m until 2030.
Bryan Gil / Tottenham to Girona - More hope for Girona fans as Bryan Gil returns to the club from Spurs for a fixed €6m plus €4m in add-ons.
Nicolás González / Juventus to Atlético Madrid - Argentine international winger González joins Atleti on loan with an option to buy dependant on game time.
Georges Mikautadze / Lyon to Villarreal - The Georgian with a knack for scoring goals, Mikautadze joins the Yellow Submarine on a six-year contract.
Aymeric Laporte / Al Nassr to Athletic Bilbao - Still not quite confirmed, although Bilbao remain optimistic for him to rejoin the club after seven years away, during which time he won the Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup, Community Shield, and the UEFA Champions League with Manchester City. FIFA rejected the signing after Al Nassr sent the documentation too late.
Carlos Soler / PSG to Real Sociedad - Carlos Soler returns to La Liga for the first time since leaving Valencia for PSG back in 2022, during which time he had a loan spell at West Ham. He signs for €6m.
Christantus Uche / Getafe to Crystal Palace - This could be a big loss for Getafe, with the Nigerian international contributing a goal and an assist in their opening game. He joins Crystal Palace on loan with an obligation to buy for around €20m.
Alexis Sanchez / Free Agent to Sevilla - A much-needed big name signing for Sevilla, as veteran forward Alexis Sanchez returns to Spain since leaving Barcelona as a La Liga and Copa del Rey winner in 2014.
Off the Pitch
On Wednesday, an unnamed Espanyol supporter made a deal with authorities to avoid prison time, after being found guilty of racially abusing Bilbao’s Iñaki Williams back in 2020. The accused will serve a three-year ban from all football stadiums, and was slapped with a fine of at least €1,000.
Prosecutors were seeking a two-year prison sentence for the fan, who shouted obscenities and made monkey gestures towards the Bilbao forward during a 1-1 draw in January 2020.
Out of numerous Espanyol supporters who were being abusive, only one stood trial, despite Espanyol saying at the time that they’d taken action against twelve fans.
Last year, three Valencia fans were given eight-month prison sentences after pleading guilty to racially abusing Vinicius Jr. in what was the first conviction for racism-related cases in Spanish football.
In May, five Vallodolid fans stood trial accused of racially abusing Vinicius, and the Spanish court ruled that racist insults during football matches are a hate crime. All five were found guilty, and were sentenced to a year in prison, as well as a €1,600 fine.
The convictions will serve as a warning to supporters in Spain, which has been under the spotlight for racism-related incidents; so much so, that La Liga have introduced an anti-racism protocol for referees to halt games when a racist incident has been reported. The protocol hasn’t yet been used in the 2025/26 campaign.
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That’s all for now. Believe me, I won’t be leaving myself with three weeks’ worth of catching up to do again…