Real Madrid have more than three strikers and other things learned from La Liga as Barcelona maintain lead

Andy West 00:09 19/09/2017
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  • La Liga was back to its entertaining best this weekend as Barcelona maintained their lead at the top after the fourth of fixtures.

    Here, we take a look at five takeaways from this week’s matches.

    PAULINHO ISN’T THAT BAD AFTER ALL

    When Barcelona signed Paulinho from Guangzhou Evergrande this summer, there were howls of protest from a large section of fans who felt that a player from the Chinese Super League who had previously flopped in the Premier League with Tottenham was not exactly the answer to their midfield problems.

    In truth, the reaction to Paulinho’s arrival served to demonstrate the occasionally drastic contrast between Barca fans on social media and those who actually attend games, with the Brazilian international receiving a far warmer welcome inside Camp Nou than he did in the digital world.

    And on Saturday afternoon he surely won over a few more doubters by scoring the goal which preserved his team’s 100% record, netting a fabulous late strike to secure a 2-1 victory at unlucky Getafe.

    The goal also showed exactly why Barca have signed him, as he received Lionel Messi’s pass before barging into the area, bouncing off challenges, and smashing home a powerful strike.

    None of the other club’s midfielders possess the physical skills to score such a goal, and Paulinho has clearly added something different to the mix.

    Paulinho

    Paulinho

    REAL MADRID HAVE MORE THAN THREE STRIKERS

    Eyebrows were raised at the start of the season as reigning champions Real Madrid entered the campaign one man down in the striker department, with Alvaro Morata departing to Chelsea and no replacement being signed following the failure to land Kylian Mbappe.

    Manager Zinedine Zidane’s claims that he was happy to stick with youngster Borja Mayoral as his fourth striker – behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale – were met with scepticism.

    After all, the 20 year-old had hardly shone during his previous season’s loan stint at Wolfsburg, scoring just twice.

    But when push came to shove on Sunday night and Zidane travelled to Real Sociedad without both Ronaldo and Benzema, he was true to his word and shoved Mayoral straight into the starting eleven.

    The youngster did not let him down, scoring one goal, creating another and generally delivering an eye-catching performance which suggested he belongs at this level. We can expect to see a lot more of him over the next few months.

    Borja Mayoral

    Borja Mayoral

    JOAQUIN STILL GOING STRONG

    The biggest difference-maker in La Liga this weekend was not one of the names you would have expected, but the success of veteran winger Joaquin for Real Betis was well received all over the country.

    The 36 year-old, who has also played for Malaga and Valencia in his homeland and Fiorentina in Italy, has always been one of the most popular players with neutrals thanks to his cheerful personality and exciting ball skills.

    And the Betis captain showed that he still has plenty to offer by scoring both goals in his team’s 2-1 home win over Deportivo La Coruna, with a close-range header followed by a crisp strike to secure the points in the latter stages.

    The win also keeps the feel-good factor at Betis going strong, with the Andalusian club making a bright start to the campaign under new boss Quique Setien. And their next stop? Real Madrid on Wednesday night.

    VILLARREAL BOUNCING BACK FROM EARLY SLUMP

    One of the biggest surprises in the opening weeks of the season was the problems endured by Villarreal, who appeared to have enjoyed a good summer in the transfer market but then inexplicably started the campaign by losing their first two games without scoring a goal.

    Suddenly, the pressure was on second-year manager Fran Escriba and his players, but they have since shown their true quality by recording two straight wins – latterly a comfortable 3-0 victory at Alaves, who promptly made Luis Zubeldia the winner of the managerial sack race.

    Villarreal were particularly good going forward, with their new strike force of Carlos Bacca and Cedric Bakambu (will ‘BaBa’ catch on?) both getting on the scoresheet, while skilful winger Samu Castillejo ran Alaves ragged in the second half.

    Having recovered from their early blip, Villarreal look like becoming the team everyone had expected to see all along: a major contender for a top four finish.

    Cedric Bakambu

    Cedric Bakambu

    NEW HOME, SAME OLD ATLETICO

    Even the reigning monarch of Spain turned up when Atletico Madrid opened their spectacular new Wanda Metropolitano stadium on Saturdaynight.

    But the presence of King Felipe was not going to deter Atletico from following their usual path, and rather than marking their new home’s curtain raiser with an expansive, exciting feast of football, they had to settle for a nervy and hard-fought 1-0 victory over struggling Malaga thanks to Antoine Griezmann’s second half strike.

    And that’s exactly how it should be. Atletico do not thrash their opponents 5-0 – not very often anyway. Diego Simeone much prefers to see his team grind out narrow single-goal successes, hanging on for the final whistle with a grim and obstinate sense of determination.

    The Argentine boss certainly wouldn’t want his team to lose their hard-earned reputation for being street fighters to whom nothing comes easily, and he was probably secretly pleased that this weekend’s game showed no signs of his players getting carried away with themselves despite their shiny new surroundings. Long may that continue.

    Antoine Griezmann (L)

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