In his weekly look back at the latest round of La Liga fixtures, Spanish football writer Phil Ball shares his thoughts on the Madrid derby between Atletico and Real, as well as a missed opportunity at the top for Villarreal.
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Sunday’s Madrid ‘derbi’ in the Calderon was nicely framed by Barcelona’s previous-day defeat in Seville, a fixture that always looks a tough one whether Sevilla are playing well or not. Barcelona are not playing badly, but the twin absences of Leo Messi and Andres Iniesta is no small matter – more on that later. It’s occasions like these that the staggered nature of La Liga’s fixtures creates a keen sense of anticipation for all sets of supporters, not simply those who live in the capital. Leaders Villarreal had reasons to be cheerful despite a 1-0 defeat in an away game at Levante that did not look too taxing. Bojan Jokic was sent off in the first half, gifting Levante a first win of the season and Villarreral their first defeat. They’ll be kicking themselves for not putting four points of daylight between their good selves and Barcelona, but that’s the way it seems to be going this season. Nobody is pulling away, nothing is clear cut, and it’s absolutely fine. Villarreal remain top though, due to the draw in the Calderón between Real and Atlético, but the chance to pull clear might not come along again so soon. Celta too, who kicked off proceedings on Friday night at home to Getafe, were once again dreaming of recovering the top spot, but came up against an inspired Vicente Guaita [click settings below for English subtitles] in the visitors’ goal. They were thus foiled for the second week running by teams who looked comfortably beatable, adding a 0-0 draw to the 1-1 stalemate at Eibar last time out.
The game at the Calderon was a slightly decaffeinated affair, played as if neither side were quite sure where they stood in relation to one another at this early stage of the season. Maybe some of the fight was taken from the game by Atleti’s different look, the side still struggling to come to terms with the departures of Mario Mandzukic, Arda Turan and Raúl Garcia – as if this were not the combative side that Real Madrid have so feared over the last couple of seasons, especially with Koke out injured. Even the effusive Diego Simeone seemed relatively subdued, as if he no longer quite believes their own hype. Atlético are used to being in this kind of situation early on, largely because of the revolving-door policy still extant at the club, but this time around they seem to be suffering from a lack of confidence in their new signings. Filipe Luis has slotted back in nicely (although he was at fault for Real’s goal), but Jackson Martinez hasn’t quite made the transition from the Portuguese to a Spanish rhythm. He does, however, look a useful enough fellow, his sudden acceleration after Alvaro Arbeloa (remember him?) lost the ball in midfield and subsequent cross led to another of the misfiring signings, Luciano Vietto, to level the match. Earlier, one of Simeone’s new Pretorian Guard, Antoine Griezmann, missed a penalty and blew the chance to cancel out Karim Benzema’s early opener, but in truth the plaudits again go to Kaylor Navas for guessing Griezmann’s intentions. A save later on from Jackson also confirmed Navas as Madrid’s new saint, whilst his predecessor – Saint Iker – was enjoying himself in the rather more comfortable surroundings of Porto’s 4-0 win over Belenenses.
.@RayHudson reaction on Keylor Navas’ save! pic.twitter.com/szwv9xXjpR
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@TeamCRonaldo) October 4, 2015
The game was a poorer affair than the return game will probably be in the New Year, because Atlético seem to have lost more than they’ve gained. Fernando Torres is no longer a player to build a project on, and namesake Oliver has been far from convincing since his return from a loan period. His lost-little-schoolboy looks contrast rather sharply with the image of the Atlético we all fear and loathe – the side that comes out with the daggers between the teeth and a bucketful of bad attitude. Only towards the end of the game did they appear to wake from their slumber, and they could have won it – which says little for the visitors. And despite the occasion, the midweek Champions League defeat at home to Benfica seemed to weigh heavily on the crowd, like an awkward memory.
Real Madrid, without really making many chances, seemed content enough to stroke the ball around, trying out Casemiro again as the new Modric shield, welcoming back Sergio Ramos and leaving Gareth Bale on the bench at the start. Mateo Kovacic also got a brief run-out, after starting the game in Malmo in midweek. Like Simeone, Rafa Benitez wants to see his new players fitting into the system, and against opponents such as Malmo this was perfectly possible, as if it had been a rehearsal for the greater difficulties to come domestically. The notion of sides like Real Madrid using the early Champions League stages in the same way as they use the King’s Cup – to give their younger players a run-out – seems almost perverse, but the evidence is there for all to see. And Kovacic, to me at least, looks like he may become a very good player indeed once he learns how to turn the flame up or down according to the demands of the moment, like Luka Modric can so masterfully. At present he’s trying a little too hard, but his technical and tactical abilities look pretty awesome. He also looks like the kind of guy who won’t take too easily to being a bench warmer – the sort of awkward and pushy individual to whom the Bernabéu traditionally warm. What they hate at the White House is a guy like Asier Illarramendi – too shy, provincial and retiring to prosper in the macho pecking order of a big-city club. Kovacic looks as though he won’t suffer fools easily.
Meanwhile, there seemed to be a suspicious amount of rejoicing after Barcelona’s 2-1 defeat at Sevilla, in which the visitors actually managed to score from a penalty this time but squander a series of easier chances, most of which ended up hitting the home side’s woodwork. Sevilla thus breathe a sigh of relief after one of their unexpectedly poorest starts to the season in recent memory, whilst Barcelona have also registered their dodgiest openings since 2003-04 under Frank Rijkaard, when they also lost twice in their first seven games. Interestingly, they were 11th in the table back then, but are still third this time around – which confirms the more democratic state of affairs currently reigning in Spain. Voices from the Camp Nou are beginning to trot out the old conspiracy theories, the idea that nobody loves them and that their political profile means they are out of favour with referees, the press and the hands that rock the cradle – but it doesn’t really wash. Sergio Busquets, one of the prime movers of this theory, would do better by simply returning to his normal position, and doing what he does best. Manager Luis Enrique, another one fond of this stuff, has been at loggerheads with the press all week, grumpy and contrite, accusing the journalists gathered for Friday’s press conference of wanting Barcelona to fail, and of indulging in some sort of football-based schadenfreude. Let us not talk falsely now. There won’t be too many occasions when his team manages 28 shots on goal, and comes away with a defeat in the bag. They might consider bringing back the remarkable Alen Halilovic from his loan at Sporting after Christmas (check out the Messi-like simplicity of his goal at Espanyol), but for now it’s a question of maximising the talent they’ve still got – which is considerable.
Whatever the case, Luis Enrique will be happy to take a rest, conferred on the league by the international games to come. When hostilities resume, they face Rayo Vallecano at home, with Real Madrid hosting Levante and Villarreal v Celta looking the pick of the bunch.
