In one way, this weekend in La Liga was a step back to the past as Barcelona and Real Madrid both gained comfortable victories while everyone else in the top spots floundered.
In this most competitive of seasons, these results recalled the old days of a ‘two horse race’, and followers of the league will be hoping it doesn’t become too common an occurrence over the remainder of the campaign.
From a different perspective, however, it could be said that the victories for the big two also provided a glimpse into the future, with some very different protagonists coming to the fore.
For Real, two of the outstanding performers in the 2-0 home win over Valencia were midfielders Marcos Llorente and Dani Ceballos, who respectively replaced the injured Casemiro and Toni Kroos and delivered a dose of dynamism, drive and energy which had been badly lacking for much of the season.
On Sunday night at the Camp Nou, Barca’s 2-0 victory over Villarreal was clinched by a wonderfully taken effort by 20-year-old substitute Carles Alena, who netted his first goal in La Liga by running onto an exquisite through ball from Lionel Messi and clipping a deft finish over onrushing visiting keeper Sergio Asenjo.
Along with Arthur, the 22-year-old Brazilian who missed the Villarreal game through injury, here we have four players who have every chance of becoming integral members of the midfield engine room for Barca and Madrid in the not too distant future.
Arthur has become a prominent member of Barcelona’s midfield.
For the past five years, that area of the pitch has been dominated on a near ever-present basis by Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic.
Before long, though, there will have to be a changing of the guard because the members of that quartet are, to put it politely, getting on a bit.
Kroos, who turns 29 next month, is the youngest of the group. And although he, Modric, Rakitic and Busquets are still beautifully classy players, they cannot continue forever – certainly not as week in, week out starters in the energy-sapping midfield battleground, even more so considering the amount of football they have all played in the last few years.
Displacing men of that stature will not be an easy task, and it’s by no means certain that the younger models who caught the eye this weekend will survive the test of time. It’s far too early to say with any confidence how their careers will unfold.
But they are worthy of more chances, and the Madrid duo have undoubtedly paid their dues. Ceballos barely played last season after joining in a high-profile transfer from his boyhood club Real Betis, while Llorente has been forced to bide his time after rejoining Los Blancos following an excellent loan season with Alaves two years ago.
Dani Ceballos was excellent alongside Marcos Llorente v Valencia.
Like Llorente at Real, Barca’s weekend goalscorer Alena also came through his club’s youth team setup before graduating to the senior squad, and this is a particularly timely aspect of his emergence.
The supply of homegrown talent from La Masia has dried up. Only Sergi Roberto, Munir El Haddadi and Rafinha have progressed from the youth teams into the senior side over the last five years, and none of them have been particularly recent.
The lack of connection between the junior and senior squads is a serious issue for Barca to address, and the fact that Alena – who first joined the club at the age of seven – is now becoming a regular member of the matchday squad is a perfect answer to those who question the sustainability of the club’s philosophy.
In the last few years Barca have filled holes in their squad by making big-money signings such as Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele rather than promoting from within, and many fans are uneasy with speculation linking the club with PSG midfielder Adrien Rabiot at a time when Alena and, below him, teenager Riqui Puig are on the verge of breaking through.
One goal does not make a career, but Alena’s contribution on Sunday suggests he can make a significant impact in the same way Arthur already has. At the same time in Madrid, Llorente and Ceballos are making it hard for manager Santi Solari to drop them.
Kroos, Modric, Rakitic and Busquets are not finished yet, but the evidence of this weekend suggested their successors are ready to rise to the challenge of replacing them.
