1. Way too easy for Real Madrid
Real Madrid edged past Barcelona to win the Clasico in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Sunday afternoon, and the frustrating thing for Barca fans will be that they appeared to do so without even hitting top gear.
Although Carlo Ancelotti insisted his side had been at maximum effort all afternoon, a combination of a solid midfield and defense, coupled with a handful of moments of inspiration in attack were enough to give them a comfortable win.
The two sides are likely to meet several more times this season, but round one goes to Real Madrid.
2. Back to the drawing board for Xavi
While it was a good afternoon to support Real Madrid, it was a bad one to be a Barca fan, with Sunday’s defeat coming just days after Barca’s exit from the Champions League was all but confirmed.
Barca attempted to play their passing game but looked flat and lacked the spark needed to create spaces against Madrid’s well-organized defense and midfield.
Having 24 hours less to prepare certainly didn’t help, but Xavi will be worried by the lack of intensity in his side (and perhaps he made a big mistake in leaving Gavi out of his starting 11).
Xavi said before the game that Barca’s passing game was unnegotiable, but he needs to get more energy into his side, otherwise, the season could slip away.
3. Old virtues serve Atletico well
One shot on target, one goal and a 1-0 win away to Athletic Club Bilbao saw Atletico Madrid go third in La Liga on Saturday night.
Antoine Griezmann’s goal early in the second half caught the home side off guard and from then on Atletico mounted a rearguard action to stave off Athletic’s wave after wave of attacks.
Reinildo was outstanding at left back and Geoffrey Kondogbia won everything in midfield as Atletico clung on.
On another day Athletic could easily have taken a point, but on this occasion the ball wouldn’t go into the net and Atletico took a vital win thanks to their defensive strength in depth.
4. Real Sociedad upwardly mobile
Real Sociedad’s 2-1 win in Vigo was their seventh consecutive victory and lifted Imanol Alguacil’s side into the European places.
The team from San Sebastian have done well to overcome the loss of players such as Mikel Oyarzabal and Umar Sadiq through injury with the summer signings including Take Kuko and Alexander Sorloth.
However, it is their 14-million-euro purchase, Brais Mendez, who is currently capturing the headlines with five goals and two assists. Mendez has been in excellent form and turned on the style on Sunday against his former club and if he continues like this, he could push for a place in Spain’s World Cup squad.
