RADIO
La Liga heads into the International break after seven rounds of matches and, although it is too early to come to any definitive conclusions, there is enough evidence so far to get a glimpse into how the Spanish season is evolving. Here is a concise recap of the more significant events from the first seven weeks of games.
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Surprise At The Top
The table at the top has a somewhat different look about it with Villarreal and Celta Vigo leading the top half. Villarreal lead with 16 points but the loss to Levante in the last round has blotted their impressive record and likely dented their confidence. Celta Vigo is just behind Villarreal with 15 points, who got everyone’s attention with the 4-1 thrashing of Barcelona, and who remain a team to be taken very seriously.
Following Celta Vigo are the usual contenders Barcelona (15 points), Real Madrid (15) and Atletico Madrid (13). They hope to pick up the pace in the next rounds and take their usual places near the top, but they face challenges.
Barcelona Blues
After an extremely successful treble last year, Barcelona was expected to dominate domestically. However, the Blaugrana have stuttered so far having lost away to Celta Vigo and Sevilla. The 4-1 loss to Celta was a shocker because Luis Enrique’s men looked completely disorganized and compounding that, the loss to Sevilla in the latest round has only served to further emphasize the difficulties that lie ahead.
The loss of Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta is hurting the defending champions badly. Messi is out of action until the end of November and may even miss the first El Clasico. Unless Luis Suarez or Neymar step up their games dramatically, Barcelona are in danger of seeing their title hopes fade away.
Real Mess
For any other side, staying on the heels of the leader is an achievement – not for Real. Rafael Benitez was brought in during the off-season to start challenging for trophies again. However, the capital club looks unsettled and is yet to show any consistent rhythm. The form of Cristiano Ronaldo is also hurting them badly. They are still undefeated in the league but look nowhere near their best.
It is still early days but if Madrid can continue to stay in touch with the leaders, anything is possible. At the moment, though, the troubles for Madrid look to be more inherent.
Surprise Package
It is tempting to pick Villarreal or Celta to be the surprise so far, but Eibar continues to play beyond their humble means. With just one loss and 12 points in the bag, the Basque club is setting tongues wagging. Big games are imminent for Eibar but, from the evidence so far in the season, they look more than capable of surprising the bigger clubs that coexist with them in La Liga.
Disappointment
Again, too early to definitively conclude on this, but the form of Sevilla has disappointed the neutrals and its supporters alike thus far this season. Unai Emery guided the club to great heights last year and was expected to challenge for La Liga honours this campaign.
Surprisingly, their weak home form has laid the foundation for their poor return so far and this is comes as a shock because last season their home ground was a fortress . Their 2-1 win over Barcelona may go a long way to getting them back on track and If they can build upon this, Sevilla could quickly be in the title race.
Conventional wisdom says that Barcelona and Real Madrid should battle for the title and we could still witness these favourites moving up the ladder as the season evolves. However, for the sake of the league, it would be interesting if Celta Vigo, Villarreal and Atletico continue to present their case and challenge the conventions in the world's most enthralling league.
