RADIO
The footballing narrative that continues to sketch its motif upon the Spanish La Liga further embedded itself, once again this weekend, into the absolute highest stations of global football. Whilst the traditionally combustive and sometimes brutally enthralling fixture of Manchester United and Liverpool in the EPL did at least offer a probable goal of the season with Benteke's over head kick, the mediocre standard of football, overall, made the games in Spain, oft times, look like a different sport. When it comes to differences and superlatives La Liga remains saturated and when it comes to tasting the absolute fiber of football and skill saturation, La Liga remains superlative.
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Atletico Madrid Vs. Barcelona
The marquee game in Spain this weekend was undoubtedly Atletico Madrid hosting the Blaugrana, otherwise known as FCB Barcelona, at the Vicente Calderon Stadium. The fidgety fever of expectation before this one was palpable as neither team had conceded a goal thus far in the season, Atletico hadn't beaten Barce since February of 2010 and Messi was on the bench. Atletico chieftain, Diego Simeone, had never beaten Barcelona as a manager and given the Catalan's squad relatively benign start to the season, the team from Madrid quietly fancied their chances.
Atletico began the game with a marked offensive tone but the first real chance fell to Barce's Rakitic who, upon receiving a clairvoyant pass from Iniesta, drew a superb save from Oblak on goal. In the twenty second minute Suarez hit the crossbar from a corner and it felt that Barcelona was, almost inevitably, beginning to turn the screw. Atletico however had a probable plausible shout for a penalty when a Torres' cross hit Mascherano on the hand but it was in the fifty second minute that Torres broke the dead lock. A slide rule pass from Tiago put el nino through and he slid the ball home to notch up his first goal of the season and give Atletico the lead. It didn't last long. Three minutes later Neymar was fouled by Griezmann and standing over the free kick, about thirty yards from goal, a breeze of ordination wafted through his unique hair style. Curling the ball over the wall and into the top corner, the Brazilian's first goal of the season, leveled the score in operatic fashion. Not long thereafter, to add to Atletico's pain, a certain Argentinean came off the bench.
Messi's impact wasn't immediate but as the game opened up he sauntered and roamed about as Atletico's game plan became a little one dimensional and they seemed to look for Mathieu every time they got the ball. And then he struck. An Alba pass into the area cushioned exquisitely by Suarez into his path was succinctly dispatched to give Lionel his first goal of the season and Barcelona their third win. Thereafter the result never seemed in doubt as the visitors continued to pry for number three but, ultimately, two goals would prove enough.
Atletico, arguably, played as well as they could have but only had thirty percent of possession and Barcelona's superior ball movement and idea generation was a statement of intent to the rest of the league. Although it's early days, Luis Enrique's men are beginning to provide footballing theater with swagger of real menace and mastery that, at its best, is footballing finesse.
Real Madrid Et Al.
The international break and the De Gea goalkeeping debacle, which was honestly an embarrassment to all concerned, might have bobbled through the minds of Los Blancos before their game at Espanyol but if it did, they didn't show it. Their 6-0 annihilation of their hosts was as historic as it was clinical and by the time the game was over, there was only one thing bobbling through anyones minds - the name of Cristiano Ronaldo. Real were coming off an impressive 5-0 win against Betis and with James Rodriguez picking up an injury on international duty it would be up to Ronaldo, Bale and Benzema to create the headlines. They did.
Espanyol started off positively enough but after seven minutes Modric played Ronaldo through and the onslaught began. Ten minutes later a penalty gave Ronaldo his second and only three minutes later a captivating cross from Bale allowed Ronaldo to poke home his third. Game over. It certainly was, but nobody told Real. Just before the half hour mark Benzema made it four as Bale and Ronaldo combined to put the Frenchman in. In the second half Ronaldo got his fourth, put on a plate once again by Bale and the Portuguese star claimed his fifth flowing a mazy run by Lucas Vazquez with ten minutes left. History had been made. Ronaldo's goal haul means that he surpassed Raul as Madrid's all time highest scorer as he now has 230 goals and he achieved that in only 204 league games. It took Raul 550 games to reach his tally of 228 goals. Quite simply, a breathtaking accomplishment.
The fairytale that is Eibar continues its allegorical journey in La Liga and although the team from the Basque region played out a rather listless 0-0 draw with Malaga, they should have taken all three points. Malaga who were looking for their first goal and their first win of the season couldn't break down the stubborn defensive line of their guests and arguably the best chance of the game fell to Eibar's Baston who should have scored a tap in in the final minutes of the game. However, the minnows from the north remain unbeaten and their next game will be at home to Atletico Madrid. Given Atletico's loss this weekend, this game will be as alluring as it will be fascinating as Eibar will face their first serious challenge against Simeone's men who will be looking to rectify their loss against Barcelona.
Athletic Bilbao are of the mark as they finally secured their first victory of the season with a 3-1 victory over Getafe. New man Raul Garcia scored his team's second with Aduriz notching a brace leaving Getafe the only team in the 20 team La Liga without a point so far this season. Las Palmas retrieved a two goal deficit to save a point at Celta Vigo in an entertaining 3-3 game which leaves the team from Vigo, Galicia in third spot in the league. Given the standard of football that was served up this past weekend it's little surprise that Spain will have five teams representing in the Champions League. Viva Espana indeed!
