The comeback of the major leagues- La Liga
The major leagues across Europe made a return over the weekend of 20 November 2020 and 22 November 2020 and we are sure that the millions of fans tuning in to watch the action or the handful of those lucky enough to be present at the grounds must have enjoyed to their heart’s fill. The international break of a couple of weeks which had preceded this was a dampener of sorts for the fans of many nationalities, especially more so of the German kind, who had to suffer the heartbreak of several varieties over the tenure.
The Spanish first division competition, which is referred to as the La Liga competition, also saw the return in action and was able to provide a lot of entertainment to its fans. On the first gameday of the weekend, one of the major results included the 1–1 draw played out between Villarreal and Real Madrid at the Estadio de la Ceramica. Mariano Diaz had given Zinedine Zidane’s side an early lead thanks to a Daniel Carvajal assist but a strike from the penalty spot by Gerard Moreno in the 76th minute meant that the men from the capital city of Spain had to go back home with just one point inside their kitty.
Real Madrid, however, were not really on top of their game and only the aforementioned Diaz and Toni Kroos were the ones who had stepped up to the occasion. The likes of Eden Hazard and Lucas Vazquez had less than average outings and this contributed to their collective downfall. The penalty given away by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois which led to Gerard Moreno equalising for the home team was a poor decision and a late reaction which should have been prevented much earlier. All in all, Real Madrid were very sloppy.
Sevilla coasted to a 4–2 win over laggards Celta Vigo and goals from Jules Kounde, Youssef En Neysri, Sergio Escudero and Munir El Haddadi helped Julien Lopetegui’s side to the seventh position of the Spanish La Liga competition table with 13 points inside their kitty. Although Iago Aspas and Nolito struck back for the visiting side Celta Vigo, it was a case of too little too late. The home team Sevilla were on fine form and thrashed the visiting side Celta Vigo quite comfortably. One can hope that the home team Sevilla will now go on top even greater heights in their upcoming matches.
The winners of the UEFA Europa League competition of the 2019/20 season, Julien Lopetegui’s side have a lot of depth in their ranks. The likes of En Neysri and Escuredo can always be relied upon. The addition of former Barcelona and Croatia midfielder Ivan Rakitic in this preseason to their roster has given Sevilla an even better chance at knocking the winds of any opposition teams that they come across in this season of the Spanish La Liga competition. Although it needs to be said that they have missed their left back Sergio Reguillon, who was sold by his parent club Real Madrid to Tottenham Hotspur, they have covered themselves up well.
The biggest result of this weekend of football in the Spanish La Liga competition, however, was the shock 0–1 defeat that FC Barcelona succumbed to against the home team Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in the capital of Spain. Although the home team Atletico Madrid were not exactly minnows coming into this game, nobody would have given the visiting side FC Barcelona such poor odds of capitulation. This would come as a real shock to new manager Ronald Koeman, who is just getting himself settled at the club.
The difference between the two teams Atletico Madrid and FC Barcelona in this match turned out to be a strike by Yannick Carrasco, which came off an assist by Angel Correa in the dying minutes of the first half. The fact that the visiting side FC Barcelona could not equalise even though they had 45 minutes of time at their disposal speaks volumes of how badly they have fallen and how they are no longer the strong force that they were at least a couple of seasons ago. Lionel Messi and Frenkie De Jong put up good performances for the visiting side, but this was not enough.
The attacking trio of Pedri, Antoine Griezmann (who played up front as a sole striker) and Ousmane Dembele fared very poorly against the home team Atletico Madrid and although FC Barcelona had more possession and shots at goal than the hosts, the fact that they could not convert them will be ranking these attacking players very badly. In almost every aspect of the numbers game was won by the visiting side FC Barcelona and we are surprised that they could not convert this into a feasible result of their own.
Another stunning result that came our way in this weekend in the Spanish La Liga competition was the 2–2 draw played out by Deportivo Alaves and Valencia at the Estadio de Mendizorroza. The visiting side Valencia were much favoured to win this game coming into it but we were treated to a shock result by the home team Deportivo Alaves, who built on their strong presence in familiar conditions. Ximo Navarro and Lucas Perez had given the lead to the home team Deportivo Alaves very early on in the game and late strikes by the likes of Manuel Vallejo and Hugo Guillamon could not prevent their side from suffering from a draw.
This weekend in the Spanish La Liga was full of action and we are sure that the tons of spectators and the legion of fans coming in and cheering for their favourite teams will have enjoyed being a part of it. There is much more to come their way and we hope that this Spanish first division competition continues to entertain us in the same way in the future fixtures as well. This has been a cracker of a weekend.