La Liga Round 9 : Five Star Performances

Hola and welcome back to my La Liga updates as round nine has just passed. Don’t expect too many surprises this time round as the big teams claimed victory however the battle at the bottom is shaping up as some sides look like it will be a rather long season already.

So lets just get into it and look back over another set of La Liga action :-

(19th) Espanyol 0 — 0 Malaga (3rd)

So first off a boring goal-less draw!! Malaga were fresh of a victory over AC Milan and did create the better chances but poor finishing cost them, a good point for struggling Espanyol.

Goals :

Ana’s Man of the Match : Martin Demichelis (Malaga)

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(5th) Real Betis 1 — 0 Valencia (10th) — (Highlights)

So with highlights I wont have to describe the goal for you! Real Betis are going along really well at the moment and that win has moved them into fifth, Valencia remain very inconsistent which shows just what a great job Unai Emery did when he was there am sure Pellegrino will be a success but they need to find a better balance between the league and Europe.

Goals : Sevilla 9′

Ana’s Man of the Match : Adrian (Real Betis)

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(13th) Celta Vigo 1 — 1 Deportivo (18th) — (Highlights)

So the big Galician derby ended in a draw which is more worrying for Deportivo then for Celta, both newly promoted and despite Depor’s bright start they have fallen away over the past few games and still remain in the relegation zone. Celta look pretty good well at least good enough to stay up with Iago Aspas they have a willing worker with pace and and eye for goal hopefully Deportivo can improve quickly and start to climb the table.

Goals : Bermejo 8′ — Dominguez 22′

Ana’s Man of the Match : Juan Carlos Valeron (Deportivo)

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(14th) Rayo Vallecano 0 — 5 Barcelona (1st)

So Barca remain top of the table with an easy away victory at Rayo, I had said La Liga was quite competitive but results like this really don’t help my case!! :)

Rayo I think will be fine this was sort of a free game for them so the result wont affect their season that much and I still think they will stay in La Liga next season but Barca were back to their brilliant best after all those scary moments last week! Another fantastic performance from Cesc who has probably been the best player over the past few weeks and a goal from Xavi which is great as I can see his sexy smile! ;)

Goals : Villa 20′, Messi 48′ 89′, Xavi 79′, Fabregas 80′

Ana’s Man of the Match : Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona)

Rayo Vallecano 0-5 Barcelona by goalsarena2012

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(9th) Real Zaragoza 2 — 1 Sevilla (7th) — (Highlights)

So game like these always cost Sevilla the chance of finishing top four or even higher and once again they showed their inconstant form, Zaragoza probably did enough to earn the victory and are another side going along really well. They are difficult to break down and have enough going forward to worry teams but for Sevilla its the same old story when they are good they are very good but when they are bad they are very poor and will have to win games like this if they want to push for a top four finish.

Goals : Postiga 36′, Sapanaru 45′ — Medel 70′

Ana’s Man of the Match : Helder Postiga (Zaragoza)

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(6th) Levante 3 — 1 Granada (17th) — (Highlights)

So a good home victory for Levante who themselves have made a strong start, new signing Obafemi Martins looks like the forward they need after losing the likes of Kone who was on loan last year and did so well for this fantastic little club, for Granada and it was a poor display and I feel more struggles ahead as I just dont see enough to say they can stay in La Liga this season. El Arabi was there big money signing and he looks like he can help steer the from those relegation places but it will be a long season ahead.

Goals : Martins 12′, 61′, Rios 73′ — El Arabi 85′

Ana’s Man of the Match : Obafemi Martins (Levante)

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(16th) Athletic Bilbao 1 — 2 Getafe (8th) — (Highlights)

Poor old Bilbao just not getting the luck they need at the moment and throw into that they are conceding really poor goals and you have a team low on confidence and really struggling, Bielsa has a lot to do to overturn there fairly poor start. Getafe however have really improved the past few weeks and now up where I feel they belong in the top ten their team is pretty good from back to front and now they have that added determination that was missing from the early games I expect teams to have a hard time playing against them.

Goals : San Jose 94′ — Rodriguez 12′, Alvaro 58′

Ana’s Man of the Match : Juan Rodriguez (Getafe)

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(2nd) Atletico Madrid 3 — 1 Osasuna (20th) — (Highlights)

So Atletico return to share top spot but behind on goal difference after a comfortable win over bottom placed Osasuna, who have had a really shocking start to La Liga. They should be a top ten side in my view but poor defending and lack of confidence is always a bad combination so must improve but for Atletico they are sending out a message that this could be a title wining season, from back to front they are as good as anyone and with that man up front they have a top goal scorer one to keep and eye on still. :)

Goals : Miranda 32′, Garcia 35′, Falcao 73′ — Lamah 43′

Ana’s Man of the Match : Raul Garcia (Atletico Madrid)

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(11th) Real Mallorca 0 — 5 Real Madrid (4th) — (Highlights)

So Mallorca who had started the season very well are also on a bad run compounded by this five zero mauling by Real Madrid, it was hard to take for the home side as they were totally outclassed from the first moment and are a better team than they showed here. Real were in total control and remain in fourth whilst Mallorca start to slide down the league table and will have to recover quickly and pick up some more points.

Goals : Higuain 8′, 70′, Ronaldo 22′, 73′, Callejon 91′

Ana’s Man of the Match : Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid)

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So thats that!

There is one game going on now but I usually wait until its finished to type my reports up but then I spend far too long and end up going to bed far to late and am so tired for work!! :)

So I will have to ignore that game and report it next week which isn’t ideal but coming in like a zombie every Tuesday morning might work in the run up to Halloween but after it might upset one or two of my friends as am not the best person to be around when I haven’t slept! ;)

A always the league table can be found here and my past updates and reports are found here I guess after nine or ten games it gives a good idea of how teams may do in the course of the season so surprising to see Osasuna at the very bottom with Bilbao being another to keep your eye on as they too look a shadow of the side that pleased so many last year.

The top remains the same with Barcelona and Atletico leading the way with Malaga also going along nicely and special mentions to both Levante and Real Betis who have also had an excellent start so far.

So question time! The Ballon d’or shortlist was announced so my question is simple who do you think will win it?

Obviously these always turn out to be Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo but I would love to see Falcao get it, I know a non Barca non Spaniard to win! Might shock a few but I just feel he has been fantastic in an emerging team whilst most of the others are already at big teams with world class players he is at a club that is step down from most every other on the list and yet his displays have been magnificent.

So that’s might vote (not that it counts!) so feel free to leave yours along with any comments or questions you have and am sorry to bring you a fairly predictable week of La Liga, I have included highlights of all the games with goals so let me know if they work I would love to have them in posts if I could but for now its not too bad I guess. I am the least technical person I know so that was the best I could do so feel free to watch them as some good goals to be seen. :)

Thanks all for reading and will see you soon, take care and have a brilliant Halloween!!