The Struggle is Real for Some of La Liga’s Biggest Teams
4 min read
La Liga is boring and uncompetitive, apparently.
At least that’s what some would have you believe, though much of it is heresay.
Whilst it’s ostensibly true that over the course of a season, a handful of teams will invariably be in the top few spots, that’s not always the case.
And this season has certainly started off with a few surprises.
After four games, some big hitters are struggling for any sort of form.
Take Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid side for example.
Second in La Liga last year and expected to hit the ground running in this thanks to some astute transfer business in the summer, the Rojiblancos are way down in eighth position at present, and already seven points behind leaders Barcelona.
Only Borja Garces’ 94th-minute equaliser saved their blushes at the weekend, after Eibar took an 87th-minute lead.
That it took an academy graduate on his debut to bag a point, when the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Diego Costa and record signing Thomas Lemar were all in situ, will be a real cause for concern for Simeone.
They’re by no means alone with regard to a poor start however.
Valencia were outstanding for the most part in 2017/18, Marcelino galvanising Los Che after months of mismanagement and taking them back to the promised land of the Champions League.
On the eve of this season’s edition of the European competition, however, Valencia have yet to win in La Liga and look a shadow of their former selves.
The long-awaited signing of Goncalo Guedes from Paris Saint-Germain was eventually concluded ahead of the start of this season, but the Portuguese hasn’t found his feet so far.
Sevilla were surprisingly beaten at home by Getafe this weekend, meaning that they too find themselves out of the top 10.
Pablo Machin’s arrival was supposed to kick-start a period of success, and the way that the Andalusians dismantled Rayo Vallecano in the opening fixture of the season led everyone to believe that would be the case.
A creditable 0-0 draw with Villarreal aside, losing to Betis in the Sevilla derby was seemingly a body blow from which they’re yet to recover – if the performance against Getafe was anything to go by.
The Yellow Submarine themselves are languishing in 13th, making up the quartet of teams who need to arrest their slide quickly.
They’ve failed to score in two of their four games, losing at home to Girona (1-0) and the goalless draw with Sevilla.
A 1-0 win at Leganes last time out will certainly be a fillip for a side that were also beaten at home on the opening day, losing 2-1 to Real Sociedad.
Doesn’t really sound like that boring a league does it?!
