MADRID, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Real Madrid returned to the top of La Liga in the last round of games ahead of the international break as FC Barcelona suffered a worrying defeat and Atletico returned to old habits. Here are some things we learned in La Liga this weekend.
1. Valverde may not like it…but
Real Madrid had a difficult week surrounded by controversy over midfielder Fede Valverde's apparent refusal to go on as a substitute right back in the club's midweek Champions League game.
Maybe coach Xabi Alonso was looking to show his authority when he named Valverde as right back in Saturday's 3-1 win over Villarreal, but the fact is that even though Valverde may not like playing as a right back, he is very good at it.
Valverde is quick and has the ability to cover a lot of ground on the pitch making him solid in defense and an asset in attack, and his excellent display on Saturday proved his coach's decision to be right.
2. Fissures appear at Barca
While it's easy to point to FC Barcelona's absences in attack with no Raphinha, Lamine Yamal or Fermin Lopez in the 4-1 defeat to Sevilla on Sunday night, Hansi Flick still fielded a strong side, with his first-choice midfield and defense.
That makes the manner of the defeat more worrying for Flick as there were times in the first half where Barca threatened to be overrun, with Sevilla finding spaces through the Barca back-four and in the middle of the park.
While it's true Barca's players made a big effort in Wednesday's Champions League defeat to Paris Saint Germain, that can't be an excuse for a team used to playing two games a week and several players, among them, Ronald Araujo and Dani Olmo, need to improve.
3. Atletico Madrid returns to factory setting
The Spanish sports paper 'Diario AS' titled its match report of Atletico Madrid's 1-1 draw away to Celta Vigo as 'Groundhog Day' in homage of the famous comedy film in which the lead character lives the same day time after time…
After two brilliant home wins over Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt in which Diego Simeone's side scored 10 goals and looked world-beaters, Atletico went on the defensive after taking a fortunate early lead in Vigo and paid the price when Iago Aspas scored the goal that cost Atletico two vital points.
Atletico is once again eight points off the top of the table and unless things change, a repeat of last season when it was draws rather than defeats that cost a chance at the title looks very likely.
4. Looking like a close battle to avoid relegation
Although it is still very early days in the season and a couple of wins can change everything, we can start to pick up the teams that will spend the season battling to avoid relegation.
Although Oviedo isn't in the bottom three, its 2-0 defeat at home to Levante and six defeats from eight games point to a difficult campaign, while Mallorca's lack of ambition in Bilbao also points to a difficult few months ahead.
Real Sociedad has talent in the team, but has an inexperienced coach who is paying for the loss of players such as Mikel Merino and Martin Zubimendi in recent season and depends too much on striker, Mikel Oyarzabal.
Girona took a big win at home to Valencia on Saturday, but also looks lightweight, while the difficult atmosphere in the Mestalla Stadium for home games, also means Valencia is only ever a defeat from crisis. ■
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