MADRID (Reuters) – Talking points from the weekend in Spanish football.
LA LIGA MINNOWS RESIST PEREZ’S SUPER LEAGUE PUSH
Real Madrid President Florentino Perez sparked a move by saying that proposed reforms to competitions such as the European Super League could not “wait”, but the end-to-end match showed Real with Eibar the enduring value of the national leagues.
Madrid went away with a 3-1 win but minnows Eibar went to toe with the champions and could have drawn a draw if they hadn’t been so wasteful.
“The game in Eibar showed the value of the national leagues against Super League adventure,” the Marca newspaper reported.
“We hope they never steal games like this, which speaks so well of our football and our league. ”
MADRID TOUR ON THE STYLE BUT STILL LOOK VULNERABLE
Real Madrid are on a roll after winning five games on the spin and are starting to look very similar to the regular side swept to last year’s title.
The win over Eibar reflected the best moments of the season, with ethical performances from Luka Modric and Karim Benzema, but the performance was also full of individual mistakes.
One potentially costly mistake came from captain Sergio Ramos, who took the ball to Takashi Inui at Eibar with his own area and then did what looked like a handball but escaped with a penalty.
POOR INFORMATION GETS BIT TITLE BARCA
Just when it looked like they could turn a corner after their statement won over Real Sociedad, Barcelona showed just how far they still have to go with Saturday ‘s 2-2 draw at home to Valencia.
Barca have yet to tie up three consecutive league winners and will follow the leaders of Atletico Madrid by eight points while playing an extra game.
Coach Ronald Koeman was unhappy with his defense again, and despite picking up a side in which there were four players aged 21 or younger he criticized the team for not being too mature.
CLAR-INNSE CELTA COUDET
Argentine Eduardo Coudet had no experience coaching in Europe when he took the side of Celta Vigo in a fall in November when Oscar Garcia was sacked, but he has kept an eye on form- a dramatic change in just over a month under supervision.
His side secured a 2-0 win over Alaves on Saturday to record a fourth consecutive victory in five league games that were over, turning his side from relegation candidates to competitors for the European places.
FIZZLES PROMISE EARLY SOCIEDAD OUTSIDE
Real Sociedad looked like dark horses for the title after a good start to the season but the fragility of their squad is reflected by a run of eight games without a win in all competitions, giving into a 2-1 Saturday defeat at wrestling with Levante.
Coach Imanol Alguacil told anxious fans to keep believing, but if they can’t kick back during Tuesday’s home show for Atletico Madrid directors they will be written off altogether.
Reciting with Richard Martin; Edited by Peter Rutherford