La Liga’s Good Day, Bad Day - Round 2
Monday 14 September 2009 14:31
La Liga results
Weekend round-up
GOOD DAY
Cristiano Ronaldo, Leo Messi
Hands up everyone who had their cockles warmed when seeing that cheeky smile back on Cristiano Ronaldo’s face after his World Cup woes with Portugal.
Now hands up everyone who had their cockles warmed when seeing that cheeky smile back on Leo Messi’s face after his World Cup woes with Argentina.
Did you see that, Florentino?
Angel Arizmendi
Two goals in two for the Zaragoza striker - and it should be three, but more on that later - means a pig-ignorant La Liga Loca has either been hopelessly wrong in its constant, childish attacks on the playing ability of this fine, fine footballer, or Arizmendi has been in a body swap with Gonzalo Higuaín.
The blog feels certain that the latter can be the only rational explanation or it may as well give up, right here, right now.
Valencia, Athletic Bilbao
Both sides have six points from six - the only two apart from Barça and Madrid – but they've managed it in two very different ways.
Valencia put Sevilla to the sword in round one and blew Valladolid away on Sunday with brilliant, sexy counterattacking football.
The only way the word ‘sexy’ can ever be used with Athletic Bilbao is that if 'Basque' football involves the underwear meaning of the word and 22 bikini models. Their opening game was a 1-0 win against Espanyol and Sunday evening produced the same result at Xerez, after an own-goal from a cross-blocking David Prieto.
It took us hours to research this picLuis Fabiano
Manchester United are reportedly interesting in the Sevilla striker’s scoring services and it's easy to see why. A cracking seven days for ‘O Fabuloso’, who donked two goals against Argentina in Brazil’s World Cup qualifier and a bagged another brace a week later in a 4-1 win against the infinitely more difficult Zaragoza.
Tenerife
The Canary Island club’s survival plan this season looks like grabbing what they can on their travels while really relying on opposition sides being completely freaked out by having to play their away games somewhere in the Atlantic – 17 degrees 46’ 0” W / 28 degrees 40’ 60” W, to be exact.
Osasuna had to travel 1326 miles for this game, only to come away with nowt except two players sent off for no good reason and an angry José Camacho. “We are not an indisclipined team, but decisions are being taken against us too early,” grumbled the Osasuna boss.
Oscar Serrano
Whilst the Madridista press will cream their kecks for some time over Kaká’s two assists against Espanyol, there will be little or no attention paid to players like Racing’s Oscar Serrano.
The midfielder worked tirelessly in Racing’s draw over Atlético Madrid - especially when the away side were down to 10 men - and scored his team’s goal straight after Atlético’s opener.
Barcelona, Real Madrid
Official La Liga Loca announcement: Following this summer's 200 million Euros net investment by these house-squishing, tree-felling Goliaths, wins over the likes of Getafe and Espanyol will be metherein with tiny grunts of acknowledgement rather than praising pats on the back or hearty handshakes.
BAD DAY
Atlético Madrid
Just two of Atleti’s fearsome foursome featured for the Rojiblancos on Saturday evening, with Simao and Kun starting the game and Simao and Forlán finishing it.
And despite the great work of José Jurado in supporting the solo striker, a central midfield pairing of Cleber Santana and Assunçao simply isn’t good enough for a side with top-four aspirations. Especially with poor Sinama once again stuck out on the right wing.
However, the off-the-field antics were more successful for the Atlético fans with a sizeable demonstration outside the ground. Their mood was not helped at all what happened on the pitch once they went in.
Espanyol
No points! No goals! And bottom of the table! It’s welcome back to Espanyol and welcome back to Paul from Barcelona in his new Cornella home!
“Bit difficult for me to give my usual genius tactical insight, because my seat is behind the goal and the view will take some getting used to as my old view was a weird 45-degree angle. But here's what I learned today.
1) Barça will win the league
2) Kaká (great passes for the goals) likes to referee the match and was allowed to by a ref who by WWE standards was biased.
3) The best two players on the pitch cost next to nothing: Granero and Verdu.
4) Espanyol lack match practice, which was obvious by the way they tired. Remember they've only played three games since the end of last season.
5) The pitch looked like the Horse of the Year show had been on it - and not because of the pile of manure on it either (see number 3). Being changed tomorrow.
6) Benzema looked about as interested as I am when I see an Adamcule post. (Uh oh! – LLL)
7) Everyone loves to hate Guti. He can play for us then. Looked good again today.”
Zaragoza
Zaragoza boss Marcelino complained that “you could see we were the away team” after his side’s 4-1 defeat at Sevilla. And there was certainly some truth to his referee-directed gripe.
At 2-1, Arizmendi scored a perfectly good goal which was ruled offside probably because the referee felt that the concept of the Zaragoza forward managing two in a game was too far-fetched. Fair enough. But minutes later, Sevilla went up field to score a killer third goal.
Villarreal
A terrible start for the Yellow Submarine under an increasingly irate Ernesto Valverde. The side’s first two games of the season has seem them dominate both in possession and in chances with just two 1-1 draws to show for it.
Life was certainly made more difficult on Sunday with an astonishing first half storm dumping torrents of water onto El Madrigal, but the Villarreal boss was only blaming his players. “Ï cannot believe that we lost two points today, just as it happened in our last game.”
Xerez, Almería
The shape of things to come, perhaps, with both sides without a goal so far, this season.
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About Tim Stannard
La Liga Loca is the playground for the evil, more childish half of Tim Stannard’s psyche to be let loose. The other 50% is a contributor to FourFourTwo magazine, Football365, Sabotage Times as well as other publications such as UEFA Champions Magazine and When Saturday Comes. He is also a regular guest on Real Madrid TV’s Extra Time show and works as a TV producer extraordinaire for hire. To contact Tim directly email laligaloca@yahoo.co.uk