Good Day
Real Madrid
José Mourinho joked - as much as The Special One is capable of doing the whole humour thing - that he didnâÂÂt know what meal the players would be eating ahead of SundayâÂÂs 'experimental' midday kick-off. La Liga Loca suggests that it was the first meal of the day as Real Madrid....long drumroll....had Osasuna for breakfast in a 7-1 win. Boom and tish.
Still, you have to feel for Osasuna, who were without nine key players for the trip to Madrid and were down to ten men early in the second half. Even Mourinho claimed the scoreline was a bit harsh on a well-organised Osasuna side, who made life difficult for Madrid on the odd occasion they managed to get the ball.
Much is being made of the three points lead over Barcelona that Madrid now have due to PepâÂÂs Dream Boys draw against Athletic Bilbao (more on that later), but LLL fancies that Mourinho would have taken a point in the Basque Country too. ItâÂÂs a handy advantage but thereâÂÂs a long, long way to go.
Angel di MarÃÂa
The Dobby The House Elf of the Santiago Bernabeu had a tremendous first half in the 7-1 win for Real Madrid to follow a wonderful campaign. The Argentinean winger was the assist-maker for all three of MadridâÂÂs first half goals, taking his total for the campaign. to ten assists. The second half didnâÂÂt go so well for di MarÃÂa, though, with the wily winger stretchered off with a hamstring injury.
Valencia
LLL can just imagine the Percy Picky Pants sub-section of Valencia's fanbase being very unhappy on Sunday. After all, Valencia were sitting third in the table, had won three league games in a row and had just put one over those irksome attention seekers, Levante, in a city derby, winning 2-0. Oh, and itâÂÂs the sideâÂÂs best start to a league season since 1965. All that meant zip-all to moan about.
The game itself in LevanteâÂÂs bustling ground wasnâÂÂt a great one, but it was certainly lit up by Unai EmeryâÂÂs spectacular outfit. Slacks, blazer, V-neck sweater with piping and trim, shirt and tie. It was half Alan Partridge and half Doctor Who.
Michu
A brilliant match for Rayo and a brilliant performance from the clubâÂÂs all conquering, man-mountain forward Michu, who scored two in a 4-0 win over Real Sociedad that sees the Vallecas club move up to eighth.
Athletic Bilbao
It seemed as if Athletic were calling on the ghosts of JoaquÃÂn Caparrósâ side in the 2-2 draw in a fantastically disciplined, rugged performance against Barcelona. âÂÂIâÂÂve never played against such an intense, aggressive team,â admitted Pep Guardiola admiringly after the game.
Betis
It was just the single point at home for Betis in a goalless draw with Málaga, but at least it stopped a run of six straight defeats. Time for some wounds to be licked in the Betis camp over the international break.
Getafe
The Coliseum club picked up just their second win of the season largely due to the incompetence of their Rojiblanco visitors rather through their own actions. âÂÂIf a team are having problems, thereâÂÂs nothing better than playing Atlético Madrid,â noted Marca.
âÂÂWhat has happened to them!?â was the despairing cry of one of LLLâÂÂs colleagueâÂÂs during a dismal first half, someone who had not seen the home team playing for a while. But fair play to Getafe, who managed to beat Atlético 3-2 after being a goal and a man down after a first half penalty. âÂÂAll of you thought the same thing. Very difficult,â admitted Getafe boss, Luis GarcÃÂa, on that moment after a victory that lifts the side out off the bottom-of-the-table and into fourteenth.
Bad Day
Real Madrid Supporters
Not only did the vast majority of the well-heeled Real Madrid fans have to find a parking spot for their four-by-fours at an ungodly time on a Sunday morning, but they also joined the long line of targets for José MourinhoâÂÂs wrath. Standing side-by-side with Karim Benzema, referees, FIFA, UEFA, Manuel Preciado, Levante and many, many others, the home support on Sunday - which LLL didnâÂÂt think was that bad - were given a tongue lashing from Mourinho, who noted that he wanted to âÂÂthank the few fans behind the goal. Without them youâÂÂd think the stadium was completely empty.âÂÂ
Barcelona
MondayâÂÂs Marca may have declared Real Madrid to be super leaders with their three point cushion over Barcelona, but thereâÂÂs a ridiculously long way to go in la Liga, with Real Madrid still to face Atlético (ok, maybe not so hard), Athletic Bilbao, Valencia and Sevilla - all tests Barcelona have already had to face.
Leo MessiâÂÂs late equaliser may even give Barcelona the feeling of a point earned in a match that will perhaps be their toughest non-Real Madrid test of the season, taking into account the conditions and the fantastic performance of Athletic Bilbao.
VÃÂctor Valdés
The Barça keeper was just 28 minutes away from breaking Abel ResinoâÂÂs 924 minute clean sheet record in la Liga. After Sunday's draw in Bilbao, he now has just 914 to go...
Levante
There were guts, bluster and a fair few scything challenges from Levante, but not enough porridge in the tank to beat a solid Valencia side. âÂÂWe were dead on our feet and our fans understood this,â admitted manager Juan Ignacio MartÃÂnez. The international break comes at a fine time for Levante who have about 22 aging legs that are needing a bit of a rest.
Sevilla
LLL only caught the second half of the southern sideâÂÂs clash at Mallorca due to supermarket duties. Apparently, the supermarket was a preferable place to be rather than being plonked on a warm and comfy sofa for the first 45 minutes of the goalless draw with Mallorca. MarcelinoâÂÂs side are really struggling with both Alvaro Negredo and Freddie Kanouté out of action, leaving Manu del Moral to lead the line which is not really the former Getafe manâÂÂs forte. Sevilla now without a win in four.
Málaga
At least MálagaâÂÂs goalless draw against Betis wasnâÂÂt a turgid as the Mallorca v Sevilla affair that preceded it. But Málaga really donâÂÂt look much cop at all these days, with only JoaquÃÂn turning it on a bit on Saturday night. Málaga have only scored in one of the sideâÂÂs last five games and are badly missing Julio Baptista.
Espanyol
ItâÂÂs a been a while since LLL bumped uglies with Paul from Barcelona. But hereâÂÂs a short and sweet update on EspanyolâÂÂs goalless draw against Villarreal.
âÂÂNothing to see here. Please move on. Scandalous referee again. Espanyol way better. Three clear penalties and ForlinâÂÂs second card was unfair as he won the ball.âÂÂ
Paul, Barcelona
Osasuna
At least the 7-1 defeat was a marginal improvement on the 8-0 thrashing by Barcelona from wasnâÂÂt the eight against Barcelona from September.
Gregorio Manzano
Sometimes you can only admire Atlético and the problems the Rojiblancos manage to concoct for themselves. The referee had given Gregorio ManzanoâÂÂs men a helping hand by awarding them a penalty and sending off a Getafe player. But Atlético still managed to throw away a 1-0 lead to eventually lose 3-2. That took expert skill.
AtléticoâÂÂs play was disjoined, lacked precision and was blighted by the inability to string two passes together. âÂÂThe match was a total disaster,â admitted Manzano, âÂÂI have no words to explain the change between the team that played well a few days ago against Udinese and that in the Coliseum. ItâÂÂs something I will have to analyse, but I donâÂÂt see any explication for this lack of intensity,â mused a coach, who may well be worried he won't be around long enough to examine SundayâÂÂs calamity in the Coliseum.
Mallorca
The Balearic side have now gone six games with just the single strike from open play. Truly channeling the spirit of Deportivo this season.
Zaragoza/Sporting
Both end up in the Bad Day section after an entertaining 2-2 draw. Zaragoza failed to beat what may end up being relegation rivals in the form of Sporting. For the visitors, itâÂÂs blowing a 2-1 lead in the final seconds of injury time, although Sporting did have to come from 1-0 behind in the match.
Granada
From the ups of last MondayâÂÂs win at Sevilla, to the desperate downs of a goalless draw at home against Racing Santander. âÂÂWe donâÂÂt have the sufficient maturity to know we are in la Primera,â fumed coach Fabri who also attacked the crowd for booing striker Ikechukwu Uche. âÂÂThe atmosphere generated against Uche was a disgrace.âÂÂ
Real Sociedad
Poor la Real were completely lost against Rayo Vallecano in the 4-0 defeat. Heads were down and chins had been lowered at half mast. But the fight is still there claims manager, Philippe Montanier, when probed what could be down to change things around over the international break for a side that now finds itself at the bottom of the table. Physical recovery, analysing the problems and working together was the medicine for the Frenchman. âÂÂPlayers still gave everything until the end,â claimed Montanier who has since been backed by his club president.
