Inside Spanish Football

Real Madrid’s defence of their Champions League crown came to an abrupt end earlier this evening as Ajax stunned them 4-1 at the Bernabeu to win the tie 5-3 on aggregate. Never had Real lost in a knockout Champions League tie after winning the first leg, but Ajax completed a horror week for Santiago Solari’s men with a fine 4-1 win. In the space of less than seven days, Real’s Copa del Rey, league and Champions League hopes are over, and at their home ground, at that.

The absence of Sergio Ramos was always going to be felt- Real had lost their last two in the Champions League without him (both against CSKA), but everyone expected Real to have enough quality, certainly at home, to see off a youthful Ajax side.

Instead, Real were on the ropes, with Ajax scoring twice in the first eighteen minutes. Many of Real’s big names failed to show up as these ratings from Marca show. Dusan Tadic ran the show for Ajax, getting a 10 out of 10 from L’Equipe– a feat achieved by only eight players before him. It was the first time since 1997 that Ajax had progressed from a Champions League knockout tie- the last time they did so, curiously enough, was against Real’s cross town rivals Atleti.

Marca were scathing in their ratings- 7 of Real’s starting 11 weren’t deemed fit of a rating, as was Los Blancos manager Santiago Solari. From the Ajax side, Tadic, De Ligt and Schone (who scored a fine goal), were rated the best, and no one from their starting XI got below two stars. Check them out below!

Round 26 produced no draws- the first time it’s happened in La Liga this season. The biggest game of the weekend was obviously the Clasico, which Barca won 1-0 to heap more pressure on Santiago Solari after the Copa defeat to the Blaugrana in midweek. The Catalan giants also became the first team to win three consecutive away league games against Real Madrid.

TOTW Round 26: Lopez (Espanyol), Bernardo (Girona), Pique (Barca), Alcala (Girona), Portillo (Getafe), Kondogbia and Parejo (both Valencia), Jony (Alaves), Stuani (Girona), Messi (Barca), Morata (Atleti)

GW26 results La Liga

Rayo 0-2 Girona
Espanyol 3-1 Valladolid
Villarreal 1-2 Alaves
Huesca 2-1 Sevilla
Real Madrid 0-1 Barcelona
Eibar 1-0 Celta
Betis 1-2 Getafe
Sociedad 0-2 Atletico Madrid
Valencia 2-0 Bilbao
Leganes 1-0 Levante

Girona dominate the Team of the Week with four players after their 2-0 win away at Rayo Vallecano. Continue reading “La Liga Team of the Week Round 26- March 2019”

Since beating Arsenal at the Emirates in May 2016, Barcelona, surprising as it may sound, have been winless in away European knockout ties. Tuesday evening at the Groupama Stadium made it six away CL KO games (losses against PSG, Atleti, Roma and Juve; draws against Chelsea and OL) without victory for the Catalan giants as they failed to find the back of the net against Olympique Lyonnais.

Ernesto Valverde pushed Sergi Roberto into midfield and gave Nelson Semedo a start at the Groupama Stadium. Barca had 25 shots, but could not find a way past Anthony Lopes.

Luis Suarez’s goal drought away from home continued- the Uruguayan has now gone over 1500 minutes without an away European, and his poor performance is reflected in these player ratings from Mundo Deportivo. He was also the lowest ranked Barca player in the French media, getting just a four from L’Equipe. Suarez’s last away goal in Europe came in September 2015 against Roma.

Like L’Equipe, MD also thought Barca’s best player on the evening was Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.

Fans will still expect the Catalans to progress at home in three weeks’ time. Barca have won three of the last four European KO ties which they drew in the first leg, and should be expected to complete the job against Bruno Genesio’s men at the Nou Camp.

This was a rare week in La Liga- a round in which Messi scored two goals for Barcelona, but still ended up on the losing side (it’s NEVER happened in Barca’s history before). Betis also became the first team to score four at the Nou Camp against the Catalan giants since Deportivo in 2003.

Marc Ander Ter Stegen became the most capped German goalkeeper in La Liga in this round, surpassing the previous record of 91 set by Bodo Illgner.

La Liga Team of the Week 2018-19 GW 12:- Masip (Valladolid); Mercado (Sevilla), Theo Hernandez (Sociedad), Junior Firpo (Betis); Brais Mendez (Celta), Thomas Partey (Atletico), Dani Parejo (Valencia), Ever Banega (Sevilla), Rodrigo (Atleti), Messi (Barcelona), Inaki Williams (Bilbao)

There is no Real Madrid player in this week’s TOTW despite Santiago Solari’s men beating Celta 4-2. The most number of players come from Atleti and Sevilla (2 each), while Valladolid, Sociedad, Betis, Celta, Valencia, Barca and Bilbao all have one representative each.

La Liga results Round 12 2018/19 season Continue reading “La Liga Team of the Week for Round 12- 2018-19 season”