Hércules! Hércules! Hércules! La Liga Lowdown, Jornada 2

The unlikeliest of results kicked off a goal-filled La Liga this weekend with newly promoted Hércules overcoming FC Barcelona in their own back yard. A packed Camp Nou was stunned into silence midway through the first half when recent summer acquisition Nelson Valdez put the team from Alicante ahead after some questionable defending.

Although it’s no excuse, Barça were without Carles Puyol, Dani Alves, Xavi, and Sergio Busquets who all watched on from the sidelines. Javier Mascherano also made his debut, but it wasn’t a happy time for him as he managed to pick up a yellow card and was brought off at half time. And even though they had a lot of the ball as expected (80% of it infact), they looked slow and tired. The international break certainly didn’t help. Guardiola himself mentioned after the game that they “lacked pace and intensity”, which was clear for all to see.

They were made to pay as Valdez grabbed another goal shortly into the second half. He linked up with Tiago Gomes nicely down the right, who had the composure to slide the ball straight into the path of the Paraguayan, leaving Víctor Valdés helpless as the ball flew into the corner. Barça were unable to respond, nor were they able to beat an inspired Juan Calatayud in the Hércules goal.

In the end it was a fully deserved win for the new boys. They were strong defensively, hard-working, and worked well as a team. Going forward they have some good players in Nelson Valdez, Royston Drenthe and their biggest summer signing David Trezeguet (who made his debut). Coach Esteban Vigo kept it cool after the game saying, “It’s a historic victory, but we must remember that it’s only three points.” And, quite rightly, he remarked that “this result will stay in the collective memory of everyone.” A true Herculean effort indeed.

Mesut

Barça’s loss meant that Real Madrid had the chance to make up for dropping points last weekend, to which they duly obliged. It was a fairly uneventful 1-0 win over Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabéu, with Ricardo Carvalho getting the goal. Despite some whistles from the crowd, Mourinho maintained “It was an easy match to win, no problem.”

In an otherwise dull night, there was one man who shone – Mesut Özil. The German made his full debut, and showed the same kind of movement and intelligent play we saw at the World Cup. He was a problem for Osasuna’s defence all night and it was his break away that led to the goal. A swift counter-attack down the left, his cross found Cristiano Ronaldo, who was able to set up Carvalho for the finish.

It may have been an “easy win”, but for how long will the Madrid supporters put up with Mourinho’s style of play? It’s obviously not a good start if they’re whistling after just two games, but Mou has promised an improvement. I guess only time will tell…

Juanmi

An incredible 8 goal thriller at La Romareda saw Málaga get their first win of the season. They were five up after just 34 minutes, and after a bit of a comeback the game ended 5-3. Málaga’s 17-year-old striker Juanmi became the youngest player in the history of La Liga to score two goals in one game and the sixth youngest player ever to score a league goal. A good win for the Andalucíans, but Zaragoza’s defensive problems still remain and it’s something that José Aurelio Gay needs to sort sooner rather than later.

Valencia carried on their good form beating Racing at home with a single goal coming from Dutch defender Hedwiges Maduro. But on the down side Éver Banega limped off with an ankle injury that’s expected to keep him out for at least three weeks. Levante carried on their shocking form conceding four times for the second week in a row. They even managed to let Javier Arizmendi find himself a goal.

After their regular dismal start, Villarreal picked up again this week with a 4-0 demolition of Espanyol. A result which, according to Espanyol boss Mauricio Pochettino, flattered Villarreal slightly. However, it was Garrido’s team who took their chances with Giuseppe Rossi getting on the scoresheet twice. Borja Valero, who was in fine form in midfield also scored with a rather spectacular left-footed effort into the top corner. With Pablo Osvaldo going off injured, Espanyol’s chances of a comeback were slim and the game was wrapped up by the Brazilian Nilmar in the 77th minute.

Atlético Madrid went top of the league with a hard earned victory over Athletic Bilbao after a trip to the ever intimidating and atmospheric San Mamés. Diego Forlán opened the scoring and carried on his incredible record of 12 goals in 13 games against the Basques. He also dedicated his goal to fellow Uruguayan Diego Rodríguez, who sadly passed away after an accident in Montevideo on Thursday. Tiago went on to make it 2-0 to Atléti before Fernando Llorente, who was marshalled very well all game by Diego Godín, grabbed a consolation goal in the 88th minute. Quique Sánchez Flores said that he was pleased with the result, but that it was slightly overshadowed by injury to Sergio Aguero.

Results

Barcelona 0-2 Hércules, Valencia 1-0 Racing, Real Madrid 1-0 Osasuna, Athletic 1-2 Atlético Madrid, Zaragoza 3-5 Málaga, Getafe 4-1 Levante, Sporting Gijon 2-0 Mallorca, Villarreal 4-0 Espanyol, Sevilla 0-0 Deportivo.

Goal of the Week

Rafa Jordá (Getafe 1-4 Levante)

(photo via perfectsmile_leocuccini on Flickr)

Atletico Madrid, FC Barcelona, Hercules, Jose Mourinho, Malaga, Mesut Ozil, Nelson Valdez, Real Madrid, Spanish Primera Division, Valencia, Villarreal