La Liga Lowdown, Jornada 6: Barcelona stumble, Real Madrid hit Depor for six

After some whistles and jeers in the past few weeks, Real Madrid fans were finally given chance to smile. Not that things were going badly or anything, but the Santiago Bernabéu is a place that demands entertainment. Real entertainment, such as six goals and an emphatic victory like the one on Sunday.

So it’s not Jose Mourinho’s style, but he did promise an improvement, and that’s exactly what they got this weekend. All right it was against a hopeless Deportivo, who before the game hadn’t even managed to score a goal from open play, but scoring six times will always be impressive.

It took Madrid just four minutes to find the net. Cristiano Ronaldo, seemingly enjoying the Manchester-esque rain, rose highest to head in Mesut Özil’s corner. Then midway through the half, the German himself made it 2-0, leading to a similar response from everybody watching. Game over.

Inevitably, the goals kept flowing. Ángel di María scored the third after a fine cross by his compatriot Gonzalo Higuaín. Not long into the second half it was roles reversed, Di María setting up Higuaín for Madrid’s fourth. The fifth goal was an amusing one. From what can only be loosely described as interplay between Ronaldo and Marcelo, with the ball bouncing around between them, Zé Castro ended up passing the ball into his own goal. Their first goal from open play in six games came at the wrong end.

However, with twelve minutes to go they finally got their goal through Juan Rodríguez. Ronaldo got the sixth in the closing minutes, much the the delight of the fans. The sulky, pouty, frustrated Ronaldo of recent weeks was replaced with the total opposite.

Post game Mourinho was as entertaining as ever. “The doubts people have motivate me, even make me laugh” he said. Followed by some more classic Mou: “I don’t understand why someone could doubt a coach who’s won what I’ve won.” As for Deportivo, who better to turn to than their very own coach Miguel Ángel Lotina for a summary: “we’re the worst team in Primera”.

I won’t argue with that.

Talking Points

• Barcelona could only manage a draw at home to Mallorca, but with the amount of chances created, they should’ve won – according to Pep Guardiola. They took the lead through Leo Messi but were unable close the game out. On the stroke of half time Emilio Nsue equalised for Mallorca and they went on to earn a point. Mallorca’s issue is their away form, so this result could go some way to helping them improve on that front. If they can play like they do back home at San Moix more often they are capable of another good league finish under Michael Laudrup.
• Valencia are still league leaders after their win over Athletic Bilbao. Unai Emery chose to switch to 4-4-2 again, with new La Roja striker Aritz Aduriz paired with Roberto Soldado, and it worked rather well. After just ten minutes the pair combined for the opening goal, with Soldado crossing for the head of Aduriz (of course). The other two goals came in injury time, Vicente scored first for Valencia, and Igor Gabilondo scored a fantastic free-kick in the 93rd minute. Another good win for Los Che who are still unbeaten in the league.
• It’s all about Nilmar and Giuseppe Rossi at Villarreal. Both scored in their win at Racing, and both are leading the race for the Pichichi title; Nilmar on 5 goals, Rossi on 4. With those two combining well upfront, Santi Cazorla playing brilliantly in midfield and Borja Valero in good form, they’re looking good. Juan Carlos Garrido has built a strong team that plays attractive football. They’re now above Madrid and Barça in 2nd place.
• Things are going well now that Sevilla have a proper manager in Gregorio Manzano. So far they’ve had an impressive away victory against Dortmund in the Europa League, and this weekend they blew Atlético away at the Sánchez Pizjuán. Goals from Álvaro Negredo, Diego Perotti and Fredi Kanouté saw them 3-0 and in control, before Diego Costa grabbed a consolation goal for Atléti. The team “responded like a charm”, said Manzano after the game.
• “Parejo superstar” declared Marca after Getafe thrashed Hércules at the Coliseum. The former Real Madrid youngster, who Alfredo di Stéfano said was the best young player at the club, was brilliant on Sunday. Playing between midfield and attack, he was at the heart of everything and capped his performance with a goal. Getafe are in good hands under Míchel and this win moves them up into 6th place.
• Raúl Tamudo’s first visit back to Espanyol was a happy one, re-united with the club he’s spent most of his career playing for. However, despite a number of opportunities he was unable to put one away. In fact it took a late own goal by Juan Forlín to give La Real the victory. More bad news came for Espanyol as it was confirmed that Ernesto Gálan had broken his leg and is expected to be out for around three months.
• Dear Eliseu, when will you ever learn? The Málaga winger somehow managed to pick up his second red card inside a week after being sent off against Almería.
• Zaragoza still haven’t won a game, but they did move off the bottom to 19th. José Aurelio Gay’s time could be up very, very soon.

Results

Valencia 2-1 Athletic, Real Sociedad 1-0 Espanyol, Zaragoza 2-2 Sporting, Getafe 3-0 Hércules, Sevilla 3-1 Atlético, Osasuna 1-1 Levante, Almería 1-1 Málaga, Villarreal 2-0 Racing, Barcelona 1-1 Mallorca, Real Madrid 6-1 Deportivo.

Goal of the Week

Álvaro Negredo (Sevilla 3-1 Atlético)

FC Barcelona, Getafe, Raul Tamudo, Real Madrid, Real Zaragoza, Sevilla, Spanish Primera Division, Valencia, Villarreal