La Liga 2009-10

There is a change in the leaders as Real Madrid beat Racing 1-0 with a goal by Higuain. And of course Real Madrid with help from the referee as late in the game Racing's teenage sub Sergio Canales scored but was whistled offside even though replays showed he was one meter onside when the pass was made! iAsi, asi, asi se gana el Madrid!

There was another Racing player offsides when the ball was played to Canales but he was not interefering with play, if the offside call was on this player, it was the wrong call, if it was against Canales it was an awful call, as Manzanares said he was one meter onside!

I will differ with Manzanares on the penalty whistled against Atletico late in the game. It was tough luck but to me it was a foul on Dominguez who clipped the heels of the Depor attacker. Aguero started off very well even apart from his early goal but as the game went on, Depor did a good job kepeing him in check, mainly by cutting off his service. With Forlan getting a rest it was Jurado's turn to play but i thought he had a disappointing game.

I enjoyed Toquero's goal too! Definitely a route one goal, long ball from the goalie, headed on by Llorente and with Dani Alves caught out, Toquero sneaks in and scores. With Ibrahimovic out, Barcelona tried using Messi as a center forward and that didn't work out too well against Athletic's phsyical central defenders Amorebeitia and Ustaritz.

enganche, I do think the Racing goal was called back because the linesman thought the attacker in offside position and not Canales, interfered with the play. He was somewhat near the ball when it was passed towards Canales. Don't think I would have called it but I can see how it could be whistled.

Another average game from Real Madrid but another win, thanks to Garay heading the rebound of kaka's shot to Higuain. As discussed Madrid is now in first place, not bad for a team which is considered to be in crisis! To be in first without really playing well is a sign that things can only get better (I hope).

Tough break for Atleti with the penalty but I do think Dominguez did get the attackers back foot. That is a PK. Dominguez did play well other than that play and he gives the colchoneros some hope for the future that their defense can be sorted out. As for now, they are still in the relegation zone.

Loco, I can't find it now but afew days ago I read a wire service article where Llorente said he would not be selling any of Valencia's stars. The clubs current good run may be influencing that decision. Let us wait and see if they qualify for the Champions League to see what they'll do in the offseason about reducing their debt.

With Ibrahimovic out, Barcelona tried using Messi as a center forward and that didn't work out too well against Athletic's phsyical central defenders Amorebeitia and Ustaritz.


This is true and it might be something Barcelona thinks about in the winter transfer window. Not looking for a star center forward but somebody who can back up Ibrahimovic as Messi, Henry, Bojan, Pedro and Jeffren are all second forwards comfortable playing on the wings.

Racing got screwed over by the officials. They should have tied Real Madrid.

Damn in the week leading up to the clasico against Real Madrid, Barcelona plays away to Athletic Bilbao and midweek are home to Inter, two difficult games. Real Madrid meanwhile are home to Racing and midweek home to Zurich.

Damn in the week leading up to the clasico against Real Madrid, Barcelona plays away to Athletic Bilbao and midweek are home to Inter, two difficult games. Real Madrid meanwhile are home to Racing and midweek home to Zurich.


Yes that is quite a disparity in difficulty isn't it? Miguel Angel Portugal the new Racing coach was pretty gentlemanly after the Madrid game saying the referee erred but that everybody, refs, players, coaches make mistakes. But that was a pretty blatant mistake as Canales was, as noted, a meter onside when the ball was played to him and the other player who was offside never made a move towards the ball and was a good 5 meters away from it.

Real Madrid can take some consolation in that while Cristiano Ronaldo has been out, they actually made up ground on Barcelona, all the while without really playing well. Strange season this has been. Let us see how Valencia does later today versus Osasuna but for my money Sevilla is playing the best of any team in Spain right now.

Atletico Madrid currently have half the points at the same stage they had in the 1999-2000 season when they were relegated. Something for the Atletico fans to consider. Dominguez did play well yesterday though and let's also clear him on that last minute penalty, it was not he who tripped Lopo of Deportivo, it was Pablo.

I was satisifed with Sevilla's win at Tenerife this weekend, not the best played game but with 9 players out and a young player Marc Valiente debuting at centreback overall it was a professional display as Sevilla became only the 2nd club, Deportivo was the other, who have won at Tenerife.

I appreciate the praise from others here about Sevilla but it is still early in the season, the good thing is Sevilla, and Valencia who also won today 3-1 against Osasuna, are keeping within distance of Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Villarreal with a 3-1 win over Valladolid, 2 goals from Nilmar, 2 goals from Chori Castro as mallorca defeated Almeria by the same score. It was 1-1 until the 88th minute, mainly thanks to some excellent saves by Dudu Aouate in Mallorca's goal until Victor in the 88th and castro in the 92nd assured Mallorca's win. Getafe with a 2-0 win at Espanyol while Malaga and Zaragoza drew 1-1 and xerez and Sporting 0-0 in the weekend's other games.

So I am thinking for we fans of teams other than Madrid and Barcelona the ebst result between them is a tie.

I am not complaining about Real Madrid's schedule this week compared to Barcelona's! Lio Messi picked up an adductor injury against Athletic, it is not considered serious but he may miss Tuesday's game against Inter in the Champions League. Dr. Z you make an interesting point about Barcelona's lack of a center forward option but frankly even when Eto'o was there, they still lacked another number 9 (except for that one season, 2006 I believe, when Henrik Larsson also was on the team.)

It is not certain if Cristiano Ronaldo will be back for Madrid, and even if he is you wonder how effective he could be when he has not played in over a month.

Sevilla and valencia are both keeping on Madrid's and Barcelona's tail after a month and a half ago it looked like they could drop farther back. Full credit to them but Hector is right to say it is a long season and many things, injuries, loss/gain of form could effect all of these teams. Deportivo and Mallorca are also having good seasons but those teams unlike Sevilla and Valencia, on paper don't look to have the ability to maintain a top 4 challenge all season long. But stranger things have happened!

I'll add my say and write that I too thought Atletico Madrid's Pablo committed a penalty at the end of that game. Tough luck happening so deep into injury time but what was Pablo doing sliding into a tackle inside the area when the opponent was not in a dangerous position?

Interesting week ahead for Barcelona, Inter followed by Real Madrid. The benefit they'll get is they play them both at the Nou Camp but with first Ibrahimovic and now Messi carrying injuries, there are questions which Barcelona for the first time this season need to answer.

Thanks for the correction, you are right it was Pablo not Dominguez committing that late penalty. On ESPN they announced it was Dominguez and frankly I was not watching the player's face, just his leg to see if he made contact with the Deportivo player. Pablo making a rash, unnecessary challenge does not surprise me.

There are still 2/3 of the season remaining, Atletico are not going to make it back to the Champions League but there are 27 games left and the club are 13 points back of 6th place Mallorca, in the last European qualifying spot. That still is a realistic goal. Dominguez' play in defense gives some hope that area of the field can be strengthened.

Well manzanares it is possible to begin a climb up the table, look at Villarreal who are doing just that right now, but Atletico have more problems than Villarreal who were just adjusting to a new coach and overcoming some injuries to start the season. Atletico on the other hand have their inherent instability, a team without any creative midfield players and a leaky defense. Those problems don't cure themselves overnght.

Last season it took Sporting until round 34 to draw a game, their only drawn match all season. After yesterday's tie at Xerez, Sporting now have drawn 5 matches, more than any other club in the league! What a crazy sport this is.

An intriguing statistic about Sporting. From what I have seen of Sporting, their defense with the additions of Gregory and Botia is much stronger than last year. Matches which last season they would lose are this year being drawn in part because of their stronger defense.

Barcelona are in a dilemma this week, a difficult set of matches but they also have to be careful not to rush Ibrahimovic and Messi back too quickly or else they risk losing them to injury for even longer. Guardiola has some tough choices ahead of him.

Later tonight we will learn what Barcelona will do with Messi, i thnk it would be unwise to push him so soon after the adductor injury. They do expect Ibrahimovic though to play tonight. Tomorrow Real Madrid are expected to give Cristiano Ronaldo some minutes in the game with the expectation that he can start on Sunday in the clasico against Barcelona.

Barcelona ended up doing well against Inter without either Messi or Ibrahimovic. But Real Madrid won't be so passive like Inter were last night. I will say that Iniesta for one of the few times this season played like the Iniesta of last season. Madrid should also test Dani Alves and Abidal defensively much more than Inter did, the Italian club kept trying to attack down the middle and Puyol and Pique with Busquets and Keita in front of them handled those advances.

Giving Ronaldo some minutes tonight is a smart move so that by Sunday he will be good to go. It is shaping up as a very intriguing clasico this Sunday.

This weekend's schedule in Spain with game times (GMT +1)

Saturday
18:00 Sporting v Villarreal
20:00 Valencia v Mallorca
22:00 Sevilla v Málaga

Sunday
17:00 Almería v Athletic Club
17:00 Getafe v Xerez
17:00 Valladolid v Tenerife
17:00 Zaragoza v Osasuna
17:00 Racing Santander v Deportivo
19:00 FC Barcelona v Real Madrid
21:00 Atlético Madrid v Espanyol


One of the most anticipated clasicos since...well last year's game. Of course we madridistas want to wipe the bad taste out of our mouths from that 6-2 Barcelona win last spring at the Bernabeu, a victory which all but ensured Barcelona's title. Messi and Ibrahimovic are back training with Barca as is Yaya Toure following his bout with the flu. The question is whether any of them will start on Sunday? As well as Barca played on Tuesday you may not want to break up a winning team. Then again how do you sit Messi or Ibrahimovic if they are healthy?

For Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo should start, I'm thinking Benzema sits with Higuain at forward, Ronaldo, Kaka and Marcelo behind him, Lassana Diarra and Xabi Alonso as the midfield pivots and a backline of Ramos, Pepe, Garay (Albiol got hurt against Zurich) and Arbeloa. Casillas of course in goal.

Both teams enjoy possession but madrid have a team, especially with the players I named which can be very dangerous on the counter attack. I think Pellegrini learned from Barca-Inter, you cannot give Barcelona time on the ball, pressure them and look to go at Dani Alves defensively.

Barcelona-Real Madrid is naturally grabbing most of the attention and with reason as it is a matchup of the big two to determine first place. As many times is the case, a winner in this game captures momentum for a month or two to follow so this game is a major measuring stick. I think more so for Real Madrid, as Barcelona is a team everybody knows about has quality. The question with Madrid is whether they are a team or just a grouping of stars? We can get some answers on Sunday.

There are some other good matchups this weekend too, starting with Sporting home to Villarreal. The tough defense and tenacity of Sporting aaginst the renewed vigour of Villarreal. Watch out for Nilmar who seems on a good streak since his trip with Brasil's national team a few weeks ago. Valencia home to Mallorca is another match of two teams playing well, one in 4th (Valencia) the other in 6th. Mallorca are invincible at home but this time they must travel to Mestalla. Mallorca are defending well but they'll be put to the test by Villa, Silva, Pablo and Mata.

I think the lineup you gave is a likely one Merengue. It will be great to have Ronaldo back and see he, Higuain and Kaka running at Barcelona's defense. I also agree about trying to make Dani Alves work defensively, not only is he not the best defender but of course when you make him work defensively, you keep him away from the attack where he is a danger. The benefit of Ronaldo in the lineup is apart from his great individual ability, the defense needs to be concerned with him which opens up space for Kaka and Higuain.

Barcelona played so well without Messi and Ibra against Inter but if they are ready to play I just do not think they will not start. But Guardiola is a coach who does not believe in hierarchies and if he thinks the team will play better without them, he will keep them on the bench and bring them both in as substitutes.