ESPNIt might be called a two horse division by more than a couple of people, but La Liga boasts the two best players of our time – and the two best teams in the world.
That being said, the Spanish league is about far more than Real Madrid and Barcelona – despite what its detractors will tell you.
Not only are Atletico Madrid and Valencia always teams to watch out for, Sevilla are the current holders of the Europa League and a side Manchester City will be paying close attention to.
That’s before we even consider the other players in the league and what they offer on a match by match basis – and the fact that David Moyes is trying to rebuild his career in San Sebastian.
With that in mind, here are five talking points from the action in Spain this weekend.
ESPNNever write Ronaldo off
The player who had scored less goals than San Marino this month came back with a bang against Espanyol, scoring five goals in one game.
Those goals not only shut the critics up once and for all, seeing the Spanish press do one hell of a red faced U-turn, but took Ronaldo to 231 goals in 203 La Liga games, making him the highest domestic scorer of all time at the club, surpassing Raul.
Raul, who just in case you were wondering, took 550 games to score his 228 Primera goals.
Ronaldo was not the only impressive Real Madrid player – Gareth Bale put in one hell of a shift, but Keylor Navas was again the man everyone was talking about.
The Real fans might have claimed they wanted him and not De Gea, but it is only now the press and the rest of the country are catching on.
Navas hasn’t conceded a goal this season yet – and is looking like a brick wall.
ESPNMessi and Enrique have found the perfect balance
Much was made of the relationship between Lionel Messi and Luis Enrique at this point last season, with things reaching boiling point as Ronaldo lifted the Ballon d’Or.
With the help of Xavi, the duo came to an understanding, and Barcelona went on to win everything on offer.
In a huge match against Atleti, Enrique showed once again that he will bench Messi if he thinks he needs to.
This time, Messi did not object, following the birth of his second son, and came on to score the winner against Diego Simeone’s men.
If Messi and his manager could lift the treble last term when they barley spoke, imagine how good they could be now.
gettyImpressive Alcacer
The man who many think should be starting for La Roja showed once again that he scores goals when his side need him the most.
Paco came off the bench to net the winner late on for Valencia and was a force to be reckoned with.
His strike ratio is actually better for country than club, but at this rate, it won’t be the case for long.
The young forward has burst onto the scene in the last season, and if Diego Costa continues to be woeful, he will be unlucky not to lead the line for Spain in France this summer.
Little Eibar are going strong
The team who only managed to get back into the Primera division because of a seriously unlucky situation involving Elche are going strong, sitting in the Champions League places with seven points.
For a side who have so little cash, to even make it into the Liga is a huge achievement, and starting the season strongly is a massive bonus for them.
As good as sides like Eibar and Celta Vigo have been, Sevilla have taken the mantle for the very bad – and need to improve, quickly, although with the Champions League coming up this week, that might be an issue.
Their next three domestic fixtures are against Celta, Las Palmas and Rayo, so they have the chance to get some points on the board – before a dreaded match against Barcelona.
Moyes is in trouble
Many people thought that Moyes had made a brave decision agreeing to manage Real Sociedad after his time at Old Trafford, but the former Manchester United and Everton boss took the plunge.
He told fans to wait until he had a full transfer window and pre-season before judging him – and now he has had both of those, the judgements are not good.
If Moyes thought the British press were harsh, he must be crying in a corner after being savaged by the Spanish papers.
AS even went as far as to write his side ‘played archaic football, just launching long balls into the box’ – and given there was no Marouane Fellaini to get on the end of the balls, they again failed to score.
Despite a brilliant summer transfer window, where Asier Illarramendi re-joined the club and forward Jonathas and Portuguese winger Bruma arrived to boot, the club have failed to score this season so far, and have two solitary points.
The pressure is on for Moyes.
