EURO BITES: MSN outscoring Europe’s best while Nuno departs Valencia

THE WINNERS

‘MSN’ are running as smoothly as ever

Not, no the famous-yet-now-defunct instant messaging program but Barcelona’s attacking trio of Leo Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar. The former doesn’t seem to ever suffer any dovetail in form while the other two are playing at the peak of their powers. Two years ago there was a genuine debate to be had over who possessed the strongest front three between Real Madrid and Barcelona – two years on and there’s a clear winner.

Their goal return is phenomenal, scoring a combined 125 goals in 2015. That’s 15 more than the entire Real Madrid squad has mustered, 5 more than PSG and 1 more than free-scoring Bayern Munich. There are times when rivalry has to put to one side and you simply applaud what is an incredible feat.

David Moyes only crowning moment while at Real Sociedad was a victory over Barcelona but the odds were never in their favour at the weekend. Real Sociedad had actually lost their last 17 consecutive matches at the Camp Nou and even the most hardened supporter probably hoped MSN would take mercy on them as opposed to carrying any legitimate hope of escaping with a point.

After a rocky opening few minutes Barcelona found their groove as Dani Alves raced down the right hand side before picking out Neymar in the middle to score his 13th goal of the season. Alves was again the creator of the second Barca goal but all credit has to go to Suarez for the finish. As the ball came in Suarez, 12 yards out, quickly adjusted his body and volleyed home beyond the stretch of Rulli.

The second half was much of the same as Barcelona continued to swarm forward. Mathieu was the provider for Neymar’s 2nd of the game, 14th of the season, as the Brazilian scooped the ball from under his feet to kill off any slight hope that remained for Real Sociedad to get back into the game. If that was the icing on the cake it was left down to Messi to place the cherry on top. Suarez flicked a nice ball behind for Neymar who unselfishly drilled it across the 6 yard box for Messi to get back on the goal trail.

Aduriz continues to roll back the years but is Del Bosque even watching?

Athletic Club were looking unstoppable until Granada.. stopped them last week. Things returned to normal at Vallecas as they outfought, outmuscled and outsmarted Paco Jemez’s side. Then again, Rayo weren’t helped by their own horrible start to the game and conceded in the opening minute. With Rayo’s defence out at sea, goalkeeper Juan Carlos came rushing out to beat Aduriz to the ball but came up short. With an empty goal at his mercy Aduriz was never going to miss.

Athletic are always a major force at set pieces but Raul Baena gave them a chance to double their lead after he dragged fellow Raul [Garcia] down to the ground in the box. Aduriz stepped up and made no mistake, sending Juan Carlos the wrong way. And just before the hour mark Aduriz completed his hat-trick. Rayo failed to clear a freekick and it was eventually headed towards the back post where Aduriz was lurking to secure all 3 points for Athletic and the match ball.

In all competitions Aduriz has 20 goals in 21 games which is more than Suarez (18), Neymar and Cristiano (both 16). He is being kept out of the Spain side by Diego Costa (4), Paco Alcacer (6) and Alvaro Morata (3). The only person who doesn’t believe Aduriz deserves a call up is also the man responsible for choosing the players: Vicent del Bosque. There’s literally nothing more Aduriz can do at the moment but there’s no one more deserving of a chance than him.

The rise of Galicia

Last week I spoke about the impressive form of Deportivo as they brushed aside their high-flying neighbours Celta Vigo to take the spoils in the Galician Derby. This week both teams got 3 points to strengthen their chances of European football next season, Celta sitting in 4th and Depor in 5th.

Victor Sanchez’s work continues to impress week in, week out. A year ago and the game against Las Palmas would’ve been one that they’d have lost. It started well for them as Lucas Perez, another one that can’t be too far away from Spain’s squad, got away down the right and David Simon turned his inviting cross into his own net.

Las Palmas then enjoyed extended periods of pressure but the defence stood firm, waiting for the opportune moment to strike on the counter and kill the game off. Lux was in insatiable form between the sticks for Depor, parrying away everything thrown his way. Javi Vargas in the other goal was kept busy as well as both sides were guilty of perhaps being too open defensively for either coach’s liking.

In the 90th minute a Depor breakaway led by Fajr, another who I’ve profiled as one to watch this season, resulted in the second goal. Faced with Vargas one-on-one, Fajr played it across for Lucas to sweep home his 9th goal of the season. Depor fans continue to keep pinching themselves but the league table doesn’t lie and they fully deserve to be up in 5th position.

Neighbours Celta have received a lot more plaudits as they started the season like a house on fire, culminating with a 4-1 thrashing of Barcelona at home. In recent weeks they’ve experienced their first genuine wobble as they lost heavily to Valencia at home then to city rivals Depor just last week. They hosted a struggling Sporting Gijon and this represented another big test but one they just about passed.

Nolito has been the driving force behind their rise both last season and this and he played a crucial role in their first victory at home since crushing Barcelona. The first came from his dangerous cross into the box that Bongonga poked across for Orellana to tap home.

Celta shot themselves in the foot after the break when Sergio, Celta’s goalkeeper, cleared it straight into Carlos Castro’s path and the young forward coolly brought the visitors back onto level terms. Carlos actually had the chance to put them into the lead but his chipped effort rolled narrowly wide of the post. Celta brought on Iago Aspas and it was the former Liverpool man that created the winning goal. He played a pass behind the Sporting defence that Cuellar read but his clearance cannoned back off Nolito and flew into the net. Lady luck was shining on Celta but for Sporting that result meant they’ve now lost their last 3 games and find themselves in big trouble at the bottom of the table.

Honourable mentions: Bale & Cristiano – both back on the scoresheet against Eibar as they responded well to last week’s defeat to Barcelona. Atletico Madrid’s defence – 8 clean sheets in 13 games for Simeone’s side. Scoring goals still an issue but they’ve won 5 of their last 6 in La Liga. Real Betis’ away form – not lost away from home since end of August; won 4 of last 5.

THE LOSERS

Valencia’s good work last season has quickly been unravelled

Nuno Espirito Santos’ time at Valencia came to an end yesterday. There’s talk he actually told owner Peter Lim of his decision on the morning of the game. Now depending on who you listen to, Lim either begged him to stay or he made it known that a change was needed so Nuno jumped before he was pushed. There was a distinct lack of confirmation when asked if he had resigned which means a pay-off is in the works so has been advised – by whom I wonder? – to be careful what he says in public.

The only surprise was that it took them this long to reach the conclusion most had already made: Nuno wasn’t the man to take Valencia forward. He had the look of a beaten man in recent weeks and the fans, who are demanding, showed no sign of letting him off the hook – whistling even when the team were leading 1-0 against Las Palmas. What a difference six months make.

Against Sevilla it was another team selection that slapped of arrogance. Jaume Domenech, one of the few success stories of the season, dropped in favour of Maty Ryan had everyone scratching their head. While it’s true the Valencian goalkeeper complained of discomfort earlier in the week he was passed fit and wanted to play – Nuno decided otherwise. It put Ryan under unnecessary pressure also. It made literally no sense.

Then again a lack of sense was a familiar theme under Nuno’s decisions in the big away fixtures. He experimented with a 4-4-2 against Atletico that failed spectacularly and decided last night was the time to bring it out again. Valencia failed to muster an attack of note let alone reach the Sevilla goal to test Rico.

While its true Nuno isn’t the only one to blame here – and I’ve argued that point many times – there’s nothing to suggest he was capable of turning it around either. This is a big test for Peter Lim as he has to get the next appointment right.

Villarreal’s top of the table curse rumbles on

Fresh after a finishing a game week as La Liga leaders for the first time in their history back in the last week of September, Villarreal have been woefully out of form. 1 win in the 7 games since that moment simply isn’t good enough. While they have suffered a lot of injuries, especially in the attacking department, it’s no excuse for a club that showed signs of challenging for the final Champions League place at the start of the season.

Getafe are hardly firing on all cylinders themselves but barely had to work for the victory against a Villarreal side going through the motions. With Adrian and Baptistao injured, Soldado suspended and Bakambu not ready to start in the league, Samuel was chosen to lead the line but Villarreal created very little after a bright start.

Lafita skipped inside from the right-hand side and drilled his shot inside the near post. Villarreal’s defence were practically standing still and Mario Gaspar, prior to this game in fantastic form, won’t be happy with how easily he was caught out by a simple run in field. The second goal came with another horror show as Lafita turned provider; his cross going through everyone in the box and allowing Alvaro Vazquez to tap in at the back post.

It’s too early to talk of a mini-crisis at Villarreal but having both Bakambu and Soldado to call on for next week’s fixture against Rayo Vallecano should prove to be a fantastic boost for Marcelino’s side.

Malaga lose 2 points in the last 5 minutes

It was a largely forgettable game between two sides struggling at the wrong end of the table but Malaga’s failure to see off Granada could come back to haunt them in May. 3 points are never easy to come by and even less so when you’re equal bottom in the table. A victory for Malaga would’ve meant leapfrogging their opponents and finding themselves out of the relegation zone but it wasn’t to be.

Charles scored a wonderful header from Miguel Torres’ cross on the stroke of half time to send the home crowd in happy. Tissone’s sending off for two bookable offences, his 2nd red card of the season, might have meant Malaga switched to protect their lead but that wasn’t the case. Andres Fernandez made a wonderful save for Granada but the rebound fell to Fornals who volleyed in Malaga’s second.

Malaga then began to sit back. After all, leading 2-0 and down to 10 men it made sense. Unfortunately football can be a cruel, cruel game. Two great crosses from either wing were the undoing of 80 minutes of good work. El Arabi leaped highest to get Granada back into the game before Ruben Rochina – remember him Blackburn fans? – popped up with an amazing header to literally steal a point for the Andalucians.

Honourable mentions: Joao Cancelo and Javi Fuego – both saw red for second bookable offences. The last thing Valencia needed. Espanyol – failed to test Oblak in 90 minutes. Carlos Vela – now Moyes has gone, the fans’ dislike turns to the underperforming Mexican. Rayo Vallecano – produced a really poor showing at home. I wonder if Valencia will call about Paco Jemez’s availability.