In the Spanish top flight, yesterday’s results mean that 22 points separate league-leaders Barcelona and sixth-placed Real Betis. In Segunda, before Las Palmas take on Burgos tonight, that same top-of-the-table gap is just six.
And, to make things even more exciting, if this weekend’s evidence is anything to go by, two of those sides in the promotion conversation have seriously strengthened up front.
Remarkably, fifth-placed Granada had only won one game away from home all season before they took on Villarreal B at the Estadio de la Cerámica on Sunday, having picked up 85% of their points in front of their own fans. That home form alone, having played 13 games, would place them above Tenerife.
Improvement on the road, then, could hold the key if Los Nazaríes are to make an instant return, and new man Shon Weissman, who scored 20 times to lead Real Valladolid to automatic promotion two seasons ago, wasted absolutely no time in looking to put that right.
It took the Israeli international just four minutes to give his new club the lead over the Yellow Submarine, before his in-form strike partner Myrto Uzuni curled a sensational strike into the top corner to seal all three points.
With the Albanian now up to 15 goals for the campaign, including four in his last three, Granada’s new front two could quickly become the most lethal duo in the division if they can continue to combine.
Elsewhere, there was a huge encounter at Mendizorroza, as the two teams immediately above Granada clashed in a feisty Basque derby. And, yet again, it was a player signed on loan from LaLiga on deadline day who stole all the headlines.
Following the sudden explosion of Gorka Guruzeta this season, Athletic Club’s trumpet-playing legend Asier Villalibre has sadly been restricted to just 94 top-flight minutes under Ernesto Valverde. A move to Deportivo Alavés represented a great opportunity for some much-needed minutes.
Remarkably, with a tense encounter locked at 0-0, Villalibre opened the scoring with a courageous header just eight minutes after his introduction, before sealing the three points with a smart finish under the goalkeeper in added-on time.
With as many goals in 28 minutes as he has managed in the last 22 injury-struck months at Athletic, perhaps we’ll be seeing the best of the bearded striker in the blockbuster weeks to come.
The delantero debut goals don’t end there, either.
Signed on deadline day from Rayo Vallecano, prolific potshot-taker Bebé scored a dramatic 93rd-minute winner for Real Zaragoza at Andorra, while Samuel Obeng scored the only goal in a 1-0 win for his new side Huesca. Four deadline day signings, five goals.
With some real big-hitters down in Segunda at the moment, do make sure to keep an eye on that promotion race, where there’s a great chance that we could see some of the biggest come into their own.