The good, the bad and the ugly: Half-term report card
This weekend brought about the midpoint of the season in LaLiga, so which teams are flying and who is in a 'mala racha'?
Good weekend
Barcelona
Xavi’s side have successfully negotiated their games without the suspended Robert Lewandowski, winning all of them 1-0. Marc-André ter Stegen continues to be almost impregnable in goal and they are grinding out results. Following Real Madrid’s draw against La Real, Barça are officially campeones de invierno (winter champions) and have extended their lead at the top to five points. Mind the gap, Madridistas…
Sevilla
We all know about Sevilla’s problems this season, and the threat of relegation was beginning to infect the entire club. Under real pressure, they pulled out an important win over hapless Elche on Saturday, recording back-to-back wins for the first time in the league all season. Youssef En-Nesyri is back in form, Lucas Ocampos has returned and is looking bright, and they have moved up towards the top half. Steps in the right direction.
Cádiz
The Andaluz side started the season dreadfully, losing their opening five matches without scoring and shipped 14 goals. But since then, they have improved markedly. They have only lost three of the following 14, have kept six clean sheets, and have started to make the Nuevo Mirandilla a hard place to visit. Their 2-0 win over in-form Mallorca was a significant result, and while they are still in the relegation zone, they are well in the fight.
Bad weekend
Athletic Club
Ernesto Valverde’s side are through to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey for the fourth consecutive season, but that is the only good news around Bilbao right now. Since starting the season like a train, taking 17 points from the first eight games, they have only won twice in the following 11, dropping 24 points and falling out of the European spots altogether.
The form since the World Cup is even more concerning. Los Leones have played five and only taken two points from a possible 15, scoring just a solitary goal in those 450 minutes. Cádiz at home next Friday is already looking like a must-win.
Valencia
A miserable month was completed with a last-minute defeat in Valladolid on Sunday. Following their Supercopa loss on penalties and their disappointing home exit in the Copa, Valencia’s season is unravelling. They have taken just one point in the league since the World Cup, the worst return of any side in the division, and are now perilously just one point above the drop zone. Gattuso is gone, Voro is back, and the fanbase feeling is one of vocal acrimony. While others around them are collecting points, Los Che are not. The good news is they do have a game in hand. The bad news is that it is Real Madrid away.
Elche
If there was slightest evidence of some green shoots for Elche after two consecutive draws, that hope was emphatically snuffed out in Seville. A comprehensive 3-0 defeat extended their winless run and left them 14 points from safety. There was yet another red card too – their seventh of the season – and all concerned seem resigned to their now inevitable fate.