MADRID, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Matchday 12 of the Liga Santander saw plenty of surprises as FC Barcelona lost away to Levante, while Atletico and Real Madrid were both held to draws. Here are some things we learned over the past two days in Spain.
1. It's closer than ever this season
This season's Liga Santander looks to be a closer race than ever, with just five points separating league leaders FC Barcelona from Valencia who currently lie in 13th position.
Although some teams, such as Real Sociedad and Granada are currently punching above their weight, Barca, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are clearly below par; Barca have lost three games away from home and not really convinced on the road this campaign, while Real Madrid are highly irregular both home and away and Atletico look to be suffering from an important turnover in players over the summer.
There is plenty of time for them to improve, but for the moment, it's nice to enjoy the most open title race in years.
2. Barca's awayday blues
Barca's 3-1 defeat away to Levante is their third setback on the road this season following their opening day loss in Bilbao and a 2-0 defeat away to Granada. If we add a draw away to recently promoted Osasuna and their struggle to beat Slavia Prague 2-1 away from home in the Champions League, it's easy to see that something is wrong.
Although Barca could point to an injury to Leo Messi early in the season, the Argentinean was fit this weekend and scored Barca's goal. On Saturday Barca suffered a seven minute spell in which they fell apart and lost the control that has typified their displays over recent seasons and it's tempting to say that perhaps things could have been different if Sergio Busquets had started.
3. Real Madrid not convincing either
Although Real Madrid are currently behind Barca on goal difference, Zinedine Zidane's side has also been highly irregular at the start of the season and they have failed to produce one complete performance.
Saturday saw them fire blanks in attack at home to Betis, who are so far disappointed this campaign, while other matches have seen them switch off in defense. It seems that Zidane is struggling for balance in his starting 11 and perhaps that is an issue that should have been dealt with by making some better signings over the summer.
4. Escriba pays the price at Celta
Fran Escriba became the third Liga Santander coach to lose his job this season when he was sacked in the wake of Celta's 1-0 defeat to Getafe on Sunday. He leaves the club after a run of four defeats which have left Celta in 18th place with just nine points so far this campaign.
It's hard to argue with the decision after seeing another lackluster home display from Celta, but a look back over the past two years shows a worrying trend at the club.
Juan Carlos Unzue left after just one season in charge in 2017, while his replacement Antonio Mohamed was sacked after just 12 games last season (the same as Escriba). Mohamed's replacement Miguel Cardoso only lasted until early March before Escriba replaced him and now Escriba has also been shown the door.
With such a turnover of coaches, maybe Celta's problems are not just in the dugout. Enditem
