A round-up of some of La Liga’s most intriguing storylines across the week, traversing through the good, the bad and something beautiful.
The Good: Levante are falling in love again
Love comes in all shapes and sizes, but few saw the cumbersome figure of Carlos Espi as Levante’s beau come the spring. At the start of the season, the flavour of the month was Karl Etta Eyong, fresh from a move to Villarreal and firing nothing but bullseyes. The Cameroonian striker delivered on early promise for the Yellow Submarine, racing out to six goals and three assists in his first nine appearances. Since October, Etta Eyong has added a single assist, and Levante’s form took a similar dip. Until the appearance of Espi.
Advertisement
Sporting a vintage kit that doesn’t look similar to the sails flown by wooden navals, the wind is certainly blowing a gust behind the good ship Espi. Since Etta Eyong’s last goal, Los Granotas have picked up just five points in the games where Espi has not scored. His total for the season reached double figures against Getafe on Monday night, a header in the 83rd minute good for victory. Although not his best performance, causing the three bruising centre-backs Jose Bordalas sent to martial him so many problems suggests he has something.
That and the goals. Averaging one every 83.5 minutes, Espi has given Levante genuine hope of survival. Those goals have directly led to eight of Levante’s 29 points, and seven have come in the last six games. Beyond a stunning streak in front of goal, the 20-year-old has an almost mesmerising gait. It certainly seems to implore defenders to leave him just enough space to get shots off, thinking they have him within reach.
Take the Getafe winner for example, Espi is looks as if he is ambling around outside the box, but with deceptive agility, glides in between the two Getafe defenders for a simple header. At 194cm (6’4), Espi is every bit as useful in the air as his height suggests, and his finishing thus far has been exemplary. It still looks as if he is coming to terms with his powers, growing into an imposing shape and a target man role. Yet there’s something of a disguise about Espi, that hulking figure is hiding a smart striker.
The Bad: A worrying routine
Real Betis have the chance at a historic season, and the Copa del Rey victory notwithstanding, Manuel Pellegrini’s finest in Seville. In a year where fifth might be good enough for the Champions League, and Betis are just two games from the Europa League final, the monotonous nature of this side has to be a major concern for Betis.
Advertisement
Aside from periodic counter-attacks through Ez Abde and Antony, deadly in space but increasingly frustrated without it, Betis are struggling to lift the tempo. In the first half of the season, Pablo Fornals was dictating play, finding gaps and avenues forward. With Giovani Lo Celso and Isco out injured though, the mental clarity required to carry a midfield, which is what he was been doing, has fogged over his windscreen. It’s had an impact on Cucho Hernandez, the sharpest Betis forward these days. Too much is being asked of him too though, with Chimy Avila and Cedric Bakambu providing little respite.
Pellegrini’s side have now gone seven La Liga games without a win after a 1-1 draw with Osasuna, and a focus on their Europa League campaign is natural. The Chilean has never been reluctant to point out that his squad is not designed to challenge on three fronts, but his side are drifting through the final third of the domestic campaign as things stand.
Clearly this is not intentional, but Celta Vigo and Real Sociedad have been slowly eroding the gap to Los Verdiblancos, and are now just two and four points behind them. In their final seven fixtures, Betis face Real Madrid, Barcelona and La Real. If the engineer cannot jumpstart the Betis in La Liga, he risks contemplating the smoking remains of a season that provides a rare chance to return to the Champions League for the first time in two decades.
The Beautiful: An old infatuation
Image via Real Sociedad. Real Sociedad 3-3 Alavés.
Advertisement
The collective football community proffered a rare hat-tip to LaLiga last weekend, in light of the excellent La Liga Retro Weekend. Perhaps the duality of good and bad exists within Javier Tebas too? One to ponder for Real Madrid and Barcelona fans, who of course were deprived of its joys for reasons they didn’t bother to even explain. Gripes out of the way, Spain rolled around in a swamp of nostalgia, in this metaphor completely at home in it.
Hence why it was so generous of Real Sociedad and Alaves to put on a spectacle that made the fit look even better. Both sides committed themselves to a game that could have found a place in 1980s highlights. Real Sociedad in their thinner stripes with obnoxiously large standalone numbers on the back. Alaves bounding around in a Boca Juniors-style yellow and blue blocks, far too clean for modern designers. Los Babazorros scored twice in comic fashion, without even shooting. Real Sociedad lined up the rocket launchers, and started firing missiles from 30 yards out.
When the sixth goal of a breathless 3-3 Basque derby came, it was, giving credence to its inclusion in the section, a thing of vintage beauty. Carles Alena starts the move with a quick pass to Denis Suarez, and is swiftly removed from action by a scything tackle. Suarez drives inside and lays the ball off to Lucas Boye. In the pouring rain, Toni Martinez decks it in the background. Boye, in the 97th minute, shows no appetite to shape it into the corner, but instead thunders it into the roof of the net. For good measure, even the celebration didn’t seek the camera, instead mobbed by his teammates, sodden and shouting.
Read the full article here
