MADRID, 28 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The 2022-2023 season of LaLiga Santander resumes this Thursday after more than a month and a half of hiatus due to the World Cup in Qatar and with pending ‘battles’ that must begin to be resolved and teams forced to ‘reset’ after a bad first leg campaign.
The domestic championship enjoyed a ‘rest’ and returns with FC Barcelona at the top of the table alone with 37 points, two above Real Madrid. Xavi Hernández’s men proved to be that reliable team, which however was not seen in Europe, with determination at the necessary moments and defensive strength that have made the difference against their rivals.
Since their first setback against Rayo Vallecano at the Camp Nou, in the form of a draw (0-0), the Catalans only had to regret the defeat (3-1) in El Clásico at the Santiago Bernabéu. With a more pragmatic than combinative style and Robert Lewandowski’s 13 goals, Barça managed to recover from an irregular start -the elimination from the Champions League and defensive injuries- to rise to the top.
And the main reason is the lock in the defensive phase, with only five goals conceded and keeping a clean sheet eleven times in 14 games, although now he will have to survive the lack of the Polish striker, sanctioned three games for his expulsion in El Sadar .
Some numbers that contrast with those of the other top contender, Real Madrid, who conceded 14 goals, with Thibaut Courtois collecting the ball from his goal in 12 of the 14 games played in the competition. Despite convincing more than Barcelona in a brilliant start -12 games without losing in the League-, the positive streak ended in Vallecas with the first domestic defeat (3-2), in one of the weakest games of the course.
Unlike Barça, the first white bump did affect their performance in the League, perhaps motivated by the high number of games in October, with nine games in one month or the loss of Karim Benzema, well replaced by the goals of an irregular Vinicius in the last month and of a Fede Valverde in hatching. The whites start another saturated calendar this Friday with up to 17 games in two months, but with the reinforcement of their ‘9’.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men will barely have a rest from this Friday until February 26, risking their ‘life’ in five different competitions -LaLiga, Copa del Rey, Spanish Super Cup, Club World Cup and Champions League-. Thus, the challenge for the white team seems extraordinary, with the duels against Atlético, Liverpool, Athletic or Valencia as great ‘ports’, and with El Clásico at the Camp Nou in a near March.
ATLÉTICO AND SEVILLE, MANDATORY ‘RESETS’
That first half of the campaign confirmed Barça and Real Madrid as the only theoretical serious candidates for the title, after the unexpected disappointments of Atlético and Sevilla. Diego Pablo Simeone’s men went fifth to the break, 13 points behind the leader, in what has been the worst league start for the Argentine since he took charge of the rojiblancos in December 2011.
In fact, they have added the same wins that they stumbled in these first 14 rounds, with 7 wins, three draws and four losses to enjoy a meager 24 points. His only obsession, now without European competition, is to reconquer that ‘Champions zone’, for which he will have to improve his defensive performance.
The mattress set has shown an unknown irregularity in those of ‘Cholo’, a team unable to link two victories in the League this season. His crisis increased at the end of October, with three consecutive games without winning (two losses and a draw), and also internally he must deal with the ongoing alleged confrontation between the coach and the Portuguese Joao Felix.
Worse is the case of Sevilla, who went on break without knowing the victory at Sánchez-Pizjuán in the League. Still with Julen Lopetegui on the bench, they could only celebrate one victory in the first eight league games, becoming a team without identity or soul, always trailing behind in matches.
The injury problem was primed with a squad with some lack of planning, and the results condemned the Basque. The charismatic Jorge Sampaoli returned to take the reins at the beginning of October, but he has not been able to find the key either, showing that the problem goes much deeper.
With only two wins, five draws and seven losses in 14 games, Sevilla went to a break in relegation places, after adding just two points out of the last fifteen in play. A resounding start from which they are forced to recover, already with the goal of the Champions League bordering on impossible, with the current fourth-placed team, Athletic, at 13 points. Isco Alarcón, signed as a star and who ended his contractual relationship last week, will no longer help him.
CÁDIZ AND AN ELCHE IN DEPRESSION COMPLETE THE DESCENT
The ‘Champions zone’ is, for the moment, Real Sociedad, which is already preparing the return of a luxury reinforcement like Mikel Oyarzabal, and Athletic, third and fourth, respectively, initially to remember Basque football and that presses even more the usual bloody fight for Europe. Both won the first round for the Champions League, but the margin with Atlético and Betis is slim, and will require maximum regularity.
As for the relegation, Sevilla is accompanied in the danger positions by a Cádiz that improved in the weeks before the big tournament, with only two defeats in the last five games. However, their short squad and their status as the second team with the most goals (26), along with Celta, make it difficult for them to remain in the team, now penultimate with 11 points.
Nor does an Elche in free fall have anything to celebrate, unable to beat anyone so far this year. Four draws and ten defeats is the balance of a team from Elche that is now entrusted to Pablo Machín as the new coach, the third this season. With four points and bottom, he must make a 180º turn in his performance to squeeze his options of continuing in the First Division, in a fight that is expected to be even and from which more ambitious projects (Getafe, Celta and Espanyol) want to escape.