Tuesday 23 August 2016 06:31, UK
In his first column of the new La Liga season, Guillem Balague assesses the emergence of Arda Turan at Barcelona and examines how their closest title rivals - Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid - kicked off their bid to wrestle the Primera Division away from the Camp Nou.
Champions Barcelona got their title defence underway with a comprehensive 6-2 victory at home to Real Betis before Real followed suit with a 3-0 win at Real Sociedad. Atleti, however, had to settle for a point as new-boys Alaves snatched a draw in the closing stages of Sunday's clash at the Vicente Calerdon.
But what did we learn from the opening round of fixtures? Sky Sports' Spanish football expert Balague dissects the performances of last season's top three before answering YOUR questions...
For Barcelona the 4-3-3 formation is like a religion but, with Arda Turan in such good form, the shape of Luis Enrique's side looks more like a 4-4-2. Turan, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez have scored 10 of Barca's 11 goals so far this season, with the Turkey international accountable for three of those.
While not overly important at this early stage of the season, it's an interesting development that adds a new layer to Barcelona's attack.
It's my understanding that Barca are still looking for a striker, they think they can get Paco Alcacer but Valencia are adamant he is not leaving. If that pursuit fails, though, Turan could be that forward they need.
He is a midfielder by trade so I'm not sure whether he would accept the role, but his lack of continuity means his hopes of dislodging the likes of Andres Iniesta or Ivan Rakitic in midfield are slim.
He hasn't got the fluidity of a midfielder but he is good at dribbling, finding that killer pass and scoring goals, so you could argue he'd be more suited to a forward role. Perhaps Barcelona have already got that forward they need among their ranks?
Barca's work off the ball against Real Betis was impressive and, of course, Luis Suarez has started this season where he finished the last. Overall of the impressions gained from their 6-2 victory was a clear sense that Messi was switched on. He was completely hungry, sharp both physically and mentally. That is very good news for Barcelona as they look to defend their Primera Division crown.
The first impressions I got from Real Madrid was Zinedine Zidane's resemblance of Carlo Ancelotti in the sense that he didn't make an issue of being without five first-team regulars - Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, Pepe, Keylor Navas and Karim Benzema - for the trip to the Anoeta. Zidane has told Benzema to come back when he is 100 per cent recovered from his hip problem, but at this stage nobody knows when that will be.
While there may be similarities between the former Real boss and the current, what's different about Zidane is that he doesn't play the guys who have the greater influence in the changing room.
Leaving James and Isco on the bench against Real Sociedad in favour of Mateo Kovacic and Marco Asensio suggests Zidane, while respecting everybody in his squad, doesn't feel compelled to play certain players because of their standing. We will see if this is the case once the aforementioned players return, Zidane says it will be a big headache when they do.
In any case, his team selection is good because it gets everybody switched on and feeling important. Asensio, for example, has started the season very well and he's paying Zidane back for the confidence he's shown in him. The same goes for Alvaro Morata, who offers a completely different striking option to the ones currently at Zidane's disposal.
It will be interesting to see whether this season will be 'La Liga de Bale' - Gareth Bale's season? Without having to talk much on the field it is clear he is one of the leaders in the team. It's not all about the goals he scores; Real Madrid look for him and he moves freely even though he was played predominantly down the right-hand side at the weekend.
He looks completely sharp and if he doesn't miss as many games as he did last season - 15 in the league - he could be the most crucial player for Madrid.
There were several warning signs for Atletico Madrid as they drew with newly-promoted Alaves on the opening day. Firstly they need to be more effective. They create a lot of chances but they didn't convert them, particularly summer signing Kevin Gameiro. It's important that someone other than Antoine Griezmann contributes goals.
Sometimes Diego Simeone's instincts let him down, and this was the case against an Alaves side we knew would defend deep. He only went all out in attack in the second half when Koke and Saul Niguez were played in centre midfield, in hindsight he should have started like this.
Instead he played Gabi and Thiago from the start and the first half ended up being wasted. When Koke and Saul played in the second half, the team attacked in different ways, there was variation in attack.
The second warning sign concerns transfer activity. Diego Costa was they player they wanted most this summer but they didn't get him. As things stand they still haven't got a centre-forward that can engage opposition centre-backs, is strong enough to hold up the ball and can score goals, you know a Costa! Basically, they don't have a Costa!
Gameiro is good between the lines and on the counter. Fernando Torres looks sharp but he won't be a long-term solution. What that means is that Atletico Madrid will have to attack in different ways, going down the wing and crossing into the box is an alternative but not an effective one because Gameiro and Torres are not great at heading the ball.
As such, Atleti are going to need a lot of support from the second wave of attack, their midfielders. That is not problem because that brings unpredictability to the team but, on the whole, teams like this crave a specialist forward like Costa.
Is there a possibility of James Rodriguez leaving Real Madrid, and are Chelsea interested in him? (@chelsboytweets)
GUILLEM SAYS: Real Madrid will be happy to let James go this summer. It's been reported Chelsea are willing to pay €70m (£60.1m) for the Colombia international. We will see if they are willing to pay that sort of money, but it sounds to me that Real are leaking this story to attract interest in the player. He's not worth that money and I'm pretty sure Chelsea know that.
Where do you think Joe Hart is heading? Has been linked with Dortmund, Sevilla and Everton #AskGuillem (@Shantanu3196)
GUILLEM SAYS: I asked Sevilla about their reported interest in Hart and they told me Joe Hart is not the sort of goalkeeper they want. So, at this stage, Everton would appear a more likely possibility.
Could you see Real Madrid coming in at the minute for anyone? Or are they going to keep the purse strings closed? (@CallumBradke)
GUILLEM SAYS: They think they have enough variation and cover in each position to keep going for two years (until their impending transfer ban expires). Madrid think they've brought in youth players with quality, following Morata and Asensio's quick adaption of to life at the club.
You could argue that left-back is the only position that's a bit weak, with Fabio Coentrao returning to the club alongside Marcelo. Nacho can play there though, and he can double up as a fourth centre-back so the general consensus, having analysed the squad, is that Real have enough players.
We will see though, the front three missed a lot of games last season - perhaps that had something to do with the fact the European Championships were on the horizon.
Any left-backs in the La Liga to organise a swap deal to #LFC with Moreno going other way? (@TheHarrikane89)
GUILLEM SAYS: I get the sense that you want Liverpool to get rid of Moreno! The problem with deals of this kind is that players in the Premier League earn so much money that, unless Barcelona or Real Madrid come in for them, Spanish clubs don't go and get them unless they're not playing or their wage demands decrease. At this stage that is not the case with Moreno. In terms of the top La Liga left-backs available to Liverpool at present I don't see anybody who is. Of the top 10 clubs in Spain there is nobody Liverpool could sign who would make an impact.
