Monday 27 November 2017 19:18, UK
Guillem Balague brings you his five main talking points from the weekend's La Liga action, including Barcelona's controversial draw at Valencia, plus he answers your questions on the futures of Antoine Griezmann and Neymar...
The first half of Valencia's 1-1 draw with Barcelona on Sunday was all Barcelona, they were fantastic, they realised they wanted to stop the counter-attacks of Valencia so they had to control the game and make sure they finished their moves.
But that is where Barcelona are suffering as Lionel Messi is playing a bit deeper, and is a bit more involved in the build-up, which means they have lost firepower up front with Luis Suarez still not sharp and Paulinho playing almost next to Messi, and no wingers.
That's not enough offensive power for games like this, that's why they need Ousmane Dembele to come back and they will try to get a forward or an offensive midfielder who can score goals in January. They absolutely need that because they have shown in big games that they are still lacking that extra bit that allows you to kill matches.
In the second half when Valencia came out with a different attitude you could see Barcelona struggling. If Gerard Deulofeu or Aleix Vidal is the solution to win games like this then Barcelona are in trouble.
The 'ghost goal' was a goal of course. It's not even a VAR problem, it's just the eyes of the referee, how could he miss it when we all saw it? I think the referee realised during the game that he made a mistake but it was too late. It will be corrected next season with VAR. But I hope technology does not take over this game and all its multiple errors and doubts. All that is also part of football, which is not a science but entertainment.
It was the week that Messi renewed his contract and it was done on the morning after he won the Golden Boot. The only change is the buyout clause from 300m to 700m but when that happens there tends to be some kind of compensation, that has not come out yet. It could be a signing-on fee bigger than expected, for example, but in any case, now he's happy, and that is why he has stamped his signature and taken the picture with the president.
He says he never thought of leaving but we know at some point it crossed his mind - shall I try something else? He knew of interest from others but it didn't go any further than that.
He never wanted to leave Barcelona but there were times when he was closer than ever to leaving, by that I mean he considered it. There is a big step, and as Johan Cruyff said, there are times when you have to say 'yes or no' and he never got to that point of 'yes or no' with Barcelona.
Now he's signed the deal he'll be at Barcelona for the rest of his career - apart from when he goes back to play for Newell's Old Boys, which he wants to do in the future.
It was a disappointing approach at the beginning from Valencia against Barcelona. It wasn't a coaching decision, it was the players' fears in their heads, they are a young team and they dropped a little bit too deep and weren't aggressive trying to recover the ball and when they had it they didn't risk enough. They did all that in the second half so they left themselves in a very good position to still dream.
And with big games for Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico, like the Clasico on December 23, if Valencia maintain this level they might start next year with options to challenge, which would be wonderful.
The three key things at the moment with Real Madrid, who won 3-2 against Malaga, are:
But things have not been helped by the lack of form of key players like Luka Modric, Toni Kroos or Marcelo, who are missing passes that opponents are converting into goals.
I think Diego Simeone has decided that to get the best Antoine Griezmann he has to drop him deeper and get players around him, whether it's Yannick Carrasco on the wing or Koke next to him plus a forward.
Koke coming back has meant Atletico have improved straight away - in the six games he missed there were four draws. He is very important creatively and defensively. And then putting a forward in front of Griezmann, whether it's Angel Correa or Fernando Torres, or more likely Kevin Gameiro. They like each other and both scored twice at the weekend and assisted each other.
You get a better Griezmann when he has somebody like that who can fight with the centre-backs and give him pockets of space in front of the centre-backs to either pass or score. That's when Griezmann looks better.
GUILLEM SAYS: It's a bit too early but don't get distracted by the fact they did so well against Real Madrid because they had not scored a goal away before the weekend and have not got a point away. It was a good show but these days Real Madrid allow you to show your best version if you have the right attitude, so Malaga will be fighting for relegation until the end but there are five or six teams of the same quality. It will be important in some of these teams, especially Malaga, if they can reinforce in January.
GUILLEM SAYS: They are not looking to bring in a striker. Remember they are at the limit of Financial Fair Play. We will see what happens with Simone Zaza. His cartilage is torn, and there might just be a turn of his knee where it stops working, and they will have to operate. Meanwhile he is operating with it torn.
Gameiro is not an option. Atletico Madrid want to get rid of some players in January, Gameiro was considered a possibly but now he is linking up with Griezmann, who would like him to stay. They have given each other eight assists when they play together which suggests they are linking well. It seems a better option in the mind of Simeone than using any other striker like Correa or Torres. They hit form with two goals each against Levante, so the partnership may continue.
GUILLEM SAYS: Right now, Neymar is telling PSG and Unai Emery that he wants to succeed with PSG and win the Champions League and adapt to Paris, that's where he is right now. I know that from the horse's mouth. That's where we stand. Would Real Madrid like to have Neymar? They tried to sign him before Barcelona, and Barcelona even used the medical reports prepared by Real Madrid to sign him as part of the pre-documentation in the contract. The medical report was actually Real Madrid's. They have the money to get him but he won't go to Real Madrid next season.
GUILLEM SAYS: There are lots of options for Griezmann. Add PSG to that as well, but they will have to sell players before they do that. He will play with the idea of being with either of them and he knows they both want him.
It will be a difficult choice to make but I feel that having said no to a huge offer from Manchester United in the summer, they will have to come back with the same kind of offer, with the same promise, with the same flirting from Jose Mourinho, conversations on the phone as has happened, to convince him to go there instead of Barcelona, where he will play next to the likes of Messi. It's a great choice to have. I am convinced everybody realises that Griezmann has to move on.
