Heading into the first and painfully lengthy international break of the season, stories from around Europe’s top domestic leagues are hotter than ever, which is why this 3-week stoppage to club football feels more untimely than usual, however, it does give us all some time to digest what we’ve seen and try to predict what’s to come in Spain’s top division.

In Spain, the summer brought joy to a nation who are now very used to being the dominant force in world football. Spain’s World Cup triumph showed once again the talent and clear vision Spanish football possesses. Yet domestically La Liga is still impacted by the disparity of wealth within European football. The Premier League is a monster of a product that simply feels unstoppable. Yes, Barcelona and Real Madrid can compete and have spent big money on high profile arrivals, the most talked about being former Ballon D’or winner Rodri who for most of this summer seemed destined for Madrid before a change of heart landed him in Barcelona, we’ll discuss later the impact that is already seemingly having this season! Both Madrid clubs and Barcelona are the exception in La Liga, with each club spending over 100 million euros, but the disparity between them on the rest of the league once again shows why they dominate so much. The next highest spenders are Real Betis, buying 30 million euro’s worth of players whilst having to sell too!

The biggest issues come at the bottom of the division. If we compare La Liga to the Premier League, the promoted clubs all spent well over £100 million each. Malaga, who’s return to the topflight has been well accepted, spent 300,000 euros on a loan fee for Juan Cruz and had to pick up free agents to boost their squad. It’s no surprise that they sit bottom of the table without a win yet.

Promotion Joy

Malaga despite their early season issues are one of 3 historic clubs back in La Liga this season, joining them are Deportivo de A Coruna and Racing de Santander. The most entertaining and impactful has undoubtedly been Deportivo, with familiar faces such as Aubameyang (or “Aurabameyang” as the youth in Spain are calling him), Jose Gimenez and Adama Traore accompanied by a host of very talented young talent including Casado, Patino, Hernandez and Mella. This balance and exciting style of play has caught teams off guard with Deportivo beating Valencia and Villereal already this season! It will take a lot of luck and an injury free season, but to see Deportivo carry on this renaissance and return to Europe may not seem as much of a pipe dream than a couple of months ago! For Racing de Santander, it has been a mixed start to life back in La Liga, but with 2 wins on the board already, they’ve given themselves a platform for survival. It also helps having Yassir Zabiri in red hot scoring form. Another highly talented Moroccan football who has bags of potential with 6 goals in his first 7 this season, Racing with praying he can keep this up and in turn, keep them in the division.

Upsetting The Applecart

The status quo in Spanish football is undoubtedly Barcelona or Real Madrid will win the league, with a sprinkle of Atletico Madrid from time to time. Barcelona are trying to create their own history once again under Hansi Flick. Neither one of Real nor Barca have dominated the league for numerous years since Pep Guardiola between 2008-2011, yet Barcelona is very well placed to win La Liga this season for a 3rd straight season. Real Madrid’s response to the Pep domination was to hire Jose Mourinho to disrupt, and 15 years later they have opted for the same tactic. Right now, it’s hard to see it working, the Catalan’s look unstoppable with their high energy, pressing style of play, the most talented crop from La Masia since Messi, Busquets, Pedro etc and the vision to move Raphinha from a winger to a striker has been inspired! Rodri and Pedri are the glue that holds it all together, signing the former Manchester City man ahead of Madrid (who continue to struggle in midfield) looks like it could be the difference between success and outright dominance.

Currently Barcelona, Atletico and Real Madrid sit 1st, 2nd and 4th respectively. The wedge that sits in between is Manuel Pellegrini’s Real Betis. Since Pellegrini took over in the 2020/21 season, Betis haven’t finished lower than 7th, which for a club that has fluctuated in position and even dropped to the La Liga 2 in recent history is a remarkable achievement. The task now is can he take them into the Champions League, a goal he achieved with Malaga in 2012, taking them to a quarter-final and earning himself a move to Manchester City in the process. The squad is very well balanced, in central defence Natan is improving week on week and becoming a force in the league. In midfield, Fornals has found a home in which he is thriving and magic from the evergreen Isco and revitalised Antony is servicing their new striker Troy Parrott, who loves to play on the shoulder of defenders…

Final Thoughts

It’s clear after the first 7 games that Barcelona look unstoppable this season. Of course there’s a long way to go and it would take a fool to write of Jose Mourinho entirely, but it feels as though Hansi Flick has Barca in a groove this season which may well take them all the way not just in La Liga, but in the Champions League too! The relegation battle will be tight, Malaga has the most work to do with the most limitations, but we’ve seen this club achieve remarkable feats in the past.