La Liga

BARCELONA have made a better start to this season than last – despite having no Lionel Messi and the pressure mounting on Ronald Koeman.The LaLiga giants strolled to a comfortable 3-0 win over Levante at the Nou Camp yesterday.
Barcelona remain unbeaten after six games this seasonCredit: Getty
Memphis Depay scored an early penalty, Luuk de Jong grabbed the second on 14 minutes before the returning Ansu Fati rounded off the scoring in injury time.
That win moved Barcelona on to 12 points from six games – three victories and three draws.
As well as remaining unbeaten, Barca have scored 11 and conceded five to have a goal difference of +6.
The shock back-to-back stalemates against Granada and then away at Cadiz within four days last week meant Koeman was feeling the heat and talk of the sack escalated.
They now sit sixth but could climb to third within two points of leaders Real Madrid by winning their game in hand.
But compared to last season, it is actually an improvement – despite losing talisman Messi on a free transfer to Paris Saint-Germain this summer.

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At the same stage of 2020-21, with six league matches played in the new Koeman era, Barcelona had just eight points.
They made a good start with wins over Villarreal and Celta Vigo by an aggregate scoreline of 7-0.
But then a mini-collapse saw a 1-1 draw with Sevilla, a 1-0 loss at Granada, a 3-1 home defeat in El Clasico to Real Madrid and then another 1-1, this time at Alaves.
That meant they had scored ten and conceded six – with Messi grabbing one goal in the 4-0 Villarreal thumping. Ironically, he is yet to score for PSG.
A strong start to the New Year saw Barca go on a run of 13 wins and a draw in 14 matches to move up the table.
But an end-of-season downturn in form meant they could not catch champions Atletico Madrid, who pipped Real by two points.
Barca made a rough start to the 2020-21 campaign despite having Lionel MessiCredit: Reuters
Koeman is still feeling the heat this year as he battles to keep his jobCredit: Reuters
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ATLETICO MADRID star Renan Lodi appeared to ‘turn invisible’ during his side’s LaLiga match on Saturday.After the defending champions’ defence seemed to disappear for the only goal in a shock defeat to Alaves, left-back Lodi sunk into an advertising board due to an unusual side-effect of technology.
Renan Lodi appeared to ‘turn invisible’ during Atletico Madrid’s gameCredit: Reddit
Images appeared online, via Reddit, of the Brazilian blending into a red-and-white advert for bank Santander.
In his Atleti shirt of the same colour scheme, he briefly merged with the board behind him.
Fans were curious as to how the freak occurrence came to be, with the answer down to a common but often unheard of piece of tech.
LaLiga deploy CGI advertising boards which overlay different images for different audiences.
Therefore, fans watching in the ground see a different sponsor to viewers in the UK, with other regions such as Arabia and America also receiving their own, tailored adverts.
Lodi was, in fact, perfectly visible to all in the ground with just certain fans abroad receiving the CGI-generated glitch.

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It is also possible for stadiums to beam out multiple different advertisements to viewers from different regions without CGI, thanks to complex technology that syncs LED boards and TV cameras without disrupting the local, ‘live’ image.
Ultimately, the much bigger issue for Atletico on the weekend was their first defeat of the campaign at Alaves’ Estadio Mendizorroza.
A fourth-minute Victor Laguardia goal earned the hosts all three points after five straight defeats to open the season, leaving Atleti in fourth.
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PHILIPPE COUTINHO’S Barcelona career has hit a new low after being benched for two teenagers in Thursday’s 0-0 draw away at Cadiz.The Brazilian playmaker, 29, found himself on the substitutes’ bench at the Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla as the Blaugrana dropped more points.
Barcelona flop Philippe Coutinho has struggled at the Nou Camp since joining from LiverpoolCredit: AFP
Ronald Koeman opted to start Gavi, 17, and Yusuf Demir, 18, over the ex-Liverpool star as the Catalan club were held to back-to-back draws in the Spanish top-flight.
Coutinho was then brought on for the final 22 minutes, but he failed to provide a spark in what was another uninspiring display.
He is now yet to provide a goal or an assist from his three outings in all competitions this campaign.
The last time the ex-Bayern Munich loanee got on the score sheet for Barca was in November 2020 during a 4-0 win against Osasuna.
Meanwhile he hasn’t provided an assist for the Copa del Rey holders since October 2020.
Barca finished the away clash at Cadiz with ten men after Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong was sent off for two yellow cards.

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The result leaves the club seventh in the table and already seven points behind rivals and LaLiga leaders Real Madrid.
Pressure is building on Koeman following Barca’s poor start to the campaign, with fans already keen for him to be sacked.
Speaking during his pre-match press conference on Wednesday where he refused to take questions, Koeman declared that supporters must have ‘patience’.
He said: “The club is with me as a coach in a rebuilding situation.
“The financial situation of the club is linked to sports performances and vice versa.
Barcelona’s debt has risen over the years, resulting in a number of players leaving
“That means that we, as a squad, have to rebuild the football team without being able to make large financial investments. That takes time.
“Today’s young talents can become the new world stars in a couple of years.
 “The good thing about rebuilding the team is that young players will have opportunities like Xavi and Iniesta had in their day. But patience is required.”
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STRUGGLING Barcelona could only manage a draw as Frenkie de Jong was sent off at Cadiz.The result leaves boss Ronald Koeman under yet more pressure and already seven points adrift of league-leading rivals Real Madrid.
Memphis Depay came close to scoring for Barcelona early in the second halfCredit: Reuters
Ronald Koeman’s team are yet to win a game in Spain’s top-flight this monthCredit: AP
And the Catalan side, who have come under huge scrutiny following their mixed start to the season, will be hoping for maximum points against Levante on Sunday. 
Ronald Koeman’s aces struggled to break their hosts in the early stages with Cadiz striker Ruben Sobrino forcing a shot block from Gerard Pique around the tenth minute. 
But the visitors began to ease their way into the game with Sergino Dest prompting Jeremias Ledesma to punch his cross away. 
The first-half finished goalless with Alvaro Cevera’s players managing to frustrate the visitors’ passing play. 
However the Pirates had to continue the second period without their centre-back Fali who was carried off on a stretcher after falling to the turf clutching his knee. 
The opening minutes of the second-half saw ex-Man City ace Alvaro Negredo come close to putting Cadiz ahead with a thumping shot on the edge of the box. 

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The former City striker wallopped the ball with the outside of his boot forcing an impressive one-handed save from Marc-Andre ter Stegen. 
And Barca had a couple of decent opportunities to score themselves moments later. 
Chances include Memphis Depay getting on the end of a low De Jong cross. 
But the forward was unable to get the ball under control and the Dutchman saw a low shot turned away by Ledesma. 
Frenkie de Jong’s red card saw Barcelona reduced to ten menCredit: Rex
Koeman’s aces were reduced to ten men after De Jong picked up a second yellow for a foul on Alfonso Espino 
The hosts came close to capitalising on their extra player advantage with Sobrino sending a shot wide after Ter Stegen saved an earlier Salvi Sanchez strike. 
The 0-0 finish leaves Cadiz in fourteenth place and Barcelona in seventh.
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ALEIX VIDAL suffered a gruesome injury for Espanyol in their 2-2 draw against LaLiga rivals Real Betis- – and coudl have his shin pads to blame.The ex-Barcelona ace, 32, was left with a bone-exposing gash on his shin after appearing to wear micro pads that were no thicker than cardboard.
Vidal noticed his gruesome injury in the 81st minuteCredit: Getty
Vidal’s bone was exposed after his shinpads failed to stop the injury
Vidal needed 15 stitches – but at least his tattoo wasn’t ruined!
Vidal, a winger who can also be deployed at right-back, was forced off in the 81st minute after noticing his bone was visible.
According to Spanish outlet Diari de Tarragona, he wanted to continue playing and needed 15 stitches to heal the wound.
Vidal appeared to be wearing cardboard shinpads and, even if they were the correct material, they were not big enough to protect his legs.
The Spaniard’s injury on Sunday ruled him out of Espanyol’s 1-0 home win against Alaves on Wednesday and its unclear when he’ll return to fitness.
Vidal made 30 LaLiga appearances for Barcelona between 2015 and 2018, helping them win two league titles and three Spanish Cups.
Many current Premier League players wear small shinpads, including Manchester City’s £100million man Jack Grealish.

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He told GQ in June: “People have suggested a lot of different reasons as to why I wear them like that.
“It began during one season when I was 15 or 16 and the socks in training kept shrinking.
“I had to wear them underneath my calves and that season I ended up playing really well.
“So I ended up keeping them like that and to this day I’ve still got them. My shin pads are kids size, seven to eight, so that’s why they’re so small.”
And in March, Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin joked he uses CUSTARD CREAMS as shinpads after England’s 5-0 win against San Marino.
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