LEVANTE CLASH A LITMUS TEST OF CLUB’S REVIVAL IN THE ABSENCE OF ANY NEW ARRIVALS
inedine Zidane, whose Real Madrid side go to Levante this weekend, will soon find out if he was right to refuse to add to his squad in the January transfer window.
There were no new arrivals at the Santiago Bernabeu, with a move for the Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga the most notable transfer that didn’t happen in La Liga.
Kepa signed a new long-term contract in Bilbao after Zidane insisted that he did “not need a goalkeeper”.
Instead he will stick with Keylor Navas, who faces his former club today.
Real appeared to be in a full-blown crisis after they were dumped out of the Copa del Rey by Leganes, but they have won their last two games in La Liga, scoring 11 goals in the process.
A 7-1 defeat of Deportivo was followed by a 4-1 win at Valencia last weekend, when Cristiano Ronaldo scored two penalties as Real moved to within two points of third-placed Valencia with a game in hand.
“A crisis for Madrid is losing one game but nobody doubts their quality. All the small teams want to go through the crises that they have,” said the Levante coach Juan Ramon Lopez Muniz, whose team drew 1-1 at the Bernabeu in September.
Ronaldo, who has scored four goals in two league games, has been struggling with a calf knock. However, he is expected to play as Madrid begin a month that will be shaped by their Champions League last 16, first leg against Paris Saint-Germain on February 14.
Barcelona, who are 11 points clear of Atletico Madrid at the top, put their unbeaten league record on the line as they visit Espanyol tomorrow. It will be the third Catalan derby in under three weeks, after Barca won 2-1 on aggregate in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals.
Awkward timing
However, tomorrow’s game falls awkwardly for Barcelona, in between the two legs of their Cup semi-final against Valencia. Atletico host Valencia tomorrow night.
Among the busier clubs in the January window were Sevilla, future Champions League opponents of Manchester United.
They have brought two players back to Spain on loan from England — midfielder Roque Mesa from Swansea City and Everton striker Sandro Ramirez.
“Sevilla have been interested in me for a year and a half. They knew how much I wanted to be here,” said Mesa, who endured a difficult last six months at Swansea.
“In the end our paths were destined to come together. This is a big club,” he added as Sevilla face Eibar after drawing 1-1 at Leganes in their Copa del Rey semi-final, first leg.
Expensive signing
The 26-year-old Spain international says he is “proud” to become the most expensive signing in Athletic Bilbao’s history, after they paid his €32 million (Dh146 million) buyout clause to sign the centre-back from Basque Barcelona beat Valencia 1-0 on Thursday thanks to a diving header from insatiable striker Luis Suarez to stay on course for a place in the Copa del Rey final for a record fifth consecutive year.
Suarez broke Valencia’s resolve in the semi-final first leg by leaping to meet a cross from Lionel Messi in the 67th minute, scoring a 12th goal in 10 games in all competitions to leave Valencia needing to win by two goals in next Thursday’s second leg at Mestalla to advance to their first final in a decade.
Despite being a cup semi-final against one of the top teams in the league, only 50,000 fans made it to Barca’s 99,000-capacity Nou Camp stadium after heavy rain throughout the day.
“We dominated the play but they had a plan, which was to leave here with a result that kept the tie open and they defended well. It’s not a big advantage and there’s still a long way to go in the tie,” Barca coach Ernesto Valverde told reporters. rivals Real Sociedad. Athletic swooped for Martinez after seeing Aymeric Laporte move to Manchester City for a reported £57 million (Dh297.7 million), and he could make his debut for his new club in Girona tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Real Sociedad president Jokin Aperribay has hit out at the player, suggesting he should have waited for an offer from “a team that can win the Champions League, or at least get to the semi-finals.” And fans in San Sebastian will be allowed to exchange Real shirts with Martinez’s name on it for another one.