All rather subdued, wasn’t it?
Well, that was strange. Nine matches played and only 8 goals scored. 11 of the 18 teams didn’t register at all, only Celta Vigo scored more than once (away at Levante), and most astonishingly of all, neither Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi got on the score sheet – the latter even contrived to miss a penalty. Perhaps hell has frozen over! Even the best football tipsters in town might not have predicted a weekend without a goal from the prolific pair, especially with Los Blancosin particular playing at newly promoted Sporting Gijon. Surely it was a chance to fill their boots?
Real problems in front of goal?
Opening rounds of a new season often produce surprise results, something which top football tipsters know and appreciate only too well (and another reason why sports betting is a long-term focus rather than a short-term fix).However, dig a little deeper (as football tipsters do) and it was noticeable that Real failed to score in exactly half of their pre-season matches, and in the first half in particular at Gijon the side looked short of energy and invention, sorely missing their one true centre forward, Karim Benzema, with a thigh injury. As good a player as young Jesé is, leading the line is not his forte, and despite registering 27 shots, Real lacked a focal point to their attack.
Barca’s revenge
Barcelona had, on paper at least, a much more difficult prospect on their hands with a trip to San San Mamés and Athletic, who lest we forget were fresh from their spectacular victory over the Catalan side in the Spanish Super Cup. Barca, as everyone from top football tipsters to casual armchair supporters know, are too good to keep down so a victory was not against the odds, yet neither was a low-scoring affair, with Barca having kept 6 clean sheets in their previous 7 La Liga games before Saturday’s 1-0 win. Perhaps the only surprising aspect of the match was Lionel Messi missing a penalty – yet once again statistics can be surprising, and indeed this was the Argentine wizard’s 14
th penalty miss of his Barca career (from 63 – which still gives him an overall success rate of 78%). Luis Suarez scored the game’s only goal in the 54
th minute, and the victory means the reigning La Ligachampions already hold a two-point lead over their great rivals from Madrid.
Elsewhere
Atletico got their campaign off to a good start with a 1-0 home win over Las Palmas, another of the newly promoted sides, with Antoine Griezmann on the scoresheet for Diego Simeone’s side. Last season’s 4
th placed side, Valencia, could only muster a 0-0 draw away at Rayo Vallecano, the same result as Sevilla, who were away at Malaga in the season’s opening fixture on Friday night.
It was a good weekend for former Premier League strikers, with both Villarreal’s former Tottenham striker Roberto Soldado and Celta Vigo’s former Liverpool frontman Iago Aspasnotching for their new clubs. Unsurprisingly, no player bagged more than a single goal on the opening weekend, and with four red cards stretched out over the three days, it meant there were half as many dismissals as there were goals. You don’t need to be a top football tipster to predict many more twists and turns in the weeks ahead, but for real success in your betting this season, and insightful in-depth punting knowledge of La Liga as well as many of the planet’s other leagues, follow the world’s best football tipsters on Betadvisor.com.]]>
