La Liga: Real Madrid’s confidence contrasts with Barcelona concern as season begins
Real Madrid have outclassed Manchester United and Barcelona to collect two trophies before the season has begun, and Zinedine Zidane’s side show little sign of relenting as they begin their title defence at Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday.
Meanwhile, last year’s runners up Barca have been further shaken ahead of their opening game against Real Betis on Sunday by a knee injury to Luis Suarez that has ruled the Uruguayan striker out for four weeks. This piles more misery on the Catalans, who are still reeling from the departure of Neymar.
The two biggest sides in Spain are in contrasting frames of mind heading into the opening weekend, and not even Cristiano Ronaldo’s suspension from the first four Liga games for pushing a referee has dampened Real’s supreme confidence. Instead, the Spanish and European champions appear less reliant on their Portuguese talisman heading into this season.
Ronaldo played only 24 of 180 minutes of Real’s resounding 5-1 aggregate win over Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup. He was a late substitute in the European Super Cup triumph over United, yet Real produced a complete display characterised by their sturdy control in midfield and dominance of possession.
Their squad depth was underlined by the fact …read more
