La Liga 2017/18 Superthread

Mr.Nice Guy

I was tempted to watch tonight's game and I wish I did now. Some result for Levante and all but relegates Depor who are 9 points behind them and with a much worse goal difference - also their next game is at home to Barca.

The Floyd p

Well it's all confirmed now! Don Andres is leaving after 22 years and 31 titles.
What an honour it's been to watch him play almost 700 games for Barca.

There won't be another like him for a very long time.

Mr.Nice Guy

Levante beat Sevilla 2-1 tonight, meaning a Barca win over Deportivo on Sunday not only crowns them champions but relegates Deportivo. That will be quite the contrast if it happens.

Mr.Nice Guy

Deportivo vs Barcelona kicks off at 7.45. Home side's relegation will be confirmed unless they win, while Barca can clinch the title tonight. Team news:

Deportivo XI: Ruben, Juanfran, Albentosa, Schar, Luisinho, Guilherme, Borges, Krohn-Dehli, Emre Colak, Borja Valle, Lucas Perez.

Barcelona XI: Ter Stegen, Semedo, Pique, Umtiti, Alba, Dembele, Busquets, Rakitic, Coutinho, Messi, Luis Suarez.

Mr.Nice Guy

Coutinho makes it 1-0. Not even ten minutes gone. Lovely curling finish.

Update: Messi sidefoot volley from a Suarez cross makes it 2-0.

Depor goal straight after! Lucas Perez. 2-1 now.

Mr.Nice Guy

Equaliser! Colak makes it 2-2.

Mr.Nice Guy

And Messi seems to have won the title for Barca after finishing off a nice Suarez assist. Depor definitely down now anyway.

5T3PH3N

Messi and Suarez 1 2, nice goal.

Mr.Nice Guy

Messi's definitely won the title now! And a hat-trick into the bargain. 4-2. Suarez involved again.

Update: Full-Time and Barca are crowned champions. Deportivo meanwhile are relegated.

dfx-

7th league in ten:cool:

NIMAN

dfx- wrote: »

7th league in ten:cool:

But it'll all be overshadowed if Real Madrid win their 13th European Cup/CL and their 3rd in a row, or 4th in 5 years.;)

elefant

Even considering the relative strengths of the rest of their squads, it will be really interesting to see how much the landscape of La Liga changes when Messi and Ronaldo sign off. They're ruining things for everyone else!

NIMAN

Was chatting about that recently with a few mates, it really will be a leveller for all the teams concerned.

The big stars in the European game then will be the likes of Neymar, Bale, Hazard, De Bruyne, Kane, Mbappe, Salah, Dybala, Pogba etc. All good players but are there really any there that will win big games or finals on their own? I can't see it. We will never see any of them get anywhere close to the level that Messi and Ronnie played at.

It will be more down to a combination of players, and whether any one particular manager can get enough of them at one club to form a great team.

irishguitarlad

elefant wrote: »

Even considering the relative strengths of the rest of their squads, it will be really interesting to see how much the landscape of La Liga changes when Messi and Ronaldo sign off. They're ruining things for everyone else!

Watch Betis, if we continue the way we're going with this project it will take us to big things. We have the fan base, the stadium, playing absolutely sexual football. The only thing that can ruin it for us is getting rid of Lorenzo Serra Ferrer and Setién.

MisterAnarchy

NIMAN wrote: »

But it'll all be overshadowed if Real Madrid win their 13th European Cup/CL and their 3rd in a row, or 4th in 5 years.;)

Yes it will .

It does ask the question of how good Real really are .
Some people are saying if they win the Champions league this year that they will be the best club side of modern times.

However they have only won their own league twice in the last decade yet they could win a fourth Champions league in 5 years .

What is a greater feat ,winning La Liga or winning the Champions league ?

Some will say the league as the best team always wins the league ,as its over 38 matches and everybody plays the same teams twice.

The Champions league is a cup competition and the draw plays a part as does luck.
The standard in the knockout stages of the Champions league is higher than La Liga though .
Champions league carries greater prestige .

I'd say Barcelona would gladly swap a few of the recent la Liga titles for a Champions league .

NIMAN

The thing is, we are starting to change how we measure how good a team are.

I think league titles are becoming less important to teams as the CL gains more importance (in terms of money, marketing, sales etc). Look at Celtic, 7 in a row. Are they a great team? Or BATE Borisov? Didn't they win 12 in a row? Juventus and Munich are also serial title winners too in recent times.

I think its safe to say Real Madrid are now more interested in the CL than La Liga. I'd say Barca are too, but once you're knocked out you'll say how great a La Liga title is. Or a Copa Del Rey, which I don't think the big teams in Spain ever really cared about.

Of course winning the CL involves less games, as it is a knockout competition. For teams like Barca and Madrid the groups are a waste of time. The competition only starts at the knockouts, so in theory you could say it only takes you to beat 4 teams to win the trophy. But of course these are 4 better teams than you'll meet in La Liga for sure.

Barca are miles clear of Madrid in La Liga but Madrid, if they win another CL title, will have beaten PSG, Juventus, Bayern Munich and (probably) Liverpool in the final 4 matches, so you'd have to say they are beating the best of what's out there.

So I guess its all open to opinion what makes a great team. Personally you'd have to say if Madrid win their 3rd consecutive CL title, their 4th in 5 years, then they have had a great side over that time.

inforfun

Barca also have now... 4 Copa del rey's in a row.
So in the international cup competition they fail as a cup fighter while dominating the domestic one and real does do the reverse.

Fielding ineligible players in CdR didnt help them though

GavRedKing

Next thing for Barca is to go unbeaten in the league, the 2-2 against Sevilla was a game they had no right not to lose, they should have been 3 or 4 down before they equalised.

The small matter of a Clasico on Sunday, Madrid could stop Barcas last real milestone left this year.

The Golden Miller

NIMAN wrote: »

The thing is, we are starting to change how we measure how good a team are.

I think league titles are becoming less important to teams as the CL gains more importance (in terms of money, marketing, sales etc). Look at Celtic, 7 in a row. Are they a great team? Or BATE Borisov? Didn't they win 12 in a row? Juventus and Munich are also serial title winners too in recent times.

I think its safe to say Real Madrid are now more interested in the CL than La Liga. I'd say Barca are too, but once you're knocked out you'll say how great a La Liga title is. Or a Copa Del Rey, which I don't think the big teams in Spain ever really cared about.

Of course winning the CL involves less games, as it is a knockout competition. For teams like Barca and Madrid the groups are a waste of time. The competition only starts at the knockouts, so in theory you could say it only takes you to beat 4 teams to win the trophy. But of course these are 4 better teams than you'll meet in La Liga for sure.

Barca are miles clear of Madrid in La Liga but Madrid, if they win another CL title, will have beaten PSG, Juventus, Bayern Munich and (probably) Liverpool in the final 4 matches, so you'd have to say they are beating the best of what's out there.

So I guess its all open to opinion what makes a great team. Personally you'd have to say if Madrid win their 3rd consecutive CL title, their 4th in 5 years, then they have had a great side over that time.

Won by the skin of their teeth. Dinamo Minsk were robbed

irishguitarlad

Just back from the game lads and another win which means we've now qualified for the Europa League!! You could tell that it was going to be a difficult game with the weight on our shoulders and Malaga wanting to spoil their hated neighbours party. Bartra was badly missed as he was suspended but Fabián came up with a brilliant winner. Setién has worked miracles with this team and it was great that was getting the recognition he deserves off the fans. I must start saving up now for a Europa League away trip haha.

MisterAnarchy

GavRedKing wrote: »

The small matter of a Clasico on Sunday, Madrid could stop Barcas last real milestone left this year.

I'd strongly fancy Barcelona for that.
Madrid will be tired after the Bayern match and Barcelona will definitely want to give Real a good beating.
Which Barcelona will turn up though, the one that gave a masterclass in the Copa del rey final or the one that has struggled to get out of third gear for a lot of the season.

The Golden Miller

irishguitarlad wrote: »

Just back from the game lads and another win which means we've now qualified for the Europa League!! You could tell that it was going to be a difficult game with the weight on our shoulders and Malaga wanting to spoil their hated neighbours party. Bartra was badly missed as he was suspended but Fabián came up with a brilliant winner. Setién has worked miracles with this team and it was great that was getting the recognition he deserves off the fans. I must start saving up now for a Europa League away trip haha.

7 wins and a draw in their last 8 games is serious going. They got a nightmare group when they were in the Champions League about 12 years ago, but put up a good showing in their games. Good to see them back in Europe

Rekop dog

elefant wrote: »

Even considering the relative strengths of the rest of their squads, it will be really interesting to see how much the landscape of La Liga changes when Messi and Ronaldo sign off. They're ruining things for everyone else!

It's kind of a sports wide issue. Stars aren't coming through at the same rate as before. If you look at soccer the best two players are well into their 30's now. In Tennis Nadal and Fed are still dominating in their 30's, the next two most s dominant Djok and Murray also over 30 now. Tom Brady and Rodgers, LeBron and Curry are still killing it in their 30's. Lewis Hamilton by far the biggest star in F1 is 33. Usain Bolt still the fastest man alive. Heck even in the snooker there hasn't been a winner below 30 since 2010.

Maybe kids had it too easy in the most recent generation and there isn't that level of hunger there anymore to reach the same heights. Or drugs could have had a big part to play in some(possibly all) mentioned. But either way there'll be a definite downgrade in top quality in a lot of sports once these lads retire as the conveyor belt doesn't seem to be churning out many young superstars.

Cookiemunster

Sky have lost coverage of La Liga to Eleven Sports for the next 3 seasons. No word yet on how it will be accessable. http://www.sportspromedia.com/news/la-liga-rights-eleven-sports-uk-ireland

callaway92

Cookiemunster wrote: »

Sky have lost coverage of La Liga to Eleven Sports for the next 3 seasons. No word yet on how it will be accessable. http://www.sportspromedia.com/news/la-liga-rights-eleven-sports-uk-ireland

Is this one of those things where Sky do pop up at the last minute with the usual coverage?

I remember something like this the last couple of years too.

How would Eleven Sports broadcast La Liga in the UK?

Cookiemunster

callaway92 wrote: »

Is this one of those things where Sky do pop up at the last minute with the usual coverage?

I remember something like this the last couple of years too.

How would Eleven Sports broadcast La Liga in the UK?

No. According to the article they outbid Sky for the rights. Previously nobody bought the rights until the last minute. No idea how they'll broadcast it. Possibly online like the Cops del Rey has been for the last 2 seasons.

bot43

Be great if it were an "on demand" style service.

But one way or other ist just another subscription for those who actually pay to watch football on TV.

ERG89

https://twitter.com/footballespana_/status/991627687222501376?s=19

MisterAnarchy

callaway92 wrote: »

How would Eleven Sports broadcast La Liga in the UK?

I often watch their Polish tv coverage ,it is very good .
BT might sublicence the deal I'd say.

UK£18 million per year was rejected by Sky,thats pathetic ,its less than the cost of 2 Premier league games.

Sky have been treating La Liga poorly over the last few years ,getting rid of Revista La Liga and presenters.

callaway92

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

I often watch their Polish tv coverage ,it is very good .
BT might sublicence the deal I'd say.

UK£18 million per year was rejected by Sky,thats pathetic ,its less than the cost of 2 Premier league games.

Sky have been treating La Liga poorly over the last few years ,getting rid of Revista La Liga and presenters.

One would imagine they did a cost/benefit analysis and found it's not worth having them shows. Can't really complain about it.

Same with BT and the European Football Show. Hardcores love it but in reality, people don't want to watch know-it-all journalists for their football coverage. They want former players to dish out boring clichés.

bot43

Ya, Sky have really scaled back on production. Long gone is the little bar on Revista and pre/post game analysis.

I'd like if the new guys get back Mark Bolton if he is still in the presenting game.

dfx-

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

Sky have been treating La Liga poorly over the last few years ,getting rid of Revista La Liga and presenters.

It's indicative of all their coverage really. The EPL is the only thing they put effort into now and them paying too much for it.

Utopia Parkway

Sky are pumping so much money into keeping their Premier League packages that everything else is in danger of being cut. Lost the CL and EL, pretty much lost 95% their rugby, lost La Liga now.

lertsnim

Sky Sports will be renamed Sky Sport eventually as they will only have English football on it. Eir Sport is looking more attractive every day.

MisterAnarchy

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

Sky are pumping so much money into keeping their Premier League packages that everything else is in danger of being cut. Lost the CL and EL, pretty much lost 95% their rugby, lost La Liga now.

They have lost the ATP Tennis tour too ,they lost the US Open last year as well.
Apart from the Premier league and Golf ,they have very little else of interest.

The Golden Miller

Their in studio commentary was rubbish anyway. Could hardly hear the crowd, they always sounded subdued even though they weren't. Hard to watch football on TV when you can hardly hear the atmosphere

Mr.Nice Guy

I thought the standard of the coverage noticeably declined the last few years. I liked when Mark Bolton hosted Revista as he seemed to have good chemistry with his guests. Never understood why they parted ways.

I tuned in occasionally for highlights this season and it's either Ballague or Gibson presenting from the Sky Sports News area and sometimes a Skype interview with Graham Hunter. It seemed very amateur hour and suggested Sky weren't putting the money into it any more.

I'm disappointed to see it go all the same because I'm fed up with subscription services and I won't be signing up to any for La Liga. If the Sky price goes up I'll have to consider ditching it. They've now only got 1 of the top 5 European Leagues for "the home of football."

Mushy

irishguitarlad wrote: »

Just back from the game lads and another win which means we've now qualified for the Europa League!! You could tell that it was going to be a difficult game with the weight on our shoulders and Malaga wanting to spoil their hated neighbours party. Bartra was badly missed as he was suspended but Fabián came up with a brilliant winner. Setién has worked miracles with this team and it was great that was getting the recognition he deserves off the fans. I must start saving up now for a Europa League away trip haha.

Am I thinking correctly that if Athletico win the EL final Betis could be in the CL?

MD1990

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

I thought the standard of the coverage noticeably declined the last few years. I liked when Mark Bolton hosted Revista as he seemed to have good chemistry with his guests. Never understood why they parted ways.

I tuned in occasionally for highlights this season and it's either Ballague or Gibson presenting from the Sky Sports News area and sometimes a Skype interview with Graham Hunter. It seemed very amateur hour and suggested Sky weren't putting the money into it any more.

I'm disappointed to see it go all the same because I'm fed up with subscription services and I won't be signing up to any for La Liga. If the Sky price goes up I'll have to consider ditching it. They've now only got 1 of the top 5 European Leagues for "the home of football."

Revista the one hour show was my favourite football tv show. Was great when Bolton presented it although he was a bit pro-Barcelona.

inforfun

Mushy wrote: »

Am I thinking correctly that if Athletico win the EL final Betis could be in the CL?

Nope.
No extra place when an EL winner also would have qualified via their own league.

I need Marseille to win the EL and not qualify for the CL by league so Feyenoord get direct group qualification in the EL.

It is all so easy to follow nowadays.....

irishguitarlad

Mushy wrote: »

Am I thinking correctly that if Athletico win the EL final Betis could be in the CL?

My Dad thought the same the last day but what happens is we get an extra Europa League spot.

Mr.Nice Guy

inforfun wrote: »

Nope.
No extra place when an EL winner also would have qualified via their own league.

I need Marseille to win the EL and not qualify for the CL by league so Feyenoord get direct group qualification in the EL.

It is all so easy to follow nowadays.....

Is it not Ligue 1 that would benefit in this scenario, rather than the Eredivisie?

https://twitter.com/RBairner/status/992319551768616960

irishguitarlad

Bilbao beat Betis un the San Mamés. 2-0. To be fair they deserved It, we were terrible and I hope our players haven't gone on holidays as the derby is next week.

inforfun

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Is it not Ligue 1 that would benefit in this scenario, rather than the Eredivisie?

https://twitter.com/RBairner/status/992319551768616960

I got it from the Dutch press that it would benefit Feyenoord if Arsenal or Marseille would win the EL

Feyenoord would then enter the group stage of the EL instead of playing a qualifier

Mushy

inforfun wrote: »

Mushy wrote: »

Am I thinking correctly that if Athletico win the EL final Betis could be in the CL?

Nope.
No extra place when an EL winner also would have qualified via their own league.

I need Marseille to win the EL and not qualify for the CL by league so Feyenoord get direct group qualification in the EL.

It is all so easy to follow nowadays.....

irishguitarlad wrote: »

Mushy wrote: »

Am I thinking correctly that if Athletico win the EL final Betis could be in the CL?

My Dad thought the same the last day but what happens is we get an extra Europa League spot.

Apologies, my head was like Athletico were in cl even though knew that wasn't the case. Have no idea where I came up with the idea!

MisterAnarchy

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

I thought the standard of the coverage noticeably declined the last few years. I liked when Mark Bolton hosted Revista as he seemed to have good chemistry with his guests. Never understood why they parted ways.

Bolton got a bit too big for his boots according to Sky.
When Barcelona and Real Madrid were playing in the Champions league semi final he felt that he should be presenting the show instead of Jeff Stelling.
He also made a disparaging joke about Jamie Redknapp on twitter "top ties are really important" .
I missed him ,he was entertaining .

It seems Sky tried to low ball the Spanish FA by offering a paltry 5m euro a year for the La Liga rights.
Absolute gangsters.

Mr.Nice Guy

Last ever Clasico coming up on Sky. Teams:

Barcelona XI: Ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Pique, Umtiti, Alba; Coutinho, Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta; Messi, Suarez.

Real Madrid XI: Navas; Nacho, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo.

Strong team from Madrid which I expected.

KERSPLAT!

Cracking counter. Holy ****.

martyos121

Brilliant team goal. Absolutely brilliant.

Mr.Nice Guy

Great move. Suarez makes it 1-0.