Real and Barcelona turn focus to staying perfect in La Liga
Madrid: After learning who they must face in this season's Champions League group stage, holders Real Madrid and rivals Barcelona sink their teeth into Liga opponents this weekend as the only sides to have won their first two games.
Routine wins over Getafe and Girona have ensured that Real, whose main Champions League threat in a mild Group A is Roma, did not suffer an early wobble as they embark on the post-Zinedine Zidane era with coach Julen Lopetegui.
Ernesto Valverde's Barcelona were likewise efficient if unspectacular in beating Alaves at home and then edging Valladolid away on a pitch that tore up as soon as the game began and sparked a league inquiry.
This weekend the leading pair and perennial favourites face what should be home banker wins. Real meet modest neighbours Leganes on Saturday and on Sunday Barca host Huesca, a side with an away success under its belt from the opening day at Eibar.
The European champions for the 13th time were showered in plaudits at the Champions League draw in Monaco on Thursday with Croatian talisman Luka Modric elected UEFA Player of the year and Real players landing a full house of positional awards.
In one respect, Real will have entered calmer waters by kick-off. The departure of their biggest galactico sparked furious speculation that Real would buy another superstar in the transfer window that closes on Friday.
Instead the club added a not-so-new and not-very-famous face in striker Mariano Diaz, a product of the Real youth system, who was sold to Lyon last summer, for a reported eight million (USD 9.4 million) euros, scored 18 goals, and was bought back on Wednesday for 33 million euros. "With the arrival of Mariano, the squad is fixed," Lopetegui said as the 25-year-old Diaz was presented to the media today (Friday). "I don't believe in movement at the last minute." The choice of the low-profile Diaz is perhaps a signal to another ex-Lyon player, Karim Benzema, that Real are prepared to make him the focal point of their attack.
