Predictably unpredictable

It's a reason I don't gamble: football always defies the odds, writes columnist Rob Palmer

Rob Palmer - commentator, ESPN

Malaga

Friday, 30 August 2024, 21:37

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What we've learned about La Liga in the formative days of the season is that nothing can be predicted.

A Mbappé-inspired Real Madrid were supposed to walk the league, crisis club Barcelona were expected to struggle, and the refreshed Atlético Madrid team was supposed to be the main challenge.

It's a reason I don't gamble: Football always defies the odds.

Kylian Mbappé kept the fans waiting for his first Liga goal after his long-protracted move to the capital. He's showing plenty of willing; yet the harder he tries, the wider his shots go.

They love an acronym in Spain. We had the BBC (Bale Benzema Cristiano) and MSN (Messi Súarez Neymar). This was supposed to be the age of the BMV (Bellingham Mbappe Viní) era. It's not so catchy and neither is the combination.

The Spanish press literally photoshopped Rodrygo out of a picture to make it "the BMV trio" and not "the RMBV quartet." An alleged WhatsApp from the irked Brazilian was leaked:

"Last week, they talked about the trio of Bellingham, Mbappé and Vini (B-M-V), but they are going to have to add Rodrygo's R to that acronym."

His actions spoke louder than the words attributed to him as he scored against Mallorca and assisted against Valladolid. He's arguably been the pick of the star-studded front three.

Real's big-money summer signing did get a vital goal. It wasn't Mbappé, he was a freebie. It was Endrick, the eighteen-year-old who lived up to the reputation he'd earned back in Brazil.

Átletico have similar issues. The headline signings are yet to impress: Julián Álvarez and Alexander Sorloth cost a combined €130 million, yet they struggle to return a dividend. The pair are both desperate to score goals for their new club. So desperate, they both keep taking up the same positions in the penalty area and are stepping on each other's toes.

As they are new work colleagues, they must bottle up their frustrations and just exchange niceties.

But coach Diego Simeone doesn't do niceties. He took Sorloth off at half-time despite scoring on his debut and Álvarez suffered a similar fate when misfiring against Espanyol.

Bizarrely, Barcelona are the only team with three wins from the opening three games. Off the field, the club is a mess. On the pitch, there is an unexpected unity.

New manager Hansi Flick has found a way to energise veteran Robert Lewandowski; he's made light of İlkay Gündoğan's return to Man City and the patience of waiting for Dani Olmo's registration paid off when the summer signing scored a vital goal as a substitute on his debut.

The trials haven't ended for Herr Flick though; just as he thought the academy had unearthed another young star, the injury curse struck 17-year-old Marc Bernal. Barça tried to use their imagination to bring Stefan Bajčetić in on loan from Liverpool, but the financial constraints didn't allow them to compete for his services.

You couldn't have anticipated any of the above. It is La Liga: predictably unpredictable.

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