“Nine games, six wins and top” – Barcelona back on the throne
A fortnight after Athletico Madrid sat above them, Barcelona lead the Spanish First Division on 18 points, though Real Betis and Athletico are level with them with a game in hand.
In my day, a side that lost three of its first nine would have been lucky to be mentioned in dispatches. Barcelona have lost three of their first nine and go into this international pause top of the Spanish First Division. That is the age we live in: nobody defends, everybody attacks, and the table rewards the bold.
On 7 October they did their bit with a 2-0 win over Alavés, and with Athletico Madrid not playing that day the lead changed hands. Barcelona have 18 points from nine games: six won, none drawn, three lost, a goal difference of +7. It is not the smooth machine of my youth, but it is top, and after a season that began with Luis Cabrera coming home from Getafe and Ido Cohen heading off to Al-Nassr, the old place feels more settled than it did.
Behind them the race is beautifully tight. Real Betis and Athletico Madrid also have 18 points, each from eight games, six won and two lost, goal difference +5 apiece. Betis did their part on 7 October with a 1-0 win over Getafe, a result that dropped Getafe from 11th to 14th. Athletico had the week off and slipped from first to third without kicking a ball. That is the cruelty of this competition.
Villarreal are fourth on 16 points from nine, held 0-0 by Real Sociedad on 7 October. Vigo are fifth on 16 from eight, drawing 0-0 at Espanyol. The draw was the theme of the week: A. Bilbao 1-1 Ponferrada, Sevilla 1-1 Oviedo, Espanyol 0-0 Vigo, Levante 0-0 Girona, Real Sociedad 0-0 Villarreal. Goalless afternoons everywhere, and not one of them dull for the people who were there.
Valencia were the climbers, 1-0 against Leganés lifting them from 12th to 8th, and how the old Mestalla faithful will have enjoyed that. At the other end the worries pile up. Oviedo are 18th on seven points from eight, Sevilla 19th on seven from nine after that draw, and C. Leonesa bottom on five from eight. Nobody is cut adrift yet, which is the only mercy.
The leader a fortnight ago, Athletico, now chases; the leader now, Barcelona, has played a game more than the two clubs breathing on its neck. Nine games in, this is no procession. It has the feel of one of those seasons that is decided in the last ten minutes of the last afternoon — and we have had a few of those, though I could not possibly say when.