It was a big weekend for soccer clubs in Italy and Spain, as the 2016-17 season kicked off.
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While the Premier League was going into its second week, leagues throughout Europe were just kicking off.
Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain, Gianluigi Buffon and many others were back on the pitch this weekend trying to start their seasons off in the right way.
The 2016-17 season started off for most big clubs the same way the last one ended: winning in dominating fashion. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus and Roma were able to continue their strong string of performances into the new season.
Starting the new season with a loss
For two big European clubs, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan, the new season got off to a bumpy start. Atletico were so close to defeating newly promoted Alaves, but the away side were able to get a goal in the 95th minute to grab a point from the Champions League runners-up.
To make matters worse, it took Atletico 93 minutes to get their only goal of the game (newly-signed striker Kevin Gamiero was the scorer). This was a match Atletico’s fans and staff thought they should have won. Does this mean Alaves can be Spain’s Leicester? Almost certainly not, but who knows!
Things were a little different for Inter Milan, as they lost their opener to Chievo Verona 2-0 in Frank de Boer’s debut as manager. The Nerazzurri dominated possession, won duels both on the ground and in the air, but were off defensively, giving up 12 shots and four on target.
A brace by Valter Birsa was the difference, and Inter will need to think about how they will adapt to de Boer’s system.
Winning in dominating fashion
As mentioned earlier, both Barca and Real Madrid were able to grab big wins. The reigning La Liga champs defeated Real Betis 6-2 and the defending Champions League winners won 3-0 over Real Sociedad, suggesting once again it will be a two-horse race for the title in Spain.
Luis Suarez continued his fine form up front for Barca, as he started the season off with a hat trick. Messi scored a brace and Arda Turan was the other scorer. Luis Enrique’s men didn’t look to be out of sync without winger Neymar in the lineup, as he will not be in Barcelona until after the next round of international fixtures, in early September.
Gareth Bale’s two-goal performance helped Real to victory as Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo were both unable to play. With Ronaldo sidelined with an injury he sustained during the Euros, this is Bale’s time to show that he is Real’s best, and worth the money they spent on him.
In Italy, it was Juventus that started the season off with a 2-1 win over Fiorentina thanks to goals from Sami Khedira and Gonzalo Higuain. It wasn’t the most dominant win, but Juventus played well enough without star midfielder Paul Pogba. It will be interesting to see how a team that has dominated Serie A so much in the past five years will be this season without its biggest star, but the Old Lady continues to look like the team to beat for the Scudetto.
Elsewhere in Europe
Paris St. Germain, AS Monaco and Lyon all grabbed convincing wins this past weekend, and all are in the top half of Ligue 1. PSG started life without the mighty Zlatan Ibrahimovic well, and only time will tell if Unai Emery can get this talented team over the hump of the Champions League semi-finals.
The Dutch Eredivisie entered its third week when Ajax struggled to a 2-1 loss to Willem II. Ajax now sit in eighth in the table. Hopefully they don’t dwell on the fact Frank de Boer left them for Inter, and bounce back in the coming weeks.
It was, however, a good week for Ajax’s arch rival PSV, who dominated PEC Zwolle 4-0.
Going forward
Next week, Barcelona take on Athletic Club on Sunday, August 28 at 2:15 p.m ET, while Villareal take on Sevilla on the same day at 4:15 p.m ET.
Week two in the Serie A features two key matches: Lazio face Juventus on Saturday, August 27 at 12 p.m ET and then Napoli play A.C Milan at 2:45 p.m ET. Juventus enters the match trying to build on their win this weekend. As for A.C Milan, after the past seasons they have had, and a summer they have spent waiting to be sold to Chinese investors, a win against Napoli would give them six points in two games, and maybe show they are heading on the right track.