La Liga midseason report: Much more than Barcelona/Madrid business as usual in Spain

Barcelona and Real Madrid lead the way at the midpoint of the La Liga season, but things in Spain have been anything but ordinary this season with storylines aplenty.

On the face of things, normal service has been in observed in La Liga so far this season. After all, the sight of Barcelona and Real Madrid at the top of the standings is no new one. They are Spain’s two predominant forces. With one or two exceptions, the rest of the table has, at the midway point, shaken out as many would have predicted before a ball was kicked.

And yet with nuance and context the story of the 2019-20 La Liga season to date has been very different.

It has been a crazy campaign marked by numerous upsets – see Levante’s 3-1 defeat of Barcelona or Real Mallorca’s win over Real Madrid – and by various storylines and plot points that have made this one of the most compelling seasons in recent memory.

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Starting at the top, both Barcelona and Real Madrid have had their troubles. Both Ernesto Valverde and Zinedine Zidane have faced their own managerial mortality with the two men still considered only two or three bad results away from being fired. While Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi keeps doing his thing, the two rivals are at their weakest point for a number of years. This was illustrated in the insipidness of last week’s Clasico clash at the Camp Nou.

In theory, this should have opened the door for a third force to challenge La Liga’s usual suspects, but nobody has truly grasped that opportunity with both hands.

Many predicted that Atletico Madrid were set for a big season following a summer of spending, but Diego Simeone’s side now face something of an existential crisis.

Indeed, Atleti sit slumped in fifth place, but their problems go even deeper than just results. Simeone’s teams have always been well-drilled and sure of their roles and responsibilities on the pitch. This season was supposed to mark the departure from the ‘Cholismo’ ideology that has come to define the club, but while they are no longer the defensively conservative outfit they once were, nothing has been adopted in its place. Atletico Madrid are directionless.

Sevilla have enjoyed great progress under Julen Lopetegui, with the Andalusian side just five points off the top of the table, but they have yet to demonstrate that they can grind out important results with the consistency required to sustain a title challenge. Their lack of a proven goalscorer following the exit of Wissam Ben Yedder in the summer is also holding them back. Luuk de Jong has failed to impress.

In pure entertainment terms, there have been few places better to watch soccer in Spain this season than Real Sociedad. Now one of La Liga’s most dynamic outfits, they have become something of an outpost for former wunderkinds with Martin Odegaard flourishing at the Anoeta. Young forward Alexander Isak has also caught the eye while Mikel Oyarzabal is only bolstering his reputation, which will surely see him make a big money move to one of Europe’s elite sooner rather than later.

Getafe continue to be a glorious anomaly, with Jose Bordalas’ unfashionable team once again in the hunt for a top four place. Getafe missed out on Champions League qualification on the final day of last season. That they even came so close was considered a flash-in-the-pan season, but that has proven not to be the case as they advanced out of their Europa League group and are back in the mix domestically.

A number of small clubs have made their mark in La Liga in recent years and this season has been no different. Promoted side Granada even topped the table at one point. Midway through the season, Granada and fellow promoted side Osasuna sit 11th and 12th respectively in the table.

At the other end, Espanyol are in a sorry state. Ambitious owners have done little to change the direction of the Barcelona club. With just 10 points on the board it’ll take a remarkable turnaround for them to avoid relegation.

This season might still ultimately be a straight shoot-out between Barcelona and Real Madrid at the top of the table. But there is an inherent competitiveness throughout the division that hasn’t always been the case in Spanish soccer, meaning more twists and turns are almost certain.