A round-up of some of La Liga's most intriguing storylines across the week, traversing through the good, the bad and something beautiful.
Image via Athletic Club. Valverde hugs Nico Williams.
"I recognise that player." Maybe that's what Ernesto Valverde scribbled on his notepad when he sat back down after Oihan Sancet dummied, faked, feinted, threatened and finally thumped Athletic Club's fourth and decisive goal against Alaves. Los Leones won 4-2 , and put themselves into 8th, and weirdly, a European race. Athletic start the weekend behind Getafe by two on goal difference for a spot in the Conference League , and just three behind Celta Vigo for a Europa League spot. In a season that has been defined by exhaustion, vexation and an ear-splitting lack of rhythm, it's rather confusing that they could end up achieving their objective at the end of it.
Better news still though? The appearance of not just Sancet, but Nico Williams too. The former looked smart, composed, understated in the final third, taking a cloth and wiping away the sloppy footballer that has been masquerading as Sancet all season. Williams scored twice, and the celebration of his second, not just a goal to put Athletic ahead, was full of emotion from the gifted 23-year-old. Part of what made him so charismatic were the easy smiles, the freedom with which he conducted himself. He roared like a man that feels like himself again.
In both his one-two with Gorka Guruzeta, a smart move first and a cunning eye to find the gap for the shot second, and his lovely lofted finish one-on-one, Williams moved with that freedom. To score the two goals, he takes a total of six uncomplicated touches. Alaves goalkeeper Antonio Sivera has to slam on the breaks because he's misjudged how quickly Williams can get to the ball, nearly sliding right past him.
While that might have served to further illustrate the point, the conclusion at the bottom of Valverde's page has to be the same. "I recognise that guy." Over the next few years. a significant say in the direction of Athletic Club, and in Williams' case the Spanish national team, will be had by Williams and Sancet. Watching them against Alaves was enough to make even the scowling Txingurri get up in the rain and yell about it.
As Michel Sanchez draws increasingly close to being appointed the next Ajax manager , he can ill-afford to permit his focus to drift anywhere that isn't Girona's relegation battle. Following a victory over Villarreal and a draw at the Santiago Bernabeu, it really looked as if they could start ordering more La Liga branding for next year. Yet a 3-2 loss to Real Betis at Montilivi, a 2-1 defeat at Mestalla, were compounded by a 1-0 loss at home to RCD Mallorca last weekend. It took Los Bermellones ahead of Girona on goal difference, and left them just two points above the drop again.
On their own, the first two results are not an issue, but bear in mind it was an out of form Real Betis side that secured their first win in LaLiga against Girona in 11 games. It happened in a game where Girona took the lead and then equalised, conceding from all three shots on target. A week later at Mestalla, Valencia scored their only two shots on target, and Girona got nothing from a game which was 'not for losing' as the saying goes.
Michel's sense of injustice might have grown against Mallorca, when his side outperformed their opponents, causing the islanders serious problems, and walked away without a goal from their 1.72 expected . Even Cristhian Stuani missed a sitter. Expensive number nine signing Vladyslav Vanat has not been prolific, but he has been fairly consistent with his 10 goals. Now that he's out for the season, Girona have been relying on talented teenager Claudio Echeverri, but in the ferocious relegation wilderness, he needs too many bites to kill.
It's starving Girona of points. Remaining on their schedule are Rayo Vallecano (A), Real Sociedad (H), Atletico Madrid (A) and Elche (H), and while their hope will be that some of those teams will allow themselves to be hunted without too much of a chase, three of them are bigger beasts than Girona right now. Without labouring the metaphor any further, Girona are in more trouble than their play has deserved this season, but they're in it nonetheless. Michel has been the greatest manager in Girona's history – it would be an ode to football's cruelty if he left them where they started together.
One of the joys of Spanish football is that you find yourself descending into a swamp of mixed terminology, and a language that often sounds a little ill-fitting, but sometimes conveys the meaning much better than any of the native terms. When we say Williot Swedberg invented an assist for Borja Iglesias in Celta Vigo's 3-1 win over Elche, it perfectly describes the fact that it was an idea he came up with.
If some people saw the run, nobody saw method, nobody anticipated such smooth execution of a move you have to be special just to see. Least of all poor Elche defender Victor Chust, legs operating on a delay. Maybe the only contending adjective is conjure – he magicked up the goal out of thin air. "The pass he made today was incredible, a work of art," said manager Claudio Giraldez. "He does it with astonishing composure. If you see him before matches, wearing a jacket and shorts, he looks like a tourist just passing through. The more composed he seems, the better player he is."
If you watch the celebrations, you see not only several fans doubled over, hands to head, not sure whether to be delighted at the goal or astonished at the manner it arrived, but also one of his Celta teammates do the same. It's a pass that makes every cynic soften, that makes every adult a child again. Swedberg had a tough start to life, in Galicia, but he's a bad tourist these days. He's beginning to leave indelible signs of his presence on his destination.
