La Liga: Have the Friendlies Been Kind to Spain’s Top Flight?

I’m certain that fans of La Liga cannot wait for the season to start.

For Real Madrid fans, the excitement is heavily predicated on Kylian Mbappe’s arrival and the defence of their precious title. Meanwhile, Barcelona supporters will hope to upset the Los Blancos along with the other side of Madrid, whilst the usual suspects will attempt to wrestle away the European spots that are up for grabs.

And with the pre-season matches already done and dusted, we already know those who did well, with their wishes being to carry momentum at the start of the upcoming season.

Sometimes, those are accurate indicators of how a club’s season will go, exposing holes and gaps in a team’s structure. However, there are also times where those results are as is and should not be taken extremely seriously—indeed, those games are for experimental and fitness purposes.

Regardless, here are the clubs that spent their club friendlies with a smile on their faces. That, and otherwise.

Atletico Madrid

Diego Simeone’s crew are probably one of the teams that are ecstatic for the new season to begin. For starters, they had a great summer after securing the services of three massive signings Julian Alvarez, Alexander Sorloth and Robin Le Normand.

And while it remains to be seen whether or not Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher will join the bunch as his situation encounters a sudden impasse, Los Colchoneros loyalists will find comfort in the fact that their club acquired three players that can no doubt help them fight for silverware.

Moreso, their fans ought to be happy with their friendlies—four matches played and four victories.

Their biggest win was against Kitchee SC in a 1-6 romping of the Kowloon club, whilst they also disposed of Italian giants Juventus in a 2-0 victory. Atletico also secured a win over fellow La Liga side Getafe (1-3) and edged out Numancia in penalties.

They will open their 2024-25 season with Villareal, and barring any injuries, it is highly likely that they will start off on the right foot.

Real Madrid

Contrary to their city rivals, defending La Liga champions Real Madrid did not have the most eventful of pre-seasons. But then again, with their team loaded with stars who played in international tournaments just a month ago, it was expected that Carlo Ancelotti wouldn’t have a full squad in the club friendlies.

The Los Blancos suffered defeats against AC Milan (1-0) and rivals FC Barcelona (1-2). They found their first win against Chelsea (2-1) and will open their season against Atalanta for a chance at winning the UEFA Super Cup.

If you were to ask me, Madrid fans can easily brush off these friendly results. But if they are to display a poor performance against Atalanta—granted that they field in their usual first-team squad—then maybe there will be questions that need answering at the Santiago Bernabeu.

But then again, it’s Real Madrid we’re talking about. They were favoured by SBOTOP La Liga 2024 odds to win the championship last year and are undoubtedly the favourites again this year. Doubt them at your own peril.

Girona

If I’m not mistaken, this would be the third time that I’ll be writing about the Blanquivermells, and I’ve always touted them as being competitive next season despite the exodus of a lot of key players. But seeing these pre-season results got me worried a little bit, and I guess I would understand if you wrote them off by now.

Out of seven friendly matches, the Catalan outfit had only won once, drawn three times and lost three times as well. They suffered two 4-0 defeats against Toulouse and Newcastle and lost 3-2 against Bournemouth after conceding two second-half goals.

If you can remember, Girona’s La Liga 2024 results dwindled in the second half of the season after dominating and even staying atop the league in the early parts of the campaign. With their recent outings, maybe one can draw the conclusion that they still haven’t found the right mix just yet.

Girona will kick-start their season against Real Betis, and if they continue to be in a slump, things will go really bad real fast.

Mallorca

Despite finishing 15^th in La Liga last year, Mallorca had an impressive run in the Copa del Rey as they realised a run to the final only to get taken out by Athletic Club in the end.

Heading into the 2024-25 campaign, Los Piratas have a new coach, Jagoba Arrasate, at the helm after Javier Aguirre’s contract was not renewed for next year.

During the club’s pre-season matches, only Italian side Bologna were able to beat them in a tight-knit match that ended in penalties. Prior to this defeat, the Balearic outfit had won five straight.

They will have a tough time on their hands in their season opener, however, as they will immediately face Real Madrid. Who knows? Maybe this squad can finish higher than where they were. Only time will tell.

●●●

CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS

Stay updated with everything sports and betting.