The race to be promoted to the Spanish top flight last season certainly captured the imagination.
Granada returned to La Liga after 12 months away, while Las Palmas came back following a five-year absence. The third and final team to be promoted were then Alaves who clinched victory in the play-off final against Levante in the most dramatic fashion in mid-June.
Yet the celebrations had barely died down when the conversation turned to their survival prospects.
So how are they faring now, a month and a half into the new campaign?
Well, if you take the table alone, then Granada are in the drop zone with one victory and five losses from their first six outings; Las Palmas are just outside the bottom three and Alaves are one more point clear.
As has already been mentioned, just how important the last gasp goal by Kirian Rodriguez, which earned Las Palmas victory over their fellow promoted club Granada on Sunday, is unclear, but the chances are it will be hugely important.
That success was a real triumph as not only did it help them leapfrog the team that beat them to the second tier title last term, but in many ways couldn’t have happened in more special fashion.
On August 2 last year, midfielder Rodriguez had to take time out of his career and stop playing football in order to focus on his battle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma cancer.
In February he returned to action and was able to win promotion with the Islanders.
If that wasn’t enough of a fairytale, on Sunday came an evening of firsts. With his side a man down, and the final whistle approaching, Kirian picked up the ball just outside the box and let fly with his left foot.
Finding the top corner in the 92nd minute, it secured Las Palmas their first win of the season in their sixth game and one which will make their La Liga highlights compilation for more than one reason.
Just a thought: Las Palmas was a free-scoring side last term, banging in 49 goals with talented midfielder Alberto Moleiro contributing eight assists for the Islanders.
By contrast, Rodriguez’s strike was just their second so far this season, a statistic which has been offset by conceding just four, defensive qualities which could prove key.
As for Alaves, it is hard to know if they have the strength in depth to stay up but, like Las Palmas, are proving fairly frugal at both ends of the pitch and that could hold them in good stead.
They also have a belief as anyone who witnessed their fairytale promotion would have noticed.
Sometimes you find the club that tops the pile in the second tier of their league can struggle more than the sides behind them the following year and Granada are certainly finding it tough so far.
The Andalusian club made a triumphant return to La Liga after winning the Segunda Division, garnering 75 points from 42 games as the Nazaries finished the 2022-2023 season with the most goals, finding the back of the net 55 times.
Albanian winger Myrto Uzuni contributed 23 of those goals to finish as the division’s top scorer, while forward Jose Callejon was also instrumental to the team’s success, posting a league-topping nine assists.
To date though, they have struggled to adapt to life back in the top flight and have the weakest goal difference in the division – albeit it, it is early days.
Now I do not think all three sides will stay up, but I do not think all three will go down either.
Take a look at the SBOTOP La Liga betting odds before making up your own mind about the new trio.
As for any advice from someone who has never managed a team in his life: all three sides need to keep the faith – and finish at least 17th!
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