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38-year-old Aritz Aduriz stunned reigning champions Barcelona as they lost 1-0 to Athletic Bilbao at the San Mames on the opening night of LaLiga 2019/20. It was a dismal Barca performance which was certainly not expected on the opening day of their title defense.
Meanwhile, Gareth Bale -- on the verge of being sold in the summer -- was the star man for Real Madrid. The Los Blancos decimated Celta Vigo in their opening game at the Bernabeu, even without their new signings making any impact.
A few miles away, Joao Felix, the new kid in town, lit up the Wanda Metropolitano as Atletico Madrid started their season with a win as well, beating a resilient Getafe who had finished fifth last season. Sevilla also came up with three points on Matchday one, while Valencia and Villareal could only manage to draw.
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It was an expectedly intense opening day at the office, with players from Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Valencia, Betis and Getafe all seeing red cards. The long race for the league title and for European football is already on. So, here's an early prediction of the top six in La Liga this season.
#6 Real Betis
Betis found a new identity in La Liga under their previous manager Quique Setien, who was even rumoured to be on Barcelona's wish-list. None of the teams in Spain enjoy playing against Real Betis, who beat Atletico Madrid at the Benito Villamarin, Real Madrid at the Bernabeu and Barcelona at the Nou Camp, last season.
Under Setien, Betis played bold, attacking, possession-based football regardless of who they were up against. Their possession and passing was the highest in the league after Real Madrid and Barcelona. The pick of the new signings this season is Nabil Fekir from Lyon, a massive addition to their attack.
After a campaign marked by scintillating performances, Betis under their new manager Rubi, will want to build from last season and aim for European football. From a team battling relegation to one of the teams to watch out for, Real Betis will have their part to play and will look to cause many more upsets in their 2019/20 campaign.
#5 Valencia
Marcelino has had an instant impact in Valencia, taking the club straight to the Champions League for the second season in a row. A series of disastrous managerial appointments had left the club stranded for quite a while, but now they are more where they belong.
With a flurry of new signings since he came in, the manager has often laid out the 4-4-2 formation, keeping it tight at the back and deploying Goncalo Guedes, Santi Mina and Rodrigo as fast counter-attacking outlets. Departures of Santi Mina and Simone Zaza are big losses for Valencia this season, but new signing Denis Cheryshev, a star for Villareal and for Russia in the World Cup, will bring a new dimension to their attack as an attac.
Valencia had some very impressive performances last season, beating Real Madrid, Manchester United and even Barcelona in the Cup final, which shows how well Marcelino handles his side against the bigger teams. They have enough quality to get into the top six and they're one of the few strong contenders for the fourth Champions League spot this season.
#4 Sevilla
With the standards that they have set for themselves, Sevilla had a poor last season, especially in Europe. They have shown in patches last season that they are the biggest team in Spain after Real, Barca and Atletico, and that they deserve to be in the Champion League.
Beating Real Madrid 3-0 and drawing twice against Atletico, the Andalusians did have some massive performances last season, but there were some poor ones as well. With the talent that they have in their squad along with the new signings this summer, Sevilla are one of the best teams in the league. New manager Julen Lopetegui had a brilliant record as the manager of the Spanish national side. He'll be looking to redeem himself at Sevilla after it didn't work out for him at Real Madrid.
Sevilla have made a whole bunch of changes, replacing familiar old faces with young talent. Luuk de Jong, Oliver Torres and Sergio Reguilon are the most eye-catching signings, and the team will definitely improve with them in their respective positions. It will be a challenge for the new players, the new manager and the old players to fit in together.
With the league table as close as it was last season, it will be a hustle between Sevilla, Valencia, Getafe and Real Betis for the fourth Champions League spot, but Sevilla might just have enough to cement their place in the Champions League spots.
#3 Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid are in transition, as they saw many of their big names make way for young, fresh talent. Diego Simeone's success over the years with the Roji Blancos has always depended on a rock-solid defense, but that department will have quite a different look this season, with the departures of Diego Godin, Juanfran and Felipe Luis.
But it's the addition of the new young sensation, Joao Felix, that has made Atleti fans even forget that their star player Antoine Griezmann has left them. There is no doubt that the young Portuguese will be an incredible addition to this Atletico side, bringing a very different kind of flair to their attack this season.
Simeone's men have been sensational so far, especially in pre-season, and even without their rock-solid defense, which has been the identity of their success for so many years, they will give Barcelona and Real Madrid an absolute run for their money. We'll have to wait and see how long this slightly-changed style of play continues successfully for the Madrid side as the season progresses, and how they deal with those patches when they perhaps lose a bit of form.
Atletico Madrid are definitely going to get enough results to get into the top four, and it will be very interesting to see how they perform when they face Barcelona or Real Madrid in the big games of the season.
#2 Real Madrid
The former European Champions just haven't been the same since Cristiano Ronaldo left the Bernabeu. Its impossible to replace someone who is arguably the greatest player of all time. A stuttering Real Madrid finished third last season, 19 points behind Barcelona, played second fiddle to Atletico Madrid, and saw as many as three managerial changes.
But the Los Blancos aren't the type to rest on their laurels, and bringing back Zinedine Zidane was a step to get back to where they belong. Signing Eden Hazard from Chelsea, one of the best players to ever play in the Premier League, was a statement of intent. With Luka Jovic, Ferland Mendy and all the other new signings along with the quality that they already have in their squad, they'll definitely have a much improved season.
Zidane mentioned that winning the La Liga is the priority for Real Madrid and they're expected to challenge Barcelona till the very end of the season. But if the title challenge comes down to the clasicos, then even with the talent they've got in their squad, they could fall short of matching Barcelona.
#1 Barcelona
The reigning champions might have lost their opening game, but they will still walk into any game they play as favorites, because of one man. The way the Argentine carried his team, and single-handedly changed the course of so many games last season, is just incredible. With the signings of Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie de Jong, they look even stronger than they have in recent years.
With an attack of Messi, Griezmann, Suarez and Dembele, and a midfield of de Jong and Vidal, Barca are one of the teams to beat this season, and it's very hard to see anyone getting the better of this Barcelona, especially when Messi is on the pitch.
The Champions are certainly the favorites to continue their domestic domination and reach the finals of the Champions League this season.
But their title defense hasn't started as smoothly as they'd have liked. After losing their first game, the Blaugrana have faced another setback as Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele are out of the next game due to injuries, but fans are hopeful Lionel Messi will make his first appearance of the season this weekend at the Camp Nou.
What do you think the top four will look like at the end of the season?
