[FM 18] UD Las Palmas

[Guest El Payaso]

REPORT: Clinical Las Palmas record a victory against Betis

Jonathan Calleri and Javi Castellano celebrating the third goal of Las Palmas

UD Las Palmas recorded a victory at Estadio de Gran Canaria on Saturday afternoon as Juan Carlos Valerón was in charge of the club for the first time. 

Early goals through Vitolo and Jonathan Calleri gave Las Palmas an excellent platform to this game and the hosts were two goals ahead after just 18 minutes. Betis took control of the game soon after this and got back into the game after half-time as Joaquín headed in a Jorge free-kick. The final goal of the game was though once again for Las Palmas as Jonathan Calleri scored his second from Alen Halilovic's excellent low cross. 

Las Palmas have lot to thank in terms of their finishing quality as three of their total eight shots ended up in back of the net. Along with two goal hero Calleri Alen Halilovic impressed with his movement and two assists which he recorded from the central midfield position previously held by Jonathan Viera who is now injured. Halilovic seemed to relish the chance of playing in the middle as the Croatian was awarded the man of the match award. On right hand side it was Oussama Tannane who took Halilovic's position and did well by assisting Calleri's first goal from a quick break that saw the Argentinian through on goal. Raul Lizoaín didn't have lot to do as the only Betis shot on goal went in. 

The new man Valerón was satisfied with the first outing of his team:

"I think we did what we were expected to do here. The quality of our chances was always good and we could have scored one or two more as both Hernan (Toledo) and Alberto (Aquilani) had good chances late on in the game."

The former Las Palmas man Quique Setién was well received by the home fans and Valerón.

"Yes of course. What Quique did here was something special and he deserves all the plaudits and our respect."

Las Palmas (4-2-3-1): Lizoáin; David Simón, Bigas, Lemos, Navarro; Hernán, Samper; Tannane, Halilovic, Vitolo; Calleri
Subs: Aquilani, Castellano, Toledo
Goals: Vitolo (7'), Calleri (18' 69')

Real Betis (4-2-3-1): Adán; Barragán, Amat, Feddal, Jorge; Javi García, Guardado, Joaquín, Boudebouz, Durmisi; Bautista
Subs: Leiva, Fabián, Camarasa
Goals: Joaquín (55')

MotM: Halilovic

[Bigpapa42]

Nice to see Halilovic doing well. Enjoying this so keep up the good work!

[Guest El Payaso]

JORNADA 8: Boring El Clasico ends in a 0-0 draw

CD Leganés kept on losing ways against Espanyol on Friday as two second half goals from Sergio Garcia were enough for the hosts to gain a victory. 

On Saturday UD Las Palmas continued their excellent start for the season by beating Real Betis at home 3-1. Two goals came from Jonathan Calleri. Valencia struggled to beat Celta at home but Goncalo Guedes' 82 minute strike was enough to secure three points. Sevilla on the other hand dropped points in a goal scoring rally against Girona which ended up 3-2 for the hosts.

El Clasico ended round 8 on Saturday and it was a boring affair. Barcelona went for a result and got it. Real Madrid created 20 shots during the game against Barcelona's 8 but failed to create a clear cut chance that could have seen them through.

Atlético had an excellent chance to extend their lead on top of the table on Sunday which they failed to do as Málaga defended a point against them with a boring 0-0 draw. On rest of the round Villarreal and Real Sociedad bounced back on winning ways with 3-1 and 3-0 victories. Deportivo and Getafe split points with a 1-1 draw and Athletic Bilbao continued to struggle with a 0-2 home defeat against Eibar. 

Atlético top of the table and surprising duo Eibar and Las Palmas in top four so far. 

[Guest El Payaso]

REPORT: Las Palmas beat Leganés with a routine performance

A brace from Loïc Remy secured three points for the hosts as Leganés' shocking start to the season continues. 

Home side UD Las Palmas gave no chance to bottom of the table Leganés at Estadio de Gran Canaria as the hosts recorded a 'routine' 3-1 victory to keep Juan Carlos Valerón's winning record in 100%. 

The hosts started the game well and were ahead already in 9th minute as Loïc Remy scored from one on one built by Alen Halilovic. Leganés were not total pushovers but the hosts were always in control but had to wait until 76th minute for the second one as Loïc remy got through from the right again and was fouled by Raúl Garcia to get a penalty. Remy failed to convert but smashed in the rebound to make it two nil. 

Leganés had been on the back foot ever since Rubén Peréz was sent off in 61st minute and Las Palmas stroke once again in 94th minute as Hernan Toledo scored from a rebound from Tana's shot. This wasn't the final goal of the game though as on 96th minute Las Palmas defense fell asleep to allow José Naranjo to score a consolation goal for the visitors.

Both teams will continue their season mid-week in Copa del Rey.

Las Palmas (4-2-3-1): Lizoáin; David Simón, David García, Lemos, Navarro; Hernan, Aquilani; Remy, Halilovic, Vitolo; Calleri
Subs: Vicente, Toledo, Tana
Goals: Remy (9' 76') Toledo (90+5')

Leganés (4-4-2): Cuéllar; Zaldua, Muñoz, Siovas, Raíl García; Rubén Pérez, Gabriel, Omar, Szymanowski; Amrabat, Naranjo
Subs: Dos Santos, Beauvue, Gumbau
Goals: Naranjo (90+6')

MotM: Loïc Remy

[Guest El Payaso]

JORNADA 9: Nothing new under the sun as Atlético Madrid still top the table

Málaga and Celta kicked off the 9th round of Spanish La Liga on Friday evening. Málaga bounced back on winning ways with a tight 1-0 victory through a goal from Juanpi on 17th minute. With this victory they climbed above the relegation line, briefly.

On Saturday four games were played and all of the giants were in action. The day started at Santiago Bernabeu where Real Madrid beat Getafe 3-1. Isco, Varane and Bale scored for the hosts while Cristiano Ronaldo is still struggling to find the net. SD Eibar's excellent start to the season got a small knock as the league leaders Atlético Madrid beat them 0-3. Griezmann, Vietto and Gameiro scored a goal each. UD Las Palmas beat Leganés with a routine display 3-1 as Loïc Remy scored a brace and Hernan Toledo their third. The evening ended in Girona where Barcelona stole the points from the hosts with 3 goals to one. Rakitic scored the first one and Luis Suaréz scored a late brace to secure the victory for the main chasers of Atlético.

Sunday saw struggling sides Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao continue in bad form as both teams dropped points at home. Betis stole a point from San Mamés and a late penalty goal from Bojan secured 1-1 draw for Alavés. 

In Valencia the big brother was the stronger one as Levante bowed with 2-0 loss. Full-backs José Gaya and Martin Montoya scored the goals for the hosts. Real Sodiedad continued their inconsistent form by losing 0-1 at home to Deportivo while Sevilla stole all three points from Espanyol in the game that ended up round 9 in La Liga. Atlético still top of the table three points ahead of Barcelona and surprising duo SD Eibar and UD Las Palmas following three points behind Barcelona. Sevilla, Valencia and Real Madrid in breathing distance though. 

La Liga continues next weekend but all of the teams are already in action in mid-week as the top division clubs enter Copa del Rey. 

[Guest El Payaso]

Copa del Rey 4th round fails to provide shocks

La Liga teams entered Copa del Rey on 4th round of the tournament on Wednesday evening. Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid won their fixtures away from home comfortably and can already relax on second legs and rest players. Top 4 teams Las Palmas and SD Eibar were forced into draws though yet Las Palmas fielded up almost fully rotated squad compared to last La Liga match against Leganés. 

The biggest shock of the round was Cultural Deportiva Leonesa's victory against RCD Espanyol. Also Athletic Bilbao and Celta will have to do well in second leg to beat Granada and Real Zaragoza. The second legs are played in Wednesday 29th of November. 

[Guest El Payaso]

Valerón: We're ready to give a game for Atlético

Spanish La Liga returns in action with round 10. The pick of the fixtures will most definitely be the match where Atlético Madrid host Las Palmas at Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday afternoon. 

Atlético Madrid are considered as a clear favorite as the club from the Spanish capital has only dropped points once this season when they visited Málaga two weeks ago. Las Palmas along with SD Eibar are the biggest surprise in the league so far and have won both of their fixtures in La Liga under the new manager Juan Carlos Valerón. Despite Atlético being a clear favorite Valerón refuses to go into this game as a clear underdog.

"Obviously they are a hard team to break down and are always really dangerous on a break with the two players up front. But with two players up front, it will give us an advantage on other parts of the pitch and we will be looking to use that space. We will not go into this game to defend, we will be the Las Palmas team that everybody knows and if not anything else then we will most definitely give them a game here."

Both teams will go into this fixture in good situation as Atlético have both Antoine Griezmann and Kevin Gameiro fit to play. Las Palmas will only be missing suspended Michel and long term injuree Jonathan Viera from their match day squad while Vitolo is not allowed to play against his new club. Dani Castellano should be ready for bench as he has healed from his shin splints injury.

Diego Simeone has also spoken about Las Palmas before the big fixture.

"Clearly they are a team that are doing well in the league and we will have to respect that. This will be one of the big fixtures where we will have to give our best possible performance to secure three points. With the new manager it will also be hard to know what to expect from them."

Valerón's new assistant manager Sergio González has agreed the terms of his contract but will not yet be on the sideline with Valerón.

Saturday 28th of October

Barcelona vs Villarreal
CD Leganés vs Málaga
Atlético Madrid vs Las Palmas
Deportivo Alavés vs Real Madrid

Sunday 29th of October

Celta vs Espanyol
Sevilla vs Valencia
Deportivo vs Athletic Club
Real Betis vs Eibar
Getafe vs Real Sociedad

Monday 30th of October

Levante vs Girona

[Guest El Payaso]

REPORT: Las Palmas stun Atlético Madrid at Wanda Metropolitano

Atlético Madrid suffered their first defeat of the season in La Liga on Saturday as Las Palmas beat the previous league leaders 0-2. Barcelona climbed top of the table by beating Villarreal 2-1 at home.

It was expected to be a routine victory for Atlético who had been so convincing this season but they were in trouble straight from the beginning as just after five minutes Loïc Remy threatened Atlético goal from a quick counter attack but hit the side netting. Atlético took control of the game soon after but were forced to long range efforts by the stubborn and well organized Las Palmas defense. The presence of Remy and Tana down the flanks also restricted Atlético's overlaps which ended up being rare through the course of the game.

On second half things started to happen quickly as after five minutes of playing Ximo Navarro made a strong run from the right and got a cross in. Diego Godín's clearance was won in the midfield by David García who sent the ball forward for Tana who found Jonathan Calleri free in 25 yards out. Calleri pulled several Atlético players out of the defensive line and set up Alen Halilovic through on goal. The little Croat didn't fail and the visitors were ahead. 

If Atlético were the better side on first half, during the second half things turned around and Las Palmas were on the front foot. On 64th minute though a golden opportunity fell for Fernando Torres as Kevin Gameiro got a low cross in, Torres stretched but just missed the excellent ball David García deflected the ball straight at Koke to penalty spot but the experienced centre half blocked Koke's effort and the ball was cleared out. On 75th minute Jonathan Calleri had an excellent opportunity to put the game beyond doubt as Oussama Tannane released the Argentine from a quick break. Calleri was closed down by Godín and Oblak managed to save the shot from tight angle. From the following corner kick Las Palmas had a strong shout for a penalty as David García was pulled down by Godín. 

On 88th minute Atlético made a disastrous error in a Las Palmas free-kick that lead Sergi Samper being able to freely set up Mauricio Lemos inside the penalty area to make it two nil for the visitors. Las Palmas were close to make it three in the stoppage time as Tannane headed in from a Samper corner just to see Vrsjalko clear the ball from the goal line. 

Atlético failed to create a clear cut scoring chance with their 12 shots in total and only managed to get two of those on target. Las Palmas had five of their eight in total on target. The centre back pairing Mauricio Lemos and David García took the biggest praise of this victory while Alen Halilovic finally seems to be fullfilling those expectations that he once earned.

Atlético Madrid (4-4-2): Oblak, Juanfran, Godín, Savic, Filipe Luis; Fernández, Gabi, Koke, Carrasco; Gameiro, Griezmann
Subs: Vrsjalko, Saúl, Torres
Goal: - 

Las Palmas (4-2-3-1): Chichizola, Navarro, David García, Lemos, Bigas; Castellano, Samper; Tana, Halilovic, Remy; Calleri
Subs: David Simón, Hernán, Tannane
Goals: Halilovic (52') Lemos (88')

MotM: Mauricio Lemos

_________________________________________

Too long match report, sorry about that.

[DavidBeckham]

Fantastic win against A. Madrid and solid start mate! KUTGW, enjoying your presentation style a lot  

[Guest El Payaso]

4 hours ago, DavidBeckham said:

Fantastic win against A. Madrid and solid start mate! KUTGW, enjoying your presentation style a lot  

Thank you, sir. Was surprised as this wasn't even a 'lucky' victory but actually a deserved one even though we lost the amount of shots in total. David García was simply brilliant in this game. 

[Guest El Payaso]

JORNADA 10: Barcelona top the table as Atlético finally slip

It was a busy week for Spanish La Liga clubs as inside just seven days many teams had to play three games in total. 

The round started with an interesting fixture as Barcelona faced Villarreal at Camp Nou. Villarreal's season had been disappointing so far but they gave a game for Barca who had to rely on two penalty goals from Lionel Messi to claim a 2-1 victory. This was followed by yet another thumping for Leganés as Málaga got three points with a convincing 4-0 away victory. Leganés already seem to be down and out of La Liga. The biggest shock of the round followed as Las Palmas stole three points at Wanda Metropolitano which now sees Atlético Madrid dropping second on the table for the first time this season. Real Madrid climbed fourth for a while by beating Alavés in the last game of Saturday. Goals from Casemiro and Gareth Bale were enough but Cristiano Ronaldo currently isn't hitting the back of the net which is the main worry for Zidane's team.

On Sunday Celta and Espanyol drew 1-1 as Sergio Garcia scored a stoppage time equalizer. The most interesting match followed as Sevilla hosted Valencia. Sevilla were stronger and deserved their 3-1 victory. Deportivo de La Coruña and Athletic Bilbao then battled to an uninspiring 0-0 draw which saw Athletic dropping below the drop zone and questions being asked. The biggest surprise baggage SD Eibar continued on losing ways second time on a row as Betis beat them 2-0 at home. This drops Eibar to 6th position and just one point ahead of Valencia. Getafe and Real Sociedad were in action as the final teams on Sunday and both teams recorded already their fourth draws of the season and this sees Real Sociedad also in tough position as the European spots are escaping from them.

Levante and Girona ended the round with a 1-1 draw on Monday.

                                

[Guest El Payaso]

PREVIEW: La Liga round 11

La Liga will be back in action this weekend after a full week of rest. We have some interesting fixtures for the fans of Spanish football.

The round will start on Friday when Levante will host Espanyol. The match is expected to be a tight one as the hosts already have five draws summed up this season and Espanyol have only summed up two victories. Hard to pick a favorite on this one.

Pick of Saturday is Barcelona hosting Valencia at Camp Nou at 6.30PM but we start with Atlético Madrid hosting Real Betis. Atlético suffered their first defeat of the season last week and are looking to bounce back. The main problem for Simeone is to find someone next to Antoine Griezmann to score goals. Luciano Vietto or Fernando Torres might well get the chance to impress. Deportivo Alavés and Girona are up next in a mid-table clash. 
Barcelona will be the clear favorites naturally against Valencia but the team is tired as they fought in a tight Champions league game during the week against Juventus. Saturday will end at Sevilla where the hosts face Málaga who struggled during the beginning of the season but have already climbed to 14th position with recent good results including a 4-0 thumping against Leganés. Sevilla lost during the week in Champions league against Monaco but are still clear favorites here. 

Sunday consists of five games. Top-6 teams Real Madrid, Las Palmas and Eibar are in action here. Real Madrid will face Deportivo away from home without Cristiano Ronaldo who suffers from a neck injury. Las Palmas will travel to Celta de Vigo who are currently sitting eight on the table. Eibar have lost two games on a row which sees Leganés more than willing to record their first victory of the season here. The day will start though with Villarreal facing a must win game. They are up against it against Getafe away from home. Javi Calleja must be hoping to get both Bakambu and Carlos Bacca firing with all sylinders as his position is under the threat. The most interesting one here will be the Basque derby where Real Sociedad will host Athletic Bilbao at home. Both teams have struggled during the beginning of the season and questions have been raised both for Eusebio and José Ángel Ziganda. The head coach of the losing side might be gone.

Friday 3rd of November

Levante vs Espanyol

Saturday 4th of November

Atlético Madrid vs Real Betis
Alavés vs Girona
Barcelona vs Valencia
Sevilla vs Málaga

Sunday 5th of November

Getafe vs Villarreal
Deportivo vs Real Madrid
Real Sociedad vs Athletic Club
Celta vs Las Palmas
CD Leganés vs Eibar

[DavidBeckham]

Good luck against Celta! Should be a tough game as they are doing decent in the league too!

[Guest El Payaso]

REPORT: Celta and Las Palmas faced in 'the best match of the season'

Juan Carlos Valerón continued as an unbeaten manager with Las Palmas as his side recorded a fortunate 3-1 victory against Celta.

Las Palmas got into the game with an excellent start as Facundo Roncaglia scored an own goal after a header from Jonathan Calleri from Pedro Bigas cross. Vitolo played the ball back in from narrow angle and Roncaglia guided the ball into his own net. 

Las Palmas were two nil up at half time as a hard pressing work from Vicente paid off and he managed to win the ball back from Jonny down the left flank and set up Calleri inside the box for an easy goal. Both teams were creating but only one scoring. 

Iago Aspas brought Celta back into the game after hour was played as he linked up beautifully with Maximiliano Gómez and scored a tap-in from almost goal line. Celta's dreams of coming back fell short just minute later as Las Palmas again countered them as they tried to push forward. It was Sergi Samper who finished the move after Gustavo Cabral cleared Vitolo's initial cross poorly straight at the midfielder. This was also the final goal of the game.

Celta were left to rue their missed chances as the team created in total five clear scoring chances just to be time and time again denied by once again brilliant Raul Lizoáin who once again took his place between the pipes instead of Chichizola. Las Palmas on the other hand beat Celta on shots by summing 17 in total against 14 and 8 on target against 6. The game was largely described as the best one in La Liga this season.

Iago Aspas and Vicente were the two best players on the pitch with both players summing 5 key passes in total. Raul Lizoáin took a clear victory against Ruben Blanco in goalkeeping department and Mauricio Lemos and Pedro Bigas summing up two best defensive performances. In attack it was a clear victory for Jonathan Calleri who was once again strong with his link-up play for Las Palmas which was awarded with a goal.

Celta lined up in a regular line-up consisting of their key players while Valerón opted to rotate once again by dropping in-form Loïc Remy to the bench and bringing Vicente into the line-up and playing Hernán in midfield instead of Javi Castellano. Ximo Navarro kept now ban-free Michel out of starting eleven.

Celta (4-2-3-1): Blanco; Mallo, Cabral, Roncaglia, Jonny; Radoja, Lobotka; Emre Mor, Aspas, Sisto; Guidetti
Subs: Jozabed, Drazic, Gómez
Goals: Aspas (66')

Las Palmas (4-5-1): Lizoáin, Navarro, David García, Lemos, Bigas; Halilovic, Hernán, Vicente, Samper, Vitolo; Calleri
Subs: Michel, Tannane, Tana
Goals: Roncaglio (5' og.) Calleri (34') Samper (67')

MotM: Iago Aspas

[Guest El Payaso]

JORNADA 11 REVIEW

Levante and Espanyol started round 11 in La Liga on Friday. After some late goals and evenly contested affair the teams ended up with a 2-2 draw which was a fair result for both teams.

 

On Saturday Atlético Madrid were in trouble after Betis' Jon Bautista had put the visitors 3-1 up after just 20 minutes played. The hat-trick from the Sociedad-loanee wasn't enough though as Saul and Abel Fernandez brought the hosts to a 3-3 and in 91st minute it was Jordi Amat's own goal that turned the game for Atlético in a spectacular fashion.
Elsewhere Girona continued their good start for the season by taking all three points against Alavés through a goal from Jonas Ramalho. 

Barcelona and Valencia were up next in a thrilling fixture. Barcelona's mid-week game against Juventus didn't seem to bother the hosts too much and even Simone Zaza's opener in 2nd minute didn't break their backbone as with goals from Messi and Suaréz they were already in front after 10 minutes. Denis Suarez nailed the game in the end to seal a valuable victory for Barca. In the last fixture of the day Sevilla took a routine victory in a tight contest against Málaga winning 2-0.

On Sunday Villarreal did what they had to under pressure as they beat Getafe 3-1 away from home. The round continued with a struggling Real Madrid side taking unconvincing victory against Deportivo even though the visitors already were 2-0 up after just 20 minutes. Sidnei pulled one back for the hosts but Real limped through to a 2-1 victory.

The Basque derby offered entertainment to the people. Athletic Bilbao finally upped their game after a disastrous start to the season. Aritz Aduriz and Iñaki Williams scored their firsts of the season and Juanpi's goal was only a consolation for the hosts here. Eusebio's task doesn't get any easier as Real Sociedad will face Real Madrid next after the international break.

Las Palmas and Celta played an excellent game where Las Palmas won 3-1. Leganés on the other hand were so close to a victory against Eibar who pulled a draw in dying seconds of the game through Inui.

La Liga continues in two weeks after the international break. 

[Guest El Payaso]

PREVIEW: Sevilla take on Las Palmas

One of the most interesting games of round 12 in La Liga will be the Saturday fixture where Las Palmas will host Sevilla at Estadio de Gran Canaria. The teams will go into this game just one point separating them as Las Palmas are third and Sevilla fourth in the table.

Sevilla are currently occupying the position where they were predicted to be while Las Palmas still are overachieving and they are unbeaten under the new manager Juan Carlos Valerón. Both teams are in good form as they have won their last three encounters which include some tough fixtures including Sevilla hosting Valencia and Las Palmas stealing three points from Atlético Madrid.

Las Palmas' main man Jonathan Calleri already has six goals this season while Wissam Ben Yedder has 7 but hasn't started a league fixture ever since round seven as Eduardo Berrizzo has preferred Luis Muriel up front. It's highly likely that Muriel will once again start in front of the French star who has drawn interest from both Manchester City and Paris SG.

Based on squad quality Sevilla are the favorites but Las Palmas haven't actually been pushovers against anyone so a tight fixture with a high promise on goals is in the cards. A draw wouldn't surprise anyone.

Friday 17th of November

Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad

Saturday 18th of November

Girona vs Getafe
Málaga vs Levante
Las Palmas vs Sevilla
Espanyol vs Barcelona

Sunday 19th of November

Athletic Club vs Atlético
Valencia vs Deportivo Alavés
Villarreal vs Deportivo
Real Betis vs CD Leganés

Monday 20th of November

SD Eibar vs Celta de Vigo

 

 

[Guest El Payaso]

REPORT: Las Palmas labour a draw against Sevilla

UD Las Palmas and Sevilla played a 1-1 draw at Estadio de Gran Canaria as the hosts came from behind in the second half to labour a point.

Las Palmas coach Valerón fielded up a rotated team against Sevilla as he chose to play Michel and David Simon as his full backs, Alberto Aquilani as the playmaker and Oussama Tannane on the right hand side. All of them were on the bench in the fixture against Celta. Sevilla on the other hand went with their best team lining up into a 4-2-3-1 and Wissam Ben Yedder still on the bench.

The first half was a total domination from the away side as they kept the hosts with zero efforts on goal for the first 45 minutes. On 12th minutes Jesus Navas put the visitors ahead after a throw in from where Franco Vázquez set the Spanish winger up and he rounded David Simon with ease before slotting the ball in with his left foot. Luis Muriel had a chance to make it two only minutes before the half time as a long ball from Daniel Carrico found the pacey striker between the Las Palmas centre back duo. Even better chance fell for Pablo Sarabia in the stoppage time as Muriel collected a long ball at halfway line and beat David Simon on the left hand side and set up Sarabia to an open goal at far post but the small Spaniard missed from narrow angle.

Las Palmas came to the second half more prepared and were in control of the play. On 74th minute Alen Halilovic released Vitolo down the left hand side. The Spaniard beat both Gabriel Mercado and Nicolás Pareja and found Jonathan Calleri at near post and the Argentinian had no trouble slotting the ball in. Las Palmas piled on the pressure against Sevilla and summed up 8 efforts in total after the first half but didn't find a breakthrough as Vicente missed the best chance they had from the edge of the area. 

After two completely different halves the 1-1 draw was justified even though Sevilla might feel that they could and should have clinched this one in the first half.

Las Palmas (4-5-1): Lizoáin; Michel, David García, Lemos, David Simon; Tannane, Hernán, Halilovic, Aquilani, Vitolo; Calleri
Subs: Navarro, Rémy, Vicente
Goals: Calleri (74')

Sevilla (4-2-3-1): Rico; Mercado, Pareja, Carrico, Muriel; N'Zonzi, Banega; Sarabia, Vázquez, Escudero; Muriel
Subs: Lengnet, Ganso, Ben Yedder
Goals: Navas (12')

MotM: Jesus Navas

 

[noikeee]

This is some start. Las Palmas has no business being up there.

Las Palmas interest me as they're kinda my neighbours, I live roughly some 300 miles North.

I presume you resigned whilst playing as Moyes then re-added yourself as Valerón?

[Guest El Payaso]

JORNADA 12: Real Madrid back in the title race

Real Madrid climbed third in the table with 26 points as they beat Real Sociedad on friday evening at Santiago Bernabeu. Zidane had Cristiano Ronaldo back and once again opted to play with a 4-4-2 with both Benzema and Ronaldo up top. Both important strikers scored and Real were stronger with a 3-0 victory.

On Saturday it was a goal scoring galore as Girona and Málaga trashed their visitors with 4-0 and 5-0 victories. Las Palmas and Sevilla had more even matchup which ended in a 1-1 draw. 

Espanyol and Barcelona faced in the evening in a derby. Barcelona were two goals ahead only after 14 minutes but Espanyol bounced back with a brace from Gerard Moreno. Messi scored his second on 78th minute to make it 2-3 but Sergio Garcia pulled the game level with the final goal of the game. 

On Sunday Atlético Madrid had the chance to climb on top of the table when they visited Athletic Bilbao. The revitalized hosts surprised again by taking a 2-0 victory from Atlético. The whole day was full of 2-0 victories as Valencia beat Alavés at home and Villarreal continued their improved form in the same fashion. The real surprise of Sunday though was Leganés' victory away against Betis which was only the first one for the team. The point gap to the drop zone lowered to six points only.

Eibar's great start to the season has shown signs of vanishing and this continued as Celta got a late draw with a 1-1 result at Ipurúa. This means that Eibar are now five games without a victory in all competitions.

Teams qualified to Europe continue their tough journey mid-week and La Liga will return to action next weekend. 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

@noikeee Cool. I'm actually thinking of visiting Gran Canaria next summer. I created a realistic profile for Moyes which I retired (and moved the AI Moyes to West Ham) and then created a realistic profile of Valerón to take over. Wit Valerón (and with the new update influencing) I have gone into move adventurous style of play and that should at least punish us in the defense that has been far too good so far compared to the quality that we have. 

[noikeee]

1 hour ago, El Payaso said:

@noikeee Cool. I'm actually thinking of visiting Gran Canaria next summer.

It's a common holiday spot for us (dunno if you worked it out, but I'm from Madeira  ) but I've only been there once when I was 6 or 7 years old. It was supposed to be my high school graduation trip back then too but then I missed it.  

It's great fun with lots of entertainment and sights, worth the visit, but quite a hectic place these days from what I hear! Busy beaches and a wild clubbing scene!

[Guest El Payaso]

PREVIEW: Las Palmas travel to face Levante

Levante 5.00 Draw 3.50 Las Palmas 1.57

18th on the table Levante will host 4th placed UD Las Palmas on Saturday.

The hosts are in bad form as they haven't won in their last five games and in total they have only summed up one victory after returning to La Liga. UD Las Palmas on the other hand have a strong form in hands as they have won four of their last five games and the good start to the season seems to be going strong. 

Levante are both lacking goals and shipping in more than two goals a game. The new man up top Enes Ünal is still without a goal but has provided seven assists already. Las Palmas have upped their attacking game under Juan Carlos Valerón and are at times playing really attractive football.

This is one of the rare away games where Las Palmas can be considered as the favorites but the attacking style of play leaves gaps for Levante to use. If Enes Ünal is able to link up well with his companion then the pace of José Morales and Samu will come into use and they can hit Las Palmas where they are at their weakest: wide area defending. 

Friday 24th of November

Deportivo vs Girona

Saturday 25th of November

Alavés vs Espanyol
Sevilla vs Eibar
Levante vs Las Palmas
Celta de Vigo vs Real Betis

Sunday 26th of November

Getafe vs Valencia
Leganés vs Atlético Madrid
Real Madrid vs Athletic Club
Barcelona vs Málaga
Real Sociedad vs Villarreal

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@noikeee Heh, been living in Portugal for couple of months. We'll see how our European journey will go. Not exactly cheap to come from Argentina to Europe. Hope that you're enjoying the story too.  

[inthisspace]

 

Another silent supporter gained! 

Like the idea of the story so far! So glad you got rid of Moyes, who I could not believe got the job! 

 

Interesting to have "different managers" take over essentially the same team to implement their ideas. Kutgw! 

[Guest El Payaso]

REPORT: Las Palmas stumble at Estadio Ciudad de Valencia

Levante and Las Palmas drew points with a 1-1 result at Valencia on Saturday afternoon as the hosts came from goal behind to secure a point. 

Juan Carlos Valerón rotated his squad heavily as Ximo Navarro, Pedro Bigas, Vitolo, Vicente and Sergi Samper were all back in the starting line-up to secure the best starting eleven for the visitors. Goalkeeper Raul Lizoáin injured his ankle day before the kick-off which saw Leandro Chichizola getting a start.

The visitors started the brightly and threatened Langerak's goal during the first quarter of the match. It took almost 20 minutes though for the visitors to get ahead as Alen Halilovic found Vicente at the edge of the area and he let it fly with power to find top corner of the net. 

Levante were quick to react and it only took about ten minutes for them to equalize as David García and Michel Lemos made an error to allow Enes Ünal to head in his first goal of the season.

Las Palmas tried to break through throughout the second half but it was actually Levante who got closer on 74th minute as Ünal set up Samu to a good chance at the edge of the area but the winger only found the post of Las Palmas goal. Las Palmas tried to find the goal with both Rémy and Calleri up front during the final ten minutes of the game but failed to find a break through. 

Levante (4-5-1): Langerak; Iván, Postigo, Chema, Toño,; Lerma; Bardhi, Lukic; Samu, Morales; Enes Ünal
Subs: Campaña, Doukouré, Nano
Goals: Enes Ünal (30')

Las Palmas (4-5-1): Chichizola; Navarro, David García, Lemos, Bigas; Halilovic, Hernán, Vicente, Samper, Vitolo; Calleri
Subs: Tannane, Momo, Rémy
Goals: Vicente (19')

MotM: Vicente

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@inthisspace Thank you for the comment. Would wish that more followers would click that follow button and actually used their voice or writing as that is the feedback that we writers want.  

[Guest El Payaso]

JORNADA 13: La Liga takes its first victim of the season

Deportivo and Girona started the round in a match where the hosts simply had to win to improve their league position. Deportivo delivered here by taking a tight 2-1 victory with first half goals.

La Liga continued on Saturday with some really even matchups. Alavés and Espanyol fough to a goalless draw and Sevilla were unable to keep hold of their position as favorites as Eibar still refused to fall into mid-table obscurity by taking a 1-1 draw. Levante and Las Palmas continued the trend by drawing 1-1. While Betis took three points from Celta away from home in a tight 2-1 victory which saw Cristian Tello scoring the first goal for Betis. 

All the giants were in action on Sunday. Valencia started the day by taking a late 1-0 victory against Getafe through Ruben Vezo. On afternoon Atlético were comfortable favorites against Leganés but by surprise they failed to win once again as Gabi was sent off early on and Jose Naranjo scored the only goal of the game. This result saw Leganés climbing only one point away from the drop zone as they recorded their second victory on a row. 

Real Madrid beat Athletic Club 1-0 at home with a late goal from Gareth Bale. Barcelona were the most convincing one though as a hat-trick from Suaréz and a goal from Messi secured three points for the hosts against Málaga. 

Villarreal continued their strong climb up the table by taking three points from Real Sociedad away from home. With this loss Real Sociedad dropped below the relegation zone and this was enough for Sociedad board and Eusebio was sacked. Manuel Pellegrini has been announced as the man who will be taking over as the successor after the experienced Chilean was sacked by Huaxia Xingfu in China just couple weeks ago.

La Liga teams will continue their season mid-week as Copa del Rey continues with second legs of round 4. 

[Guest El Payaso]

Athletic Club the biggest team eliminated from Copa del Rey

José Ángel Ziganda's reign with Athletic Bilbao came into an end on Wednesday as Athletic Bilbao were eliminated from Copa del Rey by La Liga 123 side Granada who took a surprising 3-4 away victory from the highly rotated Basque side. This was enough for Athletic board as even with improved form in La Liga Athletic are only 13th on the table. Ziganda's successor hasn't yet been named. 

Other shocks didn't really happen even though both Villarreal and Real Madrid were held to draws at home by sides playing in Segunda Division. Both teams qualified with strong away results in hand. Barcelona and Atlético Madrid were convincing as well as UD Las Palmas who took 3-0 home victory against Alcorcón. Manuel Pellegrini also conquered in his Real Sociedad debut with a 1-0 victory over CD Toledo. 

The fifth round draw will be made in December. 

 

[Guest El Payaso]

THE END

I think that this is it. I simply don't seem to get into this new version of FM and as I also struggled with that during FM 2017 I think that my days as a FM player are over for now. I would like to thank all the people who have been reading this and leaving comments and likes. Was a nice journey as long as it lasted. 

[inthisspace]

On 21/12/2017 at 11:04, El Payaso said:

THE END

I think that this is it. I simply don't seem to get into this new version of FM and as I also struggled with that during FM 2017 I think that my days as a FM player are over for now. I would like to thank all the people who have been reading this and leaving comments and likes. Was a nice journey as long as it lasted. 

What happened? I think you were doing good thus far. Pity that, as I enjoyed reading the updates. All the best for your next challenge! 

[Bigpapa42]

Disappointed as well, but if you aren't feeling invested in the game or the save....

[Guest El Payaso]

8 hours ago, inthisspace said:

What happened? I think you were doing good thus far. Pity that, as I enjoyed reading the updates. All the best for your next challenge! 

Simply don't enjoy the ME currently and based on previous years this might be close to the final version of it during FM 2018. I think that this will continue if there still will be a bigger ME update but I am doubtful about it.