Some of the biggest La Liga signings of the summer took the spotlight on the first matchday of the 2024-25 campaign, as SBOTOP football fans had their eyes on them to see how they’ll fare with their new clubs.
This was particularly the case when Villarreal and Mallorca hosted Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, respectively. Both matches ended with draws, as the four teams had six goals between them.
As the article title suggests, Kylian Mbappe didn’t have a great performance for Los Blancos, based by his lofty standards, while there have been mixed reviews for Atletico Madrid’s Alexander Sorloth and Julian Alvarez.
Meanwhile, Barcelona fans will have to wait for Dani Olmo to make his debut since he was not in the lineup in their 2-1 win against Valencia.
Wake-up call for Mbappe
Mallorca defied the La Liga 2024 odds to spoil Kylian Mbappe’s debut, as the former PSG star lack the clinical touch against them.
The French sensation had 13 touches inside the penalty box and took four shots, with two of them on target, although the one positive he had was completing three successful dribbles and a pass accuracy rate of 81-per cent (25-for-31 attempted passes).
Mbappe’s total of 44 touches was the lowest among Real Madrid’s outfield players, which is something he’ll have to get used to as the team’s No. 9. He also lost possession 11 times.
At times, Mbappe would get in Vinicius Jr.’s way because of his tendency to drift on the left wing. However, everything we’ve just mentioned are fixable as the days go by.
To be fair, Kylian Mbappe was not the only Real Madrid player who had a poor performance against Mallorca, as Fede Valverde, Thibaut Courtois, and Ferland Mendy had their off-nights. The bright spots for Los Blancos in this game were Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo, and Antonio Rudiger.
Despite this, Real Madrid almost won the game when Rodrygo struck first in the 13th minute, but Vedat Muriqi scored the equaliser in the second half, and Mendy was sent off late.
For the first time in four years, Real Madrid have failed to win their opening league game since they played out a goalless draw with Real Sociedad in 2020-21 following their 1-1 draw against Mallorca.
Sorloth reminds us his Golden Boot credentials
The first half of the match between Villarreal and Atletico Madrid was as frantic as it gets since both teams went back-and-forth.
Arnaut Danjuma opened the scoring in the 18th minute for Villarreal, but Atletico Madrid replied two minutes later when Marcos Llorente scored off a counterattack.
Diego Simeone’s side fell behind for the second time when ball deflected off Koke for an own goal after a rare blunder by goalkeeper Jan Oblak in the 37th minute.
Alexander Sorloth restored order, however, before the end of the first half by scoring the second equaliser for Los Rojiblancos. The Norwegian striker, who was one goal shy of winning the La Liga Golden Boot last season, went up for a towering header to haunt his former employers.
Sorloth has now scored his 18th La Liga goal in the 2024 calendar year, which is more than any other player has scoed in Europe’s top five leagues. For context, Harry Kane and Jonathan David are right behind him with 15 apiece.
Many would argue that Atletico Madrid could’ve won the match if Diego Simeone didn’t take Sorloth off the lineup in the second half for Angel Correa since the Norwegian had all the momentum. It was a puzzling move for the manager, to say the least.
Not much impact from Alvarez, Pepe, and Perez
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid’s other summer signing, Julian Alvarez, was unable to left an imprint during the draw against Villarreal.
The former Manchester City striker replaced Antoine Griezmann late in the second half. However, Alvarez only notched two passes and two fouls in just 17 minutes of action.
Alvarez’s limited performance shouldn’t worry fans over at the Civitas Metropolitano. Atletico Madrid will need the Argentine one way or another because they’ll be busier in the upcoming weeks, playing in Spain and in Europe.
On the other hand, fellow new signings Ayoze Perez and Nicolas Pepe also didn’t have enough time to make an impact for Villarreal. They only came on within the last 20 minutes to replace Arnaut Danjuma and Gerard Moreno.
Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, and Villarreal didn’t get the desired La Liga 2024 results last time out, but patience is the key, and it shouldn’t take their new signings too long to kick on for them this season.
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