La Liga Starts with Barcelona, Which Aims to Maintain Success

• Barcelona aims to continue its success after winning three trophies last season.
• Real Madrid is working on rebuilding after a disappointing previous season.
• Atletico Madrid has refreshed its squad, hoping to improve its results.

La Liga begins with different expectations from the leading teams.

The defending champion Barcelona aims to retain its success, while Real Madrid has the goal of restoring its strength after a disappointing season under the leadership of new coach Xabi Alonso. Atletico Madrid hopes that its revamped squad will help it compete with rivals.

Barcelona's Success

Barcelona has completed one of its best seasons in recent years, winning the league, the Copa del Rey, and the Supercopa de España. The team also achieved a league semifinals finish for the first time since 2019.

In its second season under the leadership of coach Xavi Flix, the Catalans aim to strengthen the squad, adding English forward Marcus Rashford, who joins the likes of Ansu Fati and Robert Lewandowski as one of the strongest attacks in Europe. The team scored over 100 goals in La Liga and was among the leaders in the league.

From the team, experienced defender Iñigo Martinez, who signed a contract with Al-Nasr club, and Ansu Fati, who moved to Monaco.

Barcelona starts the season with a match against Mallorca on Saturday.

Real Madrid Under Coach Xabi Alonso

Madrid finished last season without titles, losing to Barcelona and failing to reach the finals in the World Cup and league. All four "classico" matches also ended in defeats.

This led to the change of coach: Carlo Ancelotti left the club, and Xabi Alonso took his place.

The attack will again feature Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior, while the defense includes new signings, including young defender Din Huyssen and right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Luka Modric moved to Milan, while Lucas Vasquez also left the team.

The first match for Madrid will be at home against Osasuna on September 19.

Revamped Atletico

Atletico Madrid last season failed to compete for the title, finishing behind Barcelona and Madrid, and also missed out on the Champions League.

Coach Diego Simeone revamped the squad, signing new players like Alex Baena and Johnny Cardoso, while releasing players like Angel Correa and Rodrigo de Paul.

Atletico will start its season with a match against Espanyol this weekend.

Other Clubs

Teams that performed well last season include Athletic Bilbao, Villarreal, and Real Betis. Levante, Elche, and Oviedo have been promoted to the league, replacing Leganes, Las-Palmas, and Valladolid.

Injuries

Barcelona and Real Madrid will not start the season with their full squads. In the Catalans, veteran goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen will not be available at the start of the season due to surgery on his spine. After the conflict with the club, he returned to his captaincy.

Robert Lewandowski is also unlikely to play at the start of the season due to injury.

In Real, Jude Bellingham will not be available at the start of the season after surgery on his shoulder, while the player at Real Betis Isco is likely to miss the first few months due to a muscle injury.

Tags: Sport/Football/La Liga (Spanish league)