5 things we didn't expect from the La Liga this season
We are already 10 games into the new season of the Spanish Primera Liga, whilst it seems just yesterday that Leganes inaugurated the campaign with a slender 1-0 win over Alaves.
Usual suspects Barcelona are once again leading the race having made a solid start under their new manager Ernesto Valverde and are hoping to bring back the League title to Camp Nou.
Nevertheless, a lot has transpired in La Liga over the past two months that has caught many on a hop. Certain circumstances that one really didn't see coming. Even from afar.
Here are five such things; things that we didn't expect happening at this juncture of Spanish football.
#1 Real Madrid's woeful start
Real Madrid's early season wobbles were unexpected, especially given the events of their facile vanquish of Barcelona in the Supercup just days before the season opener.
10 games in and the defending champs are already languishing 8 points behind their arch nemesis, a gap that seems too big to overhaul already. Blame their transfer inactivity or loss of form, or even fatigue, but Zidane and co. are already staring at the prospect of ceding their hard-earned domestic title.
A highly positive start to the campaign -- two trophies in first three games -- meant another year of dominance beckoned, but the tables have turned, 60 days later. And how.
Horrendous injuries, a terrible defence, high-profile departures, rudderless attack and a whole lot of issues are currently gnawing the 2-time defending European champions, and they looked absolutely clueless.
After two highly successful seasons, the Galacticos have raised the bar sky-high. We now expect them to be the frontrunners in every competition they partake. But sadly, it hasn't gone according to the script as they are now hit a low spell.
A 2-1 loss to Girona was the last thing the pundits would've expected, but the defeat has thrown up a real prospect of Real Madrid struggling to win the league again.