MADRID, Aug. 27 -- The second round of matches in Spain's Liga Santander saw Real Madrid and FC Barcelona maintain their 100 percent starts to the season and give us several things to think about. Here are some conclusions we can draw from matchday 2 in Spain.
1, Pique is right
FC Barcelona defender Gerard Pique is never a man to keep his opinions to himself and he spoke loud and clear after his side's 1-0 win in Valladolid. The game was conditioned by a pitch which had only been laid four days prior to the game and which lifted up in huge chunks, making conditions difficult and dangerous for the players.
"If we want to sell our product to abroad and take games to the United States, first we have to look at what we do at home. This is a disgrace, it's deplorable," said Pique.
This week also saw the kickoff time of the Sevilla - Villarreal match altered just three days before the game was scheduled, while Rayo Vallecano fans have complained that ongoing work in their stadium means it is dangerous to attend matches. LaLiga describes itself as the 'best league in the world;' incidents like the above make you question that assertion.
2, Lopetegui is his own man
It was not so much the fact that Real Madrid won 4-1 in Girona that caught the attention, but the decisions of new Real Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui.
The former Spain boss left World Cup finalists Rafael Varene and Luka Modric on the subs' bench at the start of the game, while maintaining Keylor Navas in goal ahead of summer signing Thibaut Courtois.
He also didn't hesitate to substitute left back Marcelo, who was leaving far too much space behind his back in the Montilivi Stadium.
Meanwhile summer arrival Vinicius Jr was relegated to Real Madrid's B-team, showing the coach is not intimidated by the 18-year-old 45 million euro price tag.
How much this will impress club President Florentino Perez remains to be seen, but so far Lopetegui has shown he is very much his own man.
3, No change at the Wanda
Antoine Griezmann scores from a set piece, Jan Oblak makes a series of fine saves to maintain the lead ...How many times have we read that script with Atletico Madrid in recent years?
Hopes after the European Supercup and their 1-1 draw in Valencia in matchday 1 that Atletico Madrid would use a more expansive style of football this season to better exploit the skill of Thomas Lemar and Gelson Martins look to be unfounded as they slipped back to their traditional defensive style against a newly promoted rival.
It's worked well in the past, but with the players available to them, at times you wish Simeone would change the script and go on the attack.
4, Beware the smartphone
Even though they don't play their game until Monday night, Athletic Club Bilbao players Inaki Williams and Artiz Aduriz have made headlines following incidents during the annual 'Fiestas' in Bilbao.
Williams was filmed having an argument with his girlfriend in the early hours of the morning, while Aduriz was recorded for posterity jumping up and down and singing the club song with a group of fans in an 'animated' state, a day after he was ruled out of action for 3 weeks with a hamstring injury.
Although in many ways it is pleasing to see players out and about and mixing with supporters, these days the ubiquitous smartphone means any step out of line goes public and that harms both the player and the image of their club.