Mbappé and Álvarez bring superhero vibes but La Liga sidekicks pack a punch | Sid Lowe
While the Madrid clubs’ main men had a quiet weekend, the supporting cast stepped up and showed their worth
The Spiderman and the mutant turtle were in town for the first time but someone else had to save the day. So along came the little bird, the little prince, the great big cucumber, Brahim, the boy Bobby and sweet potato. Then there was the Resurrección. Madrid is hot and empty in August, or it’s supposed to be, metal shutters down and scribbled signs up saying see you in September, but there were 140,744 people combined at the Santiago Bernabéu, Butarque and the Metropolitano this Sunday, excitement building as the capital’s teams came home for another season, kicking off at 5pm, 7pm and 9.30pm, from one end of the metro to the other and back again.
They had come to see Leganés return to primera, a 2-1 win over Las Palmas set up by a belting shot from Juan Cruz, who is now running at a goal and a hair style a game, the latest like some comedy 70s wig in two tones, AS’s headline declaring: “Cruz is a cucumber”. And the night before, another 9,529 were at the Coliseum for Getafe against Rayo Vallecano, but they didn’t see anything: for the first time this century, a La Liga match went by without a single shot on target. Mostly, though, they came to watch those two, world cup winners and new heroes for a new era, cartoon characters capturing everyone’s attention.
