Open Thread: November 8th, 2021

The Open Thread/Daily Merengue is a place where you can discuss anything and everything related to football. Feel free to discuss the topics presented here, or start your very own discussions! The Open thread will be posted every day by one of the mods: Valyrian Steel, Felipejack, YoSnail, Ezek Ix or NeRObutBlanco.

Who said LaLiga isn’t competitive?

It’s tight. Very tight so far. Sociedad climbed back on top after beating Osauna 2-0 though both Madrid and Sevilla have a game in hand. Speaking of Sevilla they won the ’El Gran Derbi’ 2-0 in front of passionate Betis supporters. Atletico meanwhile somehow dropped points against Valencia after leading 3-1 till the 91st minute. Former Castilla striker Hugo Duro scored twice in stoppage time.

LaLiga action takes a breather with the international break. Madridistas just got to pray that everyone returns in one piece. Regarding the tweet below, sorry we only have room for Champions League and Europa League places. All hail Iago Aspas!!

Has Ancelotti found his starting 11?

AS certainly seems to think so and judging by the starting 11 that’s been playing this season, they might be right. The only cause for concern is that he doesn’t run them into the ground especially the midfield.

Lets talk non Mbappe, Haaland transfers.

The international break means that the transfer rumors once again pick up steam. While there’s the usual Mbappe, Haaland stories to wet our appetite, there’s a few other murmurs out there. The two that have caught my interest are the potential transfers of Rudiger and Coman. The latter doesn’t seem to make much sense since that’s not an area of weakness for Madrid and the price combined with his wages will be steep too.

There will be departures in the summer however or even in the winter transfer window, so the squad will need to replenished. Interesting to see how all of this shakes out.