LaLiga Power Rankings: Week 1

Week 1 is in the books, and the time has come to present our first power rankings of the 2019/20 season.

If you want a primer on what we are trying to do here, go here.

The takeaways from this weekend:

• Sevilla looked good and Espanyol didn’t. The Andalusians rolled to a dominant 2-0 victory in Catalonia to begin Julen Lopetegui’s tenure.
• Barcelona stumbled in San Mamés, but should return to normal operations when Lionel Messi makes his expected return next weekend. We’ll see how injuries to Ousmane Dembélé and Luis Suárez impact Ernesto Valverde’s team selection for the next couple weeks.
• Atlético Madrid and Leganés play at Butarque next Sunday. Both put in deceptively good performances over the weekend, but only the former won.
• Real Madrid really were not impressive in Galicia. But Celta Vigo were a cut worse, with their defense turning to putty when los Blancos counterattacked.
• The eight-goal thriller between Villarreal and Granada didn’t cover either team in glory. It’s a referendum on the Yellow Submarine’s shambolic defense, which again looks like it will be a major problem for Javi Calleja this season.