A month into the Liga season, and not much has changed at the top of the table. Barcelona still reign supreme without much indication of slipping anytime soon, Real Madrid are close behind in second place after finishing last year in the same position, and Sevilla are, contrary to the other sides that finished near the top of the table last year, have managed to retain their status as one of La Liga’s elite. The rest of the table differs a good deal from last season’s finish as last year’s teams showed potential near the end make an early push toward claiming a European berth.

But while the upper crust of the table may have remained the same as we enter mid-October, the players that comprise these teams have changed - in some cases quite dramatically.

Thus, after a summer of transfer fireworks that had sportswriters very busy keeping up with the latest in rumours and transfer news, we examine and assess how La Liga’s principal teams have fared after their summer of wheeling and dealing.

Barcelona

Barca signed the second most expensive player in club history and a month into La Liga, it has to be said that they did not waste their money. While their style of play up front may have changed slightly with the departure of Samuel Eto’o, Zlatan Ibrahimovic brings a deft touch to lead the Barca attack and with five goals in six matches, already seems to have demonstrated his value.

But aside from 'Ibracadabra', the Blaugrana did not make too many changes to a squad that won the unprecedented 'Triplete' last term. The Catalan giants did sign left-back Maxwell from Inter to shore up a left-back position that looked dreadfully thin at times last season and also promoted Pedro ‘Pedrito’ Rodriguez from the B' team - judging from the young Spaniard’s performances this far this campaign (winning Barca the European Super Cup as well as making crucial contributions in La Liga), Pep Guardiola must be a clairvoyant.

In addition, Barcelona loaned out promising Brazilians Keirrison and Henrique to Benfica and Racing Santander respectively. While the latter is enjoying a fair amount of playing time the former has become a benchwarmer on Portuguese soil, which could stymie his development.

Further, as Barca are competing in six (now four) competitions this year, the squad may find itself a bit thin as Seydou Keita and Yaya Toure leave for the African Cup of Nations in January and the level of competition becomes more difficult. It remains to be seen if the Blaugrana will make any additions to the squad when the winter transfer window opens and already there are some rumours that 'CR10' could be on the way - a name given to a report that Cesc Fabregas and Robinho could be on their way to the Camp Nou in 2010, the Spaniard next summer and the Brazilian in the upcoming winter months.

In all, Barca have one of the best squads in football and, as a team, are unrivalled. It has yet to be determined whether Guardiola will rue not securing more signatures as the months progress.


Real Madrid

No team was more active in the summer market than Florentino Perez’s Real Madrid. Signing a new coach in Manuel Pellegrini, consecutive FIFA World Players of the Year in Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo, and a host of elite superstars in Karim Benzema, Raul Albiol, Esteban Granero, Alvaro Arbeloa, Ezequiel Garay, and Xabi Alonso, Los Blancos have captured the world’s attention by star power alone.

The results have been favourable and Kaka/‘CR9’ have certainly shown their value (Cristiano has scored five goals in six Liga matches and four goals in two Champions League outings), but - as evidenced by last weekend’s match at Sevilla - Madrid’s overall play has not yet developed such that the Spanish giants can dominate Europe’s more skillful sides.

The Merengues also made a number of cuts to their roster, some necessary and some controversial. Michel Salgado and Gabriel Heinze were somewhat obvious casualties as age and a lack of quality caught up with them, but departures such as Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben remain contentious. In the case of Robben, it seems as if Florentino Perez’s decision to allow the oft-injured winger to leave may have been a gamble worth taking as only a month into the season, the Dutchman has picked up a minor knee injury and will need surgery. The case of Wesley Sneijder, however, is not so clear-cut as Madrid certainly could have used his inventiveness in lieu of Guti’s penchant for surrendering possession in Saturday’s match at Sevilla.

Overall, Real Madrid’s audacious summer transfer activity seems to have translated into a marked improvement in the team both from a business/marketing point of view and from a sporting point of view. With Perez at the helm, one can only help but wonder what sort of mega transfer deals will be brought in next summer…Ribery?

Sevilla

True to president Jose Maria Del Nido’s policy of developing players in-house and selling them off for large sums of money rather than bringing in expensive talent, the Andalucians were one of La Liga’s lesser active teams in the summer transfer market, namely signing Ivorian midfielder Dider Zokora… that is until the last few days of summer. At €15 million Alvaro Negredo became Sevilla’s most expensive signing ever and has helped Manolo Jimenez’s side grow into a legitimate contender for the Liga and Copa del Rey titles as well as a dangerous side in the Champions League.

But perhaps more important than the additions of Zokora and Negredo are the players Sevilla were able to keep. Despite a great deal of interest throughout Europe for Brazilian striker Luis Fabiano, Malian striker Frederic Kanoute, as well as Spanish wingers Diego Capel and Jesus Navas, the Andalucian outfit was able to hold on to their star figures and keep a squad already teeming with talent together.

Zokora and Negredo (aside from a newly capped Spanish international in the squad) represent strategic additions to complete a well-rounded Sevilla that can compete in all three competitions and which bolsters a strong core of players, many of which are hold-overs from the enormously successful days of Juande Ramos. While Betis fans rue, Sevilla are a team on the rise.


Down, But Out?

Valencia

Valenica did very well to resist the huge offers for their star players (David Villa, David Silva, and Juan Mata) that could have raised the club out of the mountain of debt under which they are currently buried in and even have a fairly new youngster who may complete the Che attack in Pablo Hernandez.

Unfortunately, the defence has yet to match the potent offence. Goalkeeper Miguel Moya as well as defenders Bruno, Angel Dealbert, and Jeremy Mathieu were all brought to the club to reinforce the backline, but in the first month, the Valencia defence has been porous at best. In fact, they have only scored three more goals than they have conceded. On a positive note, the re-introductions of Nikola Zigic and Ever Banega have been promising.

At the moment, Unai Emery's side are playing like two completely different teams and the contrast is all too evident: the attack and midfield click seamlessly but the back-four are struggling to adjust.

Valencia certainly have the talent to compete as one of Spain’s best. Whether they live up to that potential is another story entirely.


Villarreal

How the mighty have fallen. With the departure of coach Manuel Pellegrini, Ernesto Valverde’s Villarreal have fallen from 5th place at the end of last season to 19th place with six matches behind us.

The summer brought the very promising Nilmar along with the similarly talented Jonathan Pereira - who scored a hatful of goals in preseason - but the Yellow Submarine may have needed signings in other areas to further their successes, particularly a more thoughtful choice in the coaching department. The squad remains relatively unchanged from the talented side of last season, but Valverde is now on very thin ice and could very well be the first managerial firing of the year.

Atletico Madrid

This summer was a promising time for Atletico fans. The team had rushed forward to claim the final Champions League spot for a second consecutive season, had succeeded in retaining superstar Kun Aguero and Pichichi Diego Forlan, and had even gotten stronger in the transfer season by signing players like Sergio Asenjo, Juanito, and Jurado.

One month into the season and Atleti find themselves swimming upstream. Finally recording their first win of the season, the rojiblancos begun the slow climb and now sit in 14th place in the table. Of the newcomers, Jurado looks to have made the biggest impact, scoring crucial goals. Asenjo is in Egypt playing for the national side in the U-20 World Cup, Jose Antonio Reyes has barely featured, and goalkeeper Roberto is out for an extended period of time with injury.

Atletico’s future in the Champions League looks bleak and they are going to need a strong turnaround to climb out of the hole they have dug for themselves. If they are to pull themselves out of the mire, they will need all their players - transfer newcomers included - to begin putting in productive minutes.