The La Liga season got underway last weekend, during a matchday that was spread across five days of the week, and gave the fans and media a first look at all 20 sides. One noticeable shift was the number of young players in action for the big two.
Los Blancos have signed young this year, with Trent Alexander-Arnold (26) the oldest of their additions with Dean Huijsen (20), Alvaro Carreras (22) and Franco Mastantuono all coming in, while veterans Lucas Vazquez (33) and Luka Modric (39) have moved on. Meanwhile Barcelona already have a young base, but have added Joan Garcia (24) and Marcus Rashford (27).
Big guns field youngest teams
Barcelona had the youngest average of age of any starting XI in La Liga on the opening weekend, as per Diario AS, at 23.8 years old. Los Blancos were the next most useful with their average age at 25.6 years, while four of the top five from last season ranked in the top five, with only Sevilla sepating Villarreal and Atletico Madrid. Athletic Club, who finished fourth last year, had the sixth-oldest team.
It is somewhat notable that the Clasico duo, and indeed Atletico Madrid in fifth, were fielding some of the younger teams in La Liga. There is an argument that this is a sign of young talent often being poached from the rest of La Liga, while Real Madrid have definitely shown a shift towards youth with their recruitment.
European challengers amongst oldest teams
Meanwhile Rayo Vallecano (29.7 years), Osasuna (29.3 years), RCD Mallorca and Real Betis (28.9 years) were the oldest four sides in the division on opening week. Interestingly all four were in European contention last season, with Betis (6th) and Rayo (8th), pipping Osasuna (9th) and RCD Mallorca (10th). In the case of Los Rojillo, who were only beaten to the final European spot on the final day of the season, Alessio Lisci sent out the second-oldest side against the second-youngest in Real Madrid, and almost managed a point at the Santiago Bernabeu.
