{"id":883406,"date":"2026-09-07T15:56:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T15:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/883406\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T15:56:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T15:56:10","slug":"aubameyang-rolls-back-years-as-revamped-super-depor-return-to-la-liga-in-style-la-liga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/883406\/","title":{"rendered":"Aubameyang rolls back years as revamped \u2018Super D\u00e9por\u2019 return to La Liga in style | La Liga"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was already the best player on the pitch when he ran through to score Deportivo A Coru\u00f1a\u2019s winner on Saturday night. It was certainly not Ilias Akhomach, the Villarreal<\/a> substitute whose pass on halfway had inadvertently played Aubameyang through, nor Sergi Cardona, the intended target of that pass. After 89 minutes and two assists, the 37-year-old Aubameyang raced the length of the half to slot past Luiz J\u00fanior to make it 3-2.<\/p>\n

It had been a similar case the week before, when Aubameyang\u2019s pace left the Valencia defenders behind before he dinked the ball over the goalkeeper. The week before that, he calmly rounded M\u00e1laga\u2019s Alfonso Herrero before opening the scoring. The week before that, the former Barcelona striker marked his return to La Liga<\/a> against Elche with a superb touch and finish from Lorenzo Amatucci\u2019s diagonal pass. Scoring in each of his first four games for Deportivo is a club record, eclipsing Bebeto\u2019s fast start of three in a row from 1992.<\/p>\n

Like Aubameyang, Deportivo appear reborn. \u201cSuper D\u00e9por\u201d were Spain\u2019s most popular team around the turn of the century, with Bebeto having helped them win the Copa del Rey in 1995. Djalminha, Roy Makaay and the rest inspired them to a first league title in 2000, followed by another Copa del Rey in 2002 and a run to the Champions League semi-finals in 2004. After the money dried up, they were relegated from the top flight in 2011, 2013 and again in 2018, only returning this summer after eight years away.<\/p>\n

The former Arsenal striker Lucas P\u00e9rez returned for a fourth stint to help D\u00e9por climb out of the third tier two years ago. Aubameyang now has his sights on the club record of scoring in seven consecutive league matches, held by P\u00e9rez and Bebeto from different eras. It was another former Arsenal forward in Nicolas P\u00e9p\u00e9 who broke the deadlock for Villarreal at the Estadio de la Cer\u00e1mica on Saturday, with their new head coach, I\u00f1igo P\u00e9rez, still searching for his first victory since leaving Rayo Vallecano.<\/p>\n

At the start of the week, P\u00e9rez was preparing to face a very different Deportivo squad. By the weekend, it included the deadline-day arrivals of Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda Gim\u00e9nez from Atl\u00e9tico Madrid and Marc Casad\u00f3 from Barcelona. Deportivo\u2019s equaliser at Villarreal came when Gim\u00e9nez stepped out from centre-back and slid the ball into the box for Aubameyang to chase. He clipped it into the middle with the outside of his boot, Luismi Cruz finishing first-time.<\/p>\n

The signings of Gim\u00e9nez and Casad\u00f3 \u2013 both on loan, both two-time La Liga winners \u2013 are a coup for Deportivo, even after an ambitious window where they spent \u20ac26m (\u00a322.3m) on new players \u2013 only Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atl\u00e9tico and Real Betis have spent more.<\/p>\n

Marc Casad\u00f3 (right) \u2013\u00a0a loan arrival at Deportivo \u2013 tries to curtail Tajon Buchanan\u2019s progress. Photograph: Mateo Villalba\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Investment and debt-clearing at the club have gone hand in hand since the Galician bank Abanca became the majority shareholder in 2020, when D\u00e9por were relegated to the third tier during the Covid pandemic. Abanca now owns 99.99% of the club, but the fans still have a voice. Supporters voted this summer to change the team\u2019s name from Deportivo de \u201cLa Coru\u00f1a\u201d to the Galician version \u201cA Coru\u00f1a\u201d.<\/p>\n

The investment in all areas of the club has paid off. When given a guided tour of the training ground alongside Gim\u00e9nez, Casad\u00f3 was impressed with the facilities. \u201cIt\u2019s better than Bar\u00e7a,\u201d he said, deadpan, on camera. \u201cSeriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adama Traor\u00e9 has arrived too, after a chat with his former Barcelona teammate Aubameyang, on a free. Antonio Hidalgo, who guided Deportivo back to La Liga in his first season in charge, deployed debutant Traor\u00e9 as a wing-back off the bench on Saturday. When Gerard Moreno crossed for Tajon Buchanan at the back post, Traor\u00e9 scrambled to get back into position but comically looped a header over his own goalkeeper to gift Villarreal the lead again on 76 minutes.<\/p>\n

The influx of new players has brought with it concerns about the crop that got D\u00e9por promoted in the first place. But where many thought Aubameyang might replace the bustling striker Bil Nsongo, the pair \u2013 16 years apart in age \u2013 are now forming a fearsome partnership. Deportivo scouted Nsongo when he was playing for Canon Youand\u00e9 in his native Cameroon but decided not to extend his contract after his first year with the B team. He was insistent though, having made A Coru\u00f1a his home, and won the club over. \u201cHe was very interested in staying here,\u201d said Deportivo\u2019s academy director, Ismael Arilla.<\/p>\n

Deportivo\u2019s second equaliser came from another striker: Zakaria Eddahchouri, whose 18 months in A Coru\u00f1a have been marked by his significant contribution to promotion and the time he fell over the top of the waterfront while taking a selfie last year. Firefighters had to rescue the Dutchman from the rocks below and he spent the night in hospital with minor injuries. After 12 goals in the second tier last season, his first in the top flight was drilled past J\u00fanior at the near post after Aubameyang found him with a well-weighted pass.<\/p>\n

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored in each of Deportivo\u2019s first four games this season \u2013\u00a0a club record. Photograph: Maria Jose Segovia\/DeFodi Images\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

There is no overstating the importance of Aubameyang since his \u20ac1.5m arrival from Marseille \u2013 in goals, ambition and willingness to mentor younger players. \u201cHe has a special talent but you should see him train, how involved he is, how it rubs off on his teammates,\u201d said Hidalgo at full-time after the veteran\u2019s late winner. But it\u2019s also the little things: \u201cHis smile is infectious.\u201d The front flip celebrations are a sight, too.<\/p>\n

The \u201cbrutal\u201d victory, as Hidalgo put it, against opponents who begin their Champions League campaign on Tuesday, moves Deportivo into the top five and keeps them unbeaten, but the former Sabadell, Sevilla B and Huesca coach is not getting ahead of himself. \u201cThe table that tells you where you\u2019re at is the one on the final day of the season \u2013 now it\u2019s just for looking at.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quick GuideLa Liga resultsShow<\/p>\n

La Liga results<\/p>\n

Real Betis 1-0 Real Madrid, Athletic 3-0 Atl\u00e9tico Madrid, Rayo Vallecano 3-2 Racing Santander, Villarreal 2-3 Deportivo La Coru\u00f1a, Valencia 0-5 Barcelona, Alav\u00e9s 5-2 Osasuna, M\u00e1laga 0-0 Levante, Espanyol 1-1 Sevilla<\/p>\n

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Talking points<\/p>\n

Jos\u00e9 Mourinho congratulated Real Betis for \u201cplaying for a draw and then winning the lottery\u201d after his first defeat back as Real Madrid coach. Troy Parrott, given his professional debut by Mourinho at Tottenham, scored his first Betis goal in Friday\u2019s 1-0 win<\/a> at La Cartuja. Mourinho slumped in his chair as VAR spotted an offside in Carlos Esp\u00ed\u2019s acrobatic equaliser before Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 had a stoppage-time penalty saved by \u00c1lvaro Valles, leaving Barcelona to extend their lead over Madrid to three points with a 5-0 rout of Valencia on Sunday. Luck of the Irish?<\/p>\n

Sandwiched between Bar\u00e7a and Madrid are Alav\u00e9s, who have won three of their first four games. The former Real Madrid striker Mariano D\u00edaz, who spent over a year as a free agent before signing in 2025, scored his third goal in four games during a 5-2 victory against Osasuna on Sunday. He was upstaged by Lucas Boy\u00e9, whose hat-trick included an absolute belter from 35 yards out. \u201cI didn\u2019t even think about it,\u201d the Argentinian striker said.<\/p>\n

Lucas Boy\u00e9 (left) wheels away after scoring Alav\u00e9s\u2019 third goal \u2013\u00a0his second of a hat-trick in a 5-2 win over Osasuna. Photograph: Juan Manuel Serrano Arce\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

One Argentina striker who is having considerably less fun is Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez. Atl\u00e9tico were 2-0 down at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday by the time he entered the field to whistles from the travelling supporters. Nico Williams and Robert Navarro scored two in three minutes after the restart and Oihan Sancet added a late third. Diego Simeone opted not to comment on \u00c1lvarez not doing his post-match warm-down with the other substitutes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was already the best player on the pitch when he ran through to score Deportivo A…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":883407,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":["post-883406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=883406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883406\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/883407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=883406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=883406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=883406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}