Racing Santander beat Sporting Gijón 4-1 in a Club Friendlies fixture on Thursday. The result came at a time when both sides were still finding their shape ahead of the new campaign. To be fair, pre-season matches rarely tell the whole story, but the scoreline spoke for itself.
Racing had been struggling in their last few outings. They'd lost 0-3 to Wolves, 0-3 to Athletic, and 0-2 to Osasuna in the weeks before this game. By then, they'd only managed a 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad and a 4-1 victory over Cádiz back in May. Something clearly shifted between then and Thursday.
Sporting's recent run offered little reason for optimism. They'd fallen 0-5 to Gimnástica Torrelavega, lost 0-1 to Celta Vigo, and dropped points in their other two friendlies. The wheels came off rather quickly against Racing's attack, and that's not something you'd want to see this late in preparations.
The statistics showed a fairly even contest in theory. Both sides held 50 per cent possession, though Racing earned five corners to Sporting's one. There were four offsides calls for Racing and just one for Sporting. The numbers didn't tell the full picture, but they hinted at who pressed for more.
What this means now is simple enough. Racing end five games unbeaten if you count the Cádiz result, and they've turned things around. Sporting, meanwhile, have lost three of their last five friendlies and need to find answers before September arrives. Cup football has its own rules, but this was league preparation.