Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was already the best player on the pitch when he ran through to score Deportivo A Coruña’s winner on Saturday night. It was certainly not Ilias Akhomach, the Villarreal substitute whose pass on halfway had inadvertently played Aubameyang through, nor Sergi Cardona, the unassuming 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 Júnior to make it 3-2.
It had been a similar case the week before, when Aubameyang’s pace again left the Valencia defenders behind before he dinked the ball over the goalkeeper. The week before that, he calmly rounded Málaga’s Alfonso Herrero before opening the scoring. The week before that, the former Barcelona striker marked his return to La Liga against Elche with a superb touch and finish from Lorenzo Amatucci’s diagonal pass.
Scoring in each of his first four games for Deportivo is a club record, eclipsing Bebeto’s fast start of three in a row from 1992. Like Aubameyang, Deportivo appear reborn. 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. The former Arsenal striker Lucas Pérez returned for a fourth stint to help Dépor 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 Pérez and Bebeto from different eras.
It was another former Arsenal forward in Nicolas Pépé who broke the deadlock for Villarreal at the Estadio de la Cerámica on Saturday, with their new head coach, Iñigo Pérez, still searching for his first victory since leaving Rayo Vallecano. At the start of the week, Pérez was preparing to face a very different Deportivo squad. By the weekend, it included the deadline-day arrivals of José María Giménez from Atlético Madrid and Marc Casadó from Barcelona.
Deportivo’s equaliser at Villarreal came when Giménez 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. The signings of Giménez and Casadó – both on loan, both two-time La Liga winners – are a coup for Deportivo, even after an ambitious window where they spent €26m (£22.3m) on new players – only Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético and Real Betis have spent more.
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