La Liga is over, not yet!
Is La Liga really over?
And then there were four. Real Madrid’s victory at Espanyol on Saturday night, though expected, was monumentous in that it paved the way for another step on the comeback trail. When Barcelona surrendered two late goals to Atletico Madrid the following night, it only cemented it.
OK, so previous declarations that the Liga title race was dead may have been premature, to put it mildly. But I maintain that, come the end of the season, Barcelona are the side that will hoist the trophy aloft.
Recent Woes
This comes despite the fact that the unbeatable vibe of the Blaugrana has well and truly dissipated.
Make no mistake: Barcelona may only have lost out in the last minute at Atleti on Sunday night, but they have largely themselves to blame. Much like their opponents, they were at times inspired in the attack, but the defence left a lot – a lot! – to be desired.
We could fill a book on what went wrong at the back, of course, but it suffices to say lapses in concentration and poor positioning caused the bulk of the problems. But what is also of concern is the midfield.
Xavi was effectively shackled out of the game by Atleti’s central pair, the on-form Paulo Assuncao and Raul Garcia, and without him invention was at a premium. Eidur Gudjohnsen did his best but even when his passes did connect, Samuel Eto’o squandered them; Yaya Toure was probably the best of the three but as anyone can tell you, he alone is not enough to dictate a game.
As such Barcelona often toiled in possession of the ball and all too quickly lost out, meaning that the defence, already less than comfortable in front of a baying crowd at the Vicente Calderon, was under twice as much pressure as could be reasonably expected.
Yet all is not lost. A switch towards a central four could alleviate such concerns, but more important than that is the return of Andres Iniesta. The Albacete-born ace is extremely conspicuous by his absence, and, combined with a tactical reshuffle, his return can bring Barca out of their current funk. And that should be enough.
Worthy Adversary
This isn’t to cheapen the achievement of Madrid even a little. Under Juande Ramos the Blancos have undergone a turnaround as remarkable as it is entertaining, and even the most staunch fan of an opposition side must applaud Madrid for what they have achieved when all seemed lost.
In La Liga, their run of consecutive wins now stretches to fully ten games – the last side to beat them, in fact, was Barcelona! – and as such the deficit has been well and truly sliced.
This has come even despite injuries to some key midfielders, as well as the off-field dramas that have so dogged the club of late. The players, written off by some pundits in November, have responded in a way that is a credit to them and their club.
But it still won’t be enough. The poor start to the season was just too much. Indeed, what I said in mid-January still rings true: Real Madrid may be worthy challengers, but Barcelona have done enough already. They won’t throw it away again…
… surely?
Credit to: Ewan Macdonald, Goal.com
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Lol you’re kidding right