The La Liga title race has been a more exciting watch than anything that has happened in the previous decade in Spain’s top flight. Instead of the usual “El Clasico” duopoly that dominates Spain’s top tier, it is Real Madrid’s rival, Atletico Madrid, which could be the victor in this three-way race. If Atletico were to win the league then they would be the first side to win it outside of Real Madrid and Barcelona since Valencia accomplished the feat in 2004.
As it stands Atletico Madrid are currently sitting in first place with 88 points, with Barcelona in second with 85 points and Real Madrid are in third with 84 points. If Atletico win on Sunday, then Real Madrid cannot win the title, but Atletico cannot secure the title if Barcelona also win.
Both Atetico and Barcelona can guarantee title success with two victories, since the sides meet each other in the final day of the season. Yet Atletico need only two draws to accomplish the same feat. Two points can secure Atletico the title, but not three points this Sunday. Yes, the head-to-head system is a wonderfully weird thing, but it does make for an interesting title race.
Here is a breakdown of how the three sides fare leading into the two remaining rounds of the Spanish football season.
ATLETICO MADRID
Remaining Fixtures: Malaga (H); Barcelona (A)
Atletico Madrid shared many parallels with Premier League side Liverpool this season, in the sense that they went on an incredible winning streak by securing nine wins in a row. And then last Sunday happened where it all fell apart for Simeone’s men, where they lost to tenth place Levante 2-0.
Yet the truth of the matter is that Atletico’s performances have not been worthy of that nine game winning streak—yet good results from poor performances could be seen as the making of champions.
In addition to the misery inflicted by Levante, BBC Sport reported that star striker Diego Costa could potentially miss out on this weekend’s match against Malaga due to a thigh injury. His contribution will be missed if he is ruled out for Sunday, but a home game against Malaga should be an easy three points.
After that they have to travel to the Nou Camp, face Barcelona and get a draw. Sounds simple, but unless Barcelona screw up in their game at Elche (which seems unlikely), then the pressure could get to Atletico and the La Liga title race could swing back to Barcelona’s favour.
BARCELONA
Remaining Fixtures: Elche (A); Atletico Madrid (H)
With everything that has been happening this season off the pitch for Barcelona and being marred by poor performances on it, then one could consider Barcelona’s participation in the La Liga title race a surprise. After all, until last weekend, many thought that Barcelona would go without a trophy for the first time since 2007.
According to many fans and pundits, Barca have been less than aesthetically pleasing by playing more direct football than the tiki-taka style they got accustomed to. However, with an easy game against Elche followed by a home tie with the team they have to beat Atletico Madrid, Barcelona fans will soon ignore Gerardo Martino’s “poor” management.
Yet that seems all too simple as they had an opportunity on Saturday to have a gap of only one point on Atletico, but they failed to beat Getafe. It’s these sort of games that Barcelona used to win on their casual stroll to domestic success. That’s now gone and so could Martino if they don’t win La Liga.
REAL MADRID
Remaining Fixtures: Celta Vigo (A); Espanyol (H)
When their cross-city rivals Atletico lost to Levante, Real Madrid had the perfect opportunity to capitalise on their mistakes and beat both Valencia and Real Valladolid. Yet instead of collecting six points and being level with Atletico Madrid, they managed only two draws, and now have to rely on other teams to do their bidding.
To make matters worse for Los Blancos is that Cristiano Ronaldo might not start this Sunday against Celta Vigo after he was hurt in Wednesday’s draw with Valladolid. Moreover, some of the team has conceded defeat to their rivals, with the likes of Xabi Alonso (according to BBC Sport) citing the gap is too large.
On the flip side, Real Madrid do have a Champions League final against Atletico Madrid to look forward to. And undoubtedly, manager Carlo Ancelotti will be focussing their players on lifting Europe’s grandest prize for the first time since 2002.
Thanks for reading! You can follow me on twitter – @BrodSutherland. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Feel free to discuss this and other footy related articles with thousands of fans at r/football.
For the latest in sports injury news, check out our friends at sports injury alert.
Main Photo
