Jose Mourinho’s men dropped more points in midweek- are they about to let the title slip from their grasp?
This year’s title race in Spain is just getting exciting.
For weeks it had seemed like Madrid had the title sewn up, with with Jose Mourinho edging closer to his first La Liga crown.
After two successive 1-1 draws, to Malaga and Villareal, they have seen their 10 point lead cut down to just six.
That may sound like enough, especially when you contrast it with Manchester United’s narrow one point lead in the Premier League, but with a trip to the Nou Camp to face Barcelona still on their to do list, the race is well and truly on.
A Barcelona win, in a fixture they won 5-0 last season, would cut the lead down to just three points.
There are more signs than simply numbers, that Madrid are entering a mini-crisis, with Jose Mourinho ‘sent off’ on Wednesday night, along with two of his players Mesut Ozil and Sergio Ramos, and they have now cancelled their press conference ahead of the weekend’s match with Real Sociedad.
The chasing Barcelona are in terrific form, with Lionel Messi scoring a phenomenal 18 goals in his last seven games, winning 5-3 against Granada over the weekend.
When a team is faltering, like Madrid, the last thing they want to see is a team in their headlights tearing it up like Pep Guardiola’s side are, just ask Harry Redknapp.
Both sides of course have the distraction of the Champions League to contend with, and while both should expect to progress to the semi-finals, a potential clash with Bayern Munich could really take it out of Madrid, while Barcelona would have to contend with Chelsea or Benfica.
Of course then there is the possibility of the sides meeting at this year’s final, a dream contest for many, should both clubs negotiate their way there.
First though, the clubs will clash on April 22, with five games to go.
There are nine games to go at this point in the league, with Madrid facing Barcelona, Sevilla, Valencia, Athletic Bilbao, and rivals Atletico Madrid. The run-in could not be any tougher.
Barcelona on the other hand, apart from having home advantage in El Clasico, only have to face Bilbao, of those opponents, next weekend.
Apart from that their run-in is far simpler, with their ‘other derby’ against Espanyol one that stands out, but one they should expect to comfortably win.
Now the lead has been whittled down to just six points, coupled with the run-in, El Clasico, and Champions League distractions, not to mention Jose’s latest drama, it is certainly not over yet.
Who do you believe will win La Liga?
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