Madrid curl up in bed just one point away from Barça
As many expected, Real Madrid won their game against Getafe and as a result went to their beds at just one point's distance from Barça. The picture however is a little misleading, as Barça have to play today, but I reckon that having the phantom lurking too close for comfort will cause them some worry. Remember that Madrid went into El Clásico 10 points adrift; and as soon as Piqué had put them in front, Barça’s lead had momentarily stretched to 13 points, but Madrid shaved six off that total by turning the game around. Now the difference is just one point. Looking back over recent fixtures, it’s been less than two weeks since Barça, if only temporarily, had that 13 point advantage. Barça lost on that day at Camp Nou, at Anoeta, and at the Calderón...
That pushes us towards a fascinating end to the campaign. Barça could still end well: they could win the double and there’s a chance that neither of their two main rivals will win the Champions League. In such a scenario they would end as the kings of Spain. But they could just as easily end up empty handed, which is why Madrid and Atlético are within their rights to aspire to winning the Champions League and the league. There will be an even greater motive if Barça let slip any more points tonight against Valencia. This has been a spectacular turnaround right at the end of a season in which Barça seemed like they were striding doggedly towards victory on all fronts. The simultaneous dips in form suffered from Messi and Neymar has been the principal cause I might add.
The other has been the insistence of the two teams in pursuit. Atlético delivered the hardest blow to Barça, by knocking them out of the Champions League. Madrid have found a certain equilibrium - between Keylor’s heroics and Cristiano’s goals, and that has helped them to chip away at the points which separated them from Barça, as well as putting them in the Champions League semi-finals. Self belief is getting stronger with each day that passes for Madrid and Atlético. They are taking their lead from that old racetrack adage: “The horse which catches up, wants to win”. Later today we will watch two games which not so long ago we believed would be inconsequential, but are now bursting with drama. And that’s good news for LaLiga.