Real Madrid’s nightmare scenario: How Barcelona can win the LaLiga title in El Clásico
Madrid’s recent slip-ups mean Barça could seal the league championship by beating their arch rivals in May.
Barcelona are firmly in the driving seat in the LaLiga title race, with Real Madrid’s recent slip-ups allowing Hansi Flick’s side to open up a nine-point gap at the top of the table with just seven games remaining.
Real Madrid’s costly slip-ups
Madrid followed a defeat away to Real Mallorca with a home draw against Girona, either side of the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal loss to Bayern Munich at the Bernabéu.
Barcelona, meanwhile, beat Atlético Madrid and Espanyol to turn their four-point advantage into a nine-point lead in a little over a week.
El Clásico could decide LaLiga
The future, therefore, looks bleak for Real Madrid when it comes to reclaiming the LaLiga title, and a nightmare scenario for fans of Los Blancos could be just days away from playing out in front of their very eyes.
If Madrid and Barcelona both win their next three La Liga fixtures (Alavés, Real Betis and Espanyol for Madrid, Celta Vigo, Getafe and Osasuna for Barça), the gap would still be nine points by the time the second Clásico of the season arrives on May 10.
That would give the Catalans the chance to secure a second successive LaLiga title by defeating their arch rivals in El Clásico. That scenario would move Barcelona 12 points ahead of Madrid with only three games left to play.
Of course, that will also remain the case if both teams pick up the same number of points in their next three games, regardless of results.
LaLiga tiebreaker
If that happens, a draw in El Clásico would not be enough for Barcelona to be crowned champions, as Madrid would hold the head-to-head tiebreaker after their 2-1 win in the first meeting of the season at the Bernabéu.
Should Barcelona extend their lead by a further four points, to 13, before El Clásico, they would have already wrapped up the title before the two teams meet in Matchday 35.
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