The 18th round of matches in La Liga saw the title race effectively reduced to two sides as Real Betis and Atletico Madrid lost their respective games
Photo: IANS
The 18th round of matches in La Liga saw the title race effectively reduced to two sides as Real Betis and Atletico Madrid lost their respective games, while Sevilla won and Rayo Vallecano continued their impressive return to the top flight.
Here are some things we learned this weekend in Spain.
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1. A two-horse title race
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Sevilla’s late win at home to Atletico Madrid means they are six points behind Real Madrid with a game in hand. Betis is third, 10 points behind Real Madrid, with Rayo Vallecano 13 points off the lead and Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad trailing by 14 points.
Although it’s clearly not impossible for a side such as Atletico to pull back on their neighbors, a lot would have to go very wrong at the Santiago Bernabeu for that to happen, while Atletico would have absolutely no margin for error in the second half of the campaign.
Unless something very strange happens, the battle for this season’s title looks like a two-horse race between Real Madrid and Sevilla.
2. Youth to the fore at Barcelona
Nobody at FC Barcelona is talking about a title challenge, given that Barca are currently seventh in the table and 16 points behind Real Madrid, and their main aim is to qualify for next season’s Champions League, which is so vital for their battered economy, Xinhua reports. There are signs under Xavi Hernandez that the club is building for the future and Saturday’s 3-2 win at Elche showed that Xavi is placing his trust in youth, with the impressive Gavi scoring, along with Nico Gonzalez and debutant Ferran Jutgla.
Barca are still very prone to lapses and there is a lot of rebuilding to do, but the youngsters offer hope in difficult times at the Camp Nou.
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