LaLiga and glorious unpredictability!
When referee Javier Alberola Rojas blew the full-time whistle at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu on Sunday evening, a number of players from each team collapsed onto the pitch like a set of dominoes, each triggered by the collapse of another. For the visiting Celta Vigo players, it was the exhaustion and relief of having snaffled a priceless point in their fight against relegation at the home of the league leaders. For those dressed in all white however, it was the frustration of seeing a point dropped, knowing that arch-rivals Barcelona had won the previous day – albeit somewhat nervously after seeming in total control against Getafe. For LaLiga in general though, the game was a microcosm of how the season is playing out. Nobody can take anything for granted.
At the top end of the table, some would argue that it’s a case of ‘same old, same old’ with the duopoly of Real Madrid and Barcelona driving clear in their own personal race for the title, with a gap of ten points before Getafe follow along in third place. A closer examination however would suggest that, despite a single point separating the only two valid title contenders, neither club are having great seasons.
Whilst Los Blancos have only lost one league game, albeit against relegation haunted Real Mallorca, they have been compelled to share the points on eight other occasions – with half of those coming at home. Throw in the fact that, aside from lowly Celta Vigo’s point earned last weekend, two of the other home draws were against Real Valladolid and Real Betis and it hardly speaks of swaggering dominance. The Blaugrana have lost four times in the league already – with a dozen games still to play! In the previous two seasons, when they won the title, they only suffered the same number of losses accumulated across two complete league terms. Despite that, they still retain a more than realistic chance of retaining their title.
Both teams are struggling to find top gear with any consistency. It’s like watching two Formula One cars powered by a mixture of high-octane fuel and Two Star petrol. What’s coming next, a new lap record or a limping return to the pits? Who’ll get to the chequered flag first? As Zinedine Zidane and Quique Setién peer along the road ahead, the second El Clásico, due in a couple of weeks, is looking like a turboboost for whoever comes out on top. That is, of course, assuming Real Madrid don’t fall foul of a visit to Levante, and Barcelona can defeat visitors Eibar at the weekend. Both should go into the big game on the back of a win, but the way things are going, other than death and taxes, nothing is certain.
You’d think that, with the big two hardly firing on all cylinders, there’d be a queue of wannabee clubs ready to challenge. The chasers however – in name at least – keep falling over their own feet, and there’s hardly any pressure from below. This week, for example, of the other eight clubs in the top half of the table, only Villareal and Granada managed victories, whilst Sevilla, in fourth place before the Matchday was played out, escaped with a 2-2 draw against bottom-placed club Espanyol, thanks to a late goal by Suso. In fairness, with Real Sociedad’s game at Eibar being postponed due to environmental concerns following a landfill fire in the area, the logic may be lessened a little, but it still means that more than half the clubs in the top ten failed to record a victory.
Talking about the foot of the table, things remain pretty tight down there. That draw for Abelardo’s charges kept them in touch, despite still being anchored to the foot of the table. Leganés dug out a point, at home to Betis, but Aguirre was surely hoping for more. Dating back to December 2018, Los Verdiblancos have only won 14 of 45 LaLiga games. If that sounds like relegation form, take note that Rubi’s team are around halfway in the table. Leganés are joined on 19 points by Espanyol. Above them, both Mallorca and Celta are on 21, the former after fighting out a single goal victory over Alavés. Next come Eibar on 24 and Real Valladolid on 26. And yes, that’s right, in striking contrast to the teams at the top end, none of the bottom six clubs lost. In the upcoming Matchday, Leganés travel to Galicia to face Celta in what could prove to be a big game for both clubs.
In other domestic matters, neither Basque club failed to take any significant advantage in the home legs of the Copa del Rey semi-finals.
At the San Mamés, Athletic club could only muster a single legitimate goal against Granada, when Iker Muniain put the home team ahead just a head of the break. The lead could have been doubled, but Capa’s effort was ruled out for offside as officials deemed that Iñaki Williams, standing in an offside position, had been ‘active’ in that he distracted the goalkeeper. It was one of those fine line decisions, but could end up costing Los Leones when they visit Andalusia.
The following evening, for a time, it looked like Mirandés were going to pull off another unlikely result. An early Oyarzabal penalty had the Anoeta thinking Real Sociedad would skate past the lower ranked team. It wasn’t to be. Andoni Iraola, a native Basque, born in Usúrbil less than a dozen kilometres from San Sebastian, inspired a comeback and when Matheus equalised six minutes ahead of the break, it was nervous times for La Real.
Three minutes later, Martin Ødegaard eased the pressure a little, but the home team couldn’t breach the visitors’ stubborn defence again. With the return legs scheduled for early next month, there’s still plenty for the Basque clubs to do if they want that Euskadi ‘derby’ in the final.
Predictions for the upcoming games, you ask? After seeing the way that Spanish football would have any pundit, let alone, manager pulling his hair out, I’ll take a rain check on that one and just enjoy the ride. 'Hasta la próxima semana!'