3 reasons why Real Madrid can pip Barcelona to the La Liga title this season

Real Madrid's dominance in Europe throughout the last decade is unmatched. The club went on to claim their third consecutive Champions League title in 2018. The 13-time European champions are without any doubt, the biggest football club in the world, but Zinedine Zidane's men have struggled to match those heights at the domestic front.

La Liga has been utterly dominated by Barcelona for the entirety of the last decade. While Blaugrana have claimed seven league titles in the last decade, Los Blancos have been restricted to just two successful campaigns. The two arch-rivals are once again entangled into an exciting title race in this season's La Liga with Real Madrid sitting just three points ahead of Barcelona at this point.

While it remains to be seen who wins the title this time around, let's take a look at three reasons why Madrid can pip Barça to the La Liga title this season.

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#3 Barcelona's shaky defense

FC Barcelona v Malaga CF - La Liga

Barcelona have had their fair share of success in recent times, but one thing that the team has acquired lately is their inability to shut down teams from getting back into matches. One thing that's one of the major reasons for this is their defensive shortcomings.

Gerard Piqué no longer looks like the world-beater he once was and the Spaniard has lost his pace and agility in the last few years. Samuel Umtiti has lost his form and is no longer the world-class defender he once was.

Even Barcelona's hierarchy does not look like having taken notice, and the club has performed terribly in the last two transfer windows. Blaugrana's shaky defense could very well end up being the helping hand that Los Blancos needs to claim this decade's first La Liga title.

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#2 Real Madrid's backline

Real Madrid has the best defensive set-up in La Liga

In stark contrast to Barcelona's defense, Real Madrid's backline led by Sergio Ramos is finally blooming. In fact, Los Blancos pose the best defensive numbers in Europe's top five leagues and have let in only 14 goals in 23 La Liga matches this term. At this point everything at the back seems to be clicking for them. Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has finally redeemed himself and is now actually performing like the World Cup Golden Glove winner he is. Ramos seems to be only getting better with age and the whole backline's performances have been impressive.

Up until now, Madrid's defense has been brilliant and they have this huge plus point in their favor in the race for La Liga this term.

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#1 Real Madrid's resurgence

Real Madrid under Zidane improved steadily

Madrid weren't particularly impressive for a while after Ronaldo's departure to Juventus in 2018, and they were not actually looking good even in the initial stages of this season but Los Blancos have gradually learned to cope with the Portuguese star's absence throughout the last one and half years and are now performing fairly well.

The underlying cause of their continuous improvement is their desire to show the football world that they weren't all about Cristiano Ronaldo. Many players have stepped up after a forgetful season last term and the players are surely more determined to win everything that's available than they ever were.

While Barcelona looks like a team struggling to inculcate passion and desire, Madrid have plenty and this could potentially be one of the reasons in the La Liga trophy heading to Santiago Bernabéu at the end of this season.

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