¡Hay liga! As the popular saying goes in the Spanish press, “We have a league!” Barcelona’s 3-2 win over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu elicited two different kinds of reactions as the Spanish La Liga title race blew wide open.
Lionel Messi’s 500th goal for Barcelona could not have come at a better time. With the score reading 2-2 after 10-man Real Madrid had equalised in the 85th minute through substitute James Rodriguez, the home side smelt blood and attacked to find a winner and put the league out of reach.
Trending
Messi, who had spit blood in the first half after his jaw was introduced to Marcelo’s elbow in the first half, found the space in stoppage time to reward Sergi Roberto’s run and Jordi Alba’s cut-back with a precise shot that bisected the defenders and beat the outstretched arm of Keylor Navas to silence the Bernabeu.
Also read: 5 Reasons why Lionel Messi is the Greatest of all Time
As Messi celebrated by holding up his shirt to the crowd, Real Madrid’s players sank to the ground – wishing it would swallow them up. Messi did not utter a word but his silent stance alone was deafening. With the last kick of the game, the title race was back on.
Remember: In case both teams are tied on the same points after 38 games, Barcelona win the title thanks to their head-to-head record. El Clasico ended 1-1 at the Camp Nou so Barcelona have the upper hand with a draw and a win.
Real Madrid’s fixtures
One thing Real Madrid have had going in their favour ever since the month of December was their game in hand. First, it was their participation in the FIFA Club World Cup that saw their league game postponed.
In February, another Liga game was postponed when Celta Vigo’s Balaidos stadium roof sustained heavy damage after a storm raged through the area. There was no way to fix the roof that would have put fans at risk and even firefighters could not access the area to assess the damage prior to the game.
Neither side wanted the game postponed since both teams were also had European games on their calendar. Both Real Madrid and Celta Vigo have since reached the semi-finals of the Champions League and Europa League respectively and the rescheduled Liga game seems like an unwelcome distraction.
No date has been fixed yet for this fixture. What we do know is that it will not be the final game of the season. But it could well decide the Liga title race.
Los Blancos have only two more home games left to play in the league this season. They have had a stellar record at home and the Clasico loss to Barcelona was their first league defeat of the season. In 17 games, they have won 12 and drawn four (against Villarreal, Eibar, Las Palmas and Atletico Madrid). That’s a total of 40 points out of 51 available so far.
Against the opponents left to play, Real Madrid accumulated a total of 12 points in the reverse fixtures – all at home. They lost 2-1 to Valencia who had scored twice in the first nine minutes at the Mestalla while Stevan Jovetic’s injury-time strike saw Sevilla seal all three points in a 2-1 win at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium when La Liga resumed in January following the winter break.
Barcelona’s fixtures
The Catalan club have been playing catch-up with their arch-rivals ever since the start of the season. Ever since topping the table on Matchweek 1, Barcelona have relinquished top spot twice over the course of the season – in August and March. Real Madrid’s game in hand has seemed like an incurable itch and any attempts to top the table have always been accompanied by a footnote.
But like Real Madrid, Barcelona have also lost just once at home when Alaves came away from the Camp Nou with a 2-1 win in September. However, they have lost three times on the road (Celta Vigo, Deportivo La Coruna and Malaga).Unlike Real Madrid, Barcelona have three home games left to play in the league this season. The only trips they will make are to the island of Las Palmas and a derby against Espanyol.
In the reverse fixtures, Barcelona won 13 points. The only game where Barcelona dropped points was against Villarreal at the Estadio de la Ceramica where Luis Enrique’s side were rescued by a Messi free-kick in the 90th minute of the game.
But the other four games were comfortable victories where Barcelona scored a total of 16 goals! The club will be without the services of Neymar when they take on Osasuna in midweek as he serves a three-game ban. And he didn’t play against Osasuna anyway when they beat them 3-0 in December.
Who will win La Liga?
At this stage, it is really too tough to call. A number of factors will decide the final outcome – injuries, suspensions and a tight schedule, especially in the case of Real Madrid who have to take on derby rivals Atletico in two legs of the Champions League semi-finals on 2 and 10 May.
The league is still in Real Madrid’s hands but Barcelona do have a hand on the trophy even though the Catalan club are effectively breathing down their necks. Real Madrid have not won the league since 2011/12. Although they have won the Champions League twice in the last three years, they have only won the league once in the last eight years.
Luis Enrique could still sign off with a domestic double should Barcelona win La Liga and beat Alaves in the Copa del Rey final (a team they lost to at home but thrashed 6-0 away in the league). If (and that is a big 'if') results go the same way the reverse fixtures finished, Barcelona could win the league by a solitary point.
But whatever happens, we are in for a photo finish. ¡Hay liga!
