As Real Madrid captain Raul conceded after his side scored three unanswered goals to beat Espanyol at the Bernabeu Stadium, “Six months ago, we’d have lost that.” Indeed, as recently as three months ago, the whole world thought Barcelona, with the return of Leo Messi and Samuel Eto’o, was starting to hit its stride en route to a third straight La Liga title. But now, with only four games left to play, four points separate the top four teams. Never mind the negative calls that the standard of play isn’t as high as it was in previous seasons-it certainly isn’t from Barcelona, anyway- the race in Spain is gripping stuff, and while the wind is certainly on Real Madrid’s side going into the final stretch, the title race is far from over, says Phil Ball.
He’s not the first to suggest there’s something in the air this year. Inexplicably, Ball says, when Barcelona is up, Real is down. Whereas the Catalans dominated December and January, the last two months have belonged to the Merengues. Meanwhile, Barca can’t find the back of the net, scoring just five times in its last six league games. Real had that problem at the turn of the year, but not any more: it’s scored 16 times in its last six.
By virtue of its superior head-to-head record against Barcelona, Real is the current leader with 66 points. The Catalans have a better goal differential, but the Merengues beat them 2-0 at home last fall and then tied 3-3 at the Nou Camp in March. It is the first time Real has assumed top spot of La Liga since October 2005 — which more than anything else reflects Barcelona’s dominance in the last two years. Sevilla, just two points behind, is certainly not out of it; nor for that matter is Valencia.