Friday, May 18th, 2012
A two-horse race is even more boring when one falls
After all the bitching, back-stabbing and drama emerging from the Real Madrid dressing room over the past week, they at least had something pretty major to celebrate on Saturday night; winning the league.
Yes, there is 18 games to go and the soundbites emerging from the Barca camp after their 0-0 draw at Villarreal were full of “it’s not over yet” and “we’ll keep fighting”, but they appeared words of obligation rather than true belief.
A seven point lead at this stage of the season has only ever been surrendered once in La Liga, in 2003-04, a season in which the winners, Valencia, amassed 77 points. In the past two seasons Real have as runners-up racked up 96 and 92 points. Even if they were to lose again to Barcelona in the remaining league Clasico, the chances of Mourinho’s men dropping four more points than Barca between now and the rest of the season against everyone else seems remote and could mean for a very dull run in.
Simeone effect continues
Things are looking up across town too as Atleti continued their stride towards Champions League qualification by Osasuna-ing Osasuna. A scrappy goal from a corner scored by Diego Godin was enough as Atleti admirably stood up to an aerial onslaught in the final half hour in Pamplona to record a third successive victory, the first time they had won twice in succession on the road since 2008/09.
The performance may have been more akin to the 0-0 draw at Malaga in Simeone’s first game in charge than the high-scoring victories over Villarreal and Real Sociedad in the past two weeks, but it is further proof that the Argentine has been able to instil a backbone and variety to Atleti’s play. Playing well and winning by three or four goals is brilliant, but being able to do that and get the 1-0 wins when not at your best is the real sign of a side going places.
Preciado on the brink
Unfortunately the greatest moustache in sport may be set for the chop. No, unfortunately there isn’t an anti-Movember campaign that begins in February, but rather Manuel Preciado’s position at Sporting Gijon looks increasingly insecure after a 5-1 defeat at Sociedad on Sunday.
The score doesn’t really reflect the flow of the game in which Sporting more than competed for 87 minutes, the problem was by that point they were 2-0 down before conceeding another two in stoppage time. On a brighter note though it was nice to see Antoine Griezmann return to some semblance on the form that made him such a standout in San Sebastian last season.
Marcelino too
Should Preciado be heading for the dole queue this week, Marcelino may not be far behind him after another defeat, this time at Malaga. Without a win in six league games and now in the bottom half of the table the only saving grace is that their realistic challengers for the fourth Champions League spot, Atletico and Athletic are just three points ahead. However defeat to a resurgent Villarreal this weekend would all but seal his fate.
Getafe for Europe?
In a league so tight that any decent run of form is rewarded with a quick elevation up the table, Getafe are the latest side to be embroiled in talk of challenging for a European place after another win on the road at Levante. However in contrast to their opponents this weekend, Osasuna and even Espanyol, Getafe should be good enough to at least sustain their position. Injuries and a few sequences of bad luck impeded their progress earlier in the campaign but with a bench that included the likes of Diego Castro and Pablo Sarabia at the weekend, there is no doubt they have one of the deepest squads in the league and who knows contrary to point one above they could even rekindle the title race in another Madrid derby this weekend.
Fantastic Fer
Game of the weekend came at Vallecas where an incredible atmosphere generated by both sets of supporters was rewarded in a five-goal thriller. In fairness the defending on both sides was appalling, but it made for great entertainment and the game was decided by one man back to his absolute best in Fernando Llorente. His first hat-trick in the league included his usual mix of brute strength with great technique and the only hope for both club and country given Athletic’s demanding schedule over the next few weeks is that he can stay fit to possibly lead the line for Spain at the Euros.
Tags: Athletic Bilbao, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Fernando Llorente, Getafe, Marcelino, Preciado, Real Madrid
