Is La Liga Going Back To Familiar Terrains?

messi leading the group again

Barcelona lost to Hercules, Real Madrid held by Mallorca and Levante and then Barcelona were held by Mallorca again. The first few weeks of the la liga this season promised something new to the fans. There was a hope that it won’t be a two horse race any more. Along with the beautiful football, a tough competitiveness will also be served for the fans. And the hope was increased looking at the rejuvenated teams of Atletico Madrid and Valencia with Villareal and Sevilla being also in fight. The six match unbeaten run of Valencia at the top gave the big two unfamiliar places in the league table.

However, come October and everything was back in track. In form Valencia lost to Barcelona 2-0 and then could not recover. In the next 3 matches they could collect only 1 point. The giants, Real Madrid and Barcelona were back to top and quashed any hopes for a setback. Real Madrid’s 6-1 wins against Deportivo and Racing, 4-1 against Malaga, 3-1 against Hercules and 2-0 against Atletico Madrid pointed out that there is no one who could tip the top two out of their favourite places. Barcelona also started thrashing teams with 5-0 against Sevilla being the biggest example.

no stopping these three

Now, if we take a look at the reasons, what made the surprise element of football vanish form la liga once more? If we take a look at the teams, there is no doubt that Barcelona and Real Madrid have much better team players than any other team. But Real Madrid with new coach Jose Mourinho, took some time to gel within and were looking lacklustre in the first one and a half months. Those who followed Mourinho in the last few years, this is not a new thing. The special one takes his time to build the team his own way. When Inter Milan faced Barcelona twice in the first round of the Champions League they looked to be much weaker and were happy to escape with a draw at San Siro. But at the end of the season in the semifinals they simply outplayed Barcelona there and held their lead in the away match. So, the day Real Madrid had a 6-1 win, it was a danger signal for the opponents. It meant that Mourinho reached to the level he wanted and there is no stopping them any more. The problem with Barcelona is a little bit different. Barcelona had a set team from the beginning of the season, but with players who played the most number of matches in the World Cup a month before the start of the season. The lack of performance in the two matches now look like a sudden lack in concentration and not things to count on.

mata's form not enough

However, more than the comeback of the champions as the champions it is the challengers who left the battle early. With unbeaten place at top after six matches, Valencia slumped to its familiar mid-season form and lost three of their next four matches. Atletico Madrid started the season as one of the favoutrites to cause trouble to the top two, but surprisingly lost against Barcelona, Real Madrid, Villareal and Sevilla and drew with Valencia. Sudden dip in form of world cup hero Diego Forlan and Kun Aguero together hurt the rojiblancos deeply and that put them at 8th position. However, the good thing about them is that Atletico have played all the tough matches and if they can now keep winning the matches against lesser known opponents, they can still stay in challenge. Villareal are the only team who are looking close to big ones in the points table. Sitting third with just 3 points behind Real Madrid and 2 points behind Barcelona they have a comfortable position to challenge them for the title. However, tough times start for them as they face Barcelona and Valencia in the next two weeks and Sevilla a week later with Real Madrid waiting not too far. Sevilla did not start the season well but other than their shock losses against Hercules and Sporting Gijon and 5-0 thrashing in the hands of Barcelona they have done well.

After 10 rounds, Real Madrid (26) and Barcelona (25) sit safe at the top of the table with only Villarreal (23) close to them. Fourth placed Espanyol and the rest of the pack are far behind the top two to challenge them for the title. After the first three months, it looks more likely to be a two horse race again unless something surprising happens in the next two months.