La Liga is looking great this season, with numerous teams beating each other, and one team that have fallen victim to this is Barcelona. Uncharacteristically they have drawn 2 and lost 2 at this stage of the season and trail leaders Real Madrid by 4 points.
We look at 3 reasons why they won’t win La Liga this season.
Lionel Messi
We have all come to expect so much from the Argentinian magician, Barcelona included, who seem to rely on him on several ocassions. But you can’t blame them because he has shown he is such an incredible player, capable of the impossible.
But it has been a very tough 12 months for Messi. First, he was sentenced to 21 months in prison (which he didn’t have to serve), and he has seen numerous injuries hamper his time recently. And as these injuries have shown, Barcelona really struggle without him. He was absent for the 0-0 draw with Malaga most recently, with Barcelona looking toothless going forward.
Either Barcelona needs to work on alternatives for when he is out or not playing well, or they need to focus on his training so they can ensure that he stays fit.
Real Madrid form
At this rate, Real Madrid could be runaway winners in La Liga. Legend Zinedine Zidane has worked wonders since he took charge in Madrid, and they now sit unbeaten all season. In fact, their last defeat come against Atletico Madrid in February, a run that has lasted an incredible 29 matches.
Such is the form that they are in, they went to to the Calderon to face Atletico Madrid at the weekend, having been without a victory against their neighbours for 3 and a half years.
Well that was well and truly put to bed as Real demolished their Madrid rivals with Ronaldo scoring a hat-trick and them coming away as 3-0 winners.
Madrid look to just have so much strength and have a lot more momentum than Barca at the moment. Of course, that can change in the blink of an eye, but they look like a force that will take a lot to stop this season.
Strength of La Liga
The classic line about La Liga used to be that it had 2 great teams and that the rest were just there to make up the numbers.
Well, firstly Atletico changed that to break up the dominance a bit of Barca and Real. But finally this season, the league is looking as strong as ever.
Just 6 points make the difference between 2nd placed Barcelona and 7th placed Atletico Bilbao. Because of this distribution in quality, teams are all beating one another, and it is becoming a much more even contest.
Real Madrid have escaped this due to their superb form and have just three draws so far this season. But if you’re not at the top of your game, teams are ready and waiting to beat you, as seen by the two defeats Barcelona have suffered already this season.