Ahead of the midweek round of action in Spain’s top flight here’s a recap of the weekend games and an overview of how things stand.
By Ben Hayward, LaLiga expert
Barça close in on the title
Barcelona took another big step towards the title by beating Atlético Madrid 1-0 at Camp Nou on Sunday as Ferran Torres’ slick finish from the edge of the area at the end of the first half proved enough to secure all three points for Xavi’s side and take them 11 points clear of rivals Real Madrid with just eight rounds of the competition remaining.
Antoine Griezmann almost gave Atético the perfect start as he hit the woodwork with a lobbed effort in the very first minute, but Barcelona had more chances and ultimately deserved to win the game, although there were a few nervy moments at the end after the ball hit Sergio Busquets on the arm in the area.
Atlético are the only side in LaLiga without a penalty in the competition this season and they did not get one here either. That looked like the right call, though, as Busquets’ arm was raised because he was jumping and he could do little to get out of the way of the ball as it was headed against him by José Giménez from point-blank range.
“It’s a really important win,” Xavi said after the game. “It was key for our objective, which is to win LaLiga. We have beaten a great team. They had chances, but we dominated and we could have scored a second goal, which would have given us calm.”
Asked if Barcelona feel like champions yet, Xavi said: “In the dressing room, they don’t feel like champions and if they did, we would tell them that we still aren’t. Nothing is done yet. We are focused and excited.”
Barça welcomed back Pedri and Frenkie de Jong from injury, but there was no appearance for 15-year-old Lamine Yamal, who was called up to the list for Sunday’s game but will have to wait for another opportunity to become the club’s youngest-ever player in an official game.
Atlético remain in third place and Diego Simeone said: “I’ll stick with the positives. We played a great match. We weren’t sharp enough in front of goal.” And on Barcelona this season, he added: “Being effective in both areas gives you a chance to be champions.”
Real Madrid beat Celta
Real Madrid had given themselves hope of closing some of the gap on Saturday as they beat Celta Vigo 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu to reduce Barcelona’s lead at the top to eight points ahead of the Catalans’ clash with Atlético on Sunday.
Goals from Marco Asensio and Éder Militão either side of half-time sealed a routine win for Los Blancos in front of their own fans, but they look unlikely to retain their title as Barça stretched their lead back to 11 the following day.
“I liked the team,” Carlo Ancelotti said. “I liked the attitude of the team. That allowed some of the players to shine, like Asensio and [Eduardo] Camavinga.”
The Frenchman, who played at left-back again, earned applause from the fans and acclaim from his coach. “He has extraordinary quality in all facets,” Ancelotti said. “He’s improving. He can play anywhere. In central midfield, at centre-back… he always does well.”
Asensio, meanwhile, is into double figures in a season for the fourth time as a Madrid player and needs just one more to match his best mark of 12, which came last term.
With eight games left in LaLiga, two legs of a Champions League semi-final against Manchester City and a Copa del Rey final versus Osasuna ahead in the coming weeks, Ancelotti is likely to rotate his squad as much as he can.
But the Italian is not giving up on LaLiga. “Looking at the quality of the two teams, there is not an 11 points difference,” he said. “Small details have determined that distance, which we want to reduce in the next few games.”
Hope for Valencia as Athletic join European race
Valencia beat bottom club Elche 2-0 away from home in a vital victory which has boosted their hopes of staying in LaLiga. Rubén Baraja’s side remain in 18th place, but are now level on points with Almería above them.
That was after Almería lost 2-1 at home to Athletic Club and the Bilbao outfit are very much in the race for Europe following a decent run of results in recent weeks. Ernesto Valverde’s side are now just a point behind sixth-placed Villarreal (beaten 2-1 at Sevilla) and two adrift of Real Betis (3-2 losers at Osasuna) in fifth.
Meanwhile, Real Sociedad’s 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano saw them open up a four-point gap in fourth place over Betis. Sevilla are eight points clear of the drop zone in 12th after their win over Villarreal, but Espanyol remain in trouble in 19th place following a goalless draw at home to Cádiz.
Midweek Fixtures coming up…
Real Madrid travel to Catalonia on Tuesday to face Girona, while Barcelona are in the capital to play Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday. Also on Tuesday, fourth-placed Real Sociedad visit the team below them in the table: Real Betis. Atlético are at home to a resurgent Real Mallorca on Wednesday. Valencia meet Real Valladolid in another crunch clash for both teams on Thursday, while Athletic host Sevilla at San Mames that same night.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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