The Spanish Football League is witnessing a fierce competition for the title that has not occurred since the 2015-2016 season, between the leaders of Atlético and their chasers Real Madrid and Barcelona, which is the fiercest struggle for the title in the five major European leagues.
And before 8 rounds to the end, Atletico top the League with 67 points, followed - by one point - its neighbors Real Madrid, then Barcelona with 65 points.
Atletico was singing alone in the lead, with a difference of 10 points at the beginning of February, but the difference diminished little by little as a result of the points bleeding that he suffered until he became one point in front of his rivals Real Madrid and two points with Barcelona, who ranked third;
So he wants to avoid any new faltering if he wants to win the title for the first time since 2014.
This is how the goal of "AcunaMarcos" came @ AcunaMarcos17, which overthrew "Atlético de Madrid" in "Sanchez Bethjuan"
❤ @SevillaFC ❤ # LaLigaSantander pic.twitter.com/8DP8V9eYxE
- LaLiga (@LaLigaArab) April 6, 2021
Real and Barcelona won the LaLiga title 15 times in the last 16 seasons, and Atlético broke the rule and crowned it only in 2014, and can repeat its achievement if it wins the rest of its matches regardless of the results of its rivals, but it is a difficult task, especially in the absence of scorer Luis Suarez due to injury.
Atletico may miss the efforts of Joao Felix, Thomas Lemar and Kieran Trippier, who will take fitness tests at a later time after missing out on training in the middle of the week due to injury as well.
Here are 6 questions that could define the Spanish league champion:
1- Is Real Madrid the best of its rivals?
Real Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1 in an epic summit last Saturday, and although he does not control his fate, he has the mental strength to appear at the best level in the remaining matches.
German ingenuity 🇩🇪 @ToniKroos 🇩🇪 # ElClásico # LaLigaSantander pic.twitter.com/ukZdhGEeZW
- LaLiga (@LaLigaArab) April 13, 2021
Coach Zinedine Zidane's team appears with the same ferocity that led them to the LaLiga title last year, winning the last 6 matches in all competitions.
Karim Benzema is going through a great period, scoring 9 goals in 7 matches, and midfield trio Casemiro, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos help control matches.
This is how Karim's goal came in the last El Clásico ✨ @Benzema ✨ # ElClásico # LaLigaSantander pic.twitter.com/yRzgJkTOZY
- LaLiga (@LaLigaArab) April 15, 2021
Real Madrid also excels in direct confrontations against its rivals and its path - in terms of the remaining matches - appears easier than Barcelona and Atletico, who face the Camp Nou on May 9th.
Real also received a huge moral boost after overcoming Liverpool, to reserve their place in the semi-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday.
2- Is Real an invincible team?
Not exactly, because he misses prominent players such as Rafael Varane, captain Sergio Ramos and the most expensive player in the club's history, Eden Hazard, and Lucas Vásquez is absent until the end of the season.
In the absence of these, Real will visit Getafe next Sunday.
Real suffered injuries throughout the season, which made Zidane say - after the summit - that "we have reached the maximum of our capabilities."
Real still competes in the Champions League, but has become a candidate for the title after qualifying well for the semi-finals, while Atletico and Barcelona focus their focus on the Spanish League only.
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#Real_Madrid_Liverpool #Real_Madrid |
#Liverpool pic.twitter.com/YMLMYbQCGt
- beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) April 6, 2021
3- What happened to Atlético?
Atletico's strength has declined since the end of last January, when it was 10 points ahead of Real Madrid with a game in hand and scored 16 victories in the first 19 games.
Atletico was partially affected by the Covid-19 infection within its squad and was psychologically damaged, achieving only 4 victories in 11 subsequent games, and he appeared without offensive fangs after scoring two goals in the last 4 league matches.
💚⚽❤ Watch the summary of Real Betis and Atletico Madrid's draw. # RealBetisAtleti 1-1 # LaLigaSantander pic.twitter.com/7IzbuDJUFf
- LaLiga (@LaLigaArab) April 11, 2021
He also suffered from many injuries in the recent period, and he will be deprived of the efforts of his scorer Luis Suarez within 3 weeks, and his comrades in the attack will be absent, Joao Felix, Thomas Lemar and Moussa Dembele.
4- What about Barcelona?
Because of his modest start to the season, Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman doubted the chances of competition last December, but he rose up spectacularly and won 16 times in 19 games before losing to Real Madrid.
The defeat at the summit may be a moral blow, but the Catalan team is still in competition, and Lionel Messi may not want his last season at the club - as some expect - to be without titles.
5- Who is most affected by the absence of the masses?
Atletico usually depends on its enthusiastic fans, but it has achieved the best results at home among the top three this season despite the absence of the fans, and has won 36 points from 15 games at home compared to 34 for Real and Barcelona.
Real have to deal sometimes with an impatient crowd, and last season he benefited from playing at the small Alfredo Di Stefano stadium, which was the seat of his training, due to the renovation of the Santiago Bernabéu stadium.
Real has suffered more this season and suffered shocking defeats from modest teams such as Cadiz, Alaves and Levante, although they have won 7 times in their last 8 home matches, which include beating Atlanta, Liverpool and Barcelona.
6- Has this happened before?
The last time 3 teams competed for the summit was in the 2015-2016 season, when they were separated by one point until the penultimate round, and Barcelona clinched the title from Real on the last day after Atlético were eliminated from the race a week ago.
The 2013-2014 season was more exciting as Real were knocked out of the race before a match to the end, while Atletico visited Barcelona's stadium on the last day and secured the title for the first time in 18 years after tying 1-1.