The Race is On; Who Will Win The La Liga Title?

Pelumi King

La Liga title was expected to be a two-horse race between Real Madrid and Barcelona. Some were tipping Barcelona to reclaim the league title, some were tipping Real Madrid to defend the league title, very few expected Atletico Madrid to be one of the contenders, talk less of being table toppers. Atletico Madrid steadily and virtuously worked their way to the top of the table.

Atletico Madrid at a point were top of the table with several games in hand. At that point, many analysts predicted that Atletico Madrid were going to win their first La Liga title since 2014. They projected that Atletico Madrid were going to win their outstanding matches and have an unassailable lead over Real Madrid and Barcelona. 

Atletico Madrid not winning most of their outstanding allowed “the beasts” Real Madrid and Barcelona back into the title race. They recently drew with Getafe. That draw means they now have a six-point lead over 2nd placed Real Madrid and 7 points lead over FC Barcelona who have a game in hand against SD Huesca. 

Diego Simeone the coach of Atletico Madrid said in his press conference after the draw with Getafe that the club knows that monsters (in reference to Real Madrid and Barcelona) are not going to lost till the end of the season. Before this press conference, he said he was surprised that many people thought Atletico Madrid are going to win by 20 or more points. He admitted that he knew the league will still be very competitive even with the inconsistences of Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Now the league is wide open and more competitive than ever. It is arguably the most competitive league among the top 5 European leagues. Real Madrid and Barcelona are fast on the heels of Atletico Madrid. If Barcelona wins their match against SD Huesca, they will just be 4 points behind Atletico Madrid. Atletico Madrid know that they will have to win most of their matches to stand a chance of winning the title. The difficult thing for Atletico Madrid right now is that they still have difficult fixtures coming up. They have matches against Sevilla, Barcelona, Real Betis and Real Sociedad. These are teams which have proven to be very difficult opponents. 

Barcelona and Real Madrid also have difficult fixtures coming. They even play against each other.  Sevilla, Barcelona Athletic Bilbao, Villareal to name a few await Real Madrid while Real Sociedad, Real Madrid, Villarreal, Atletico Madrid to name a few await Barcelona. 

The final games in the league are going to be very exciting watch especially for the neutrals. The three teams will not want take unnecessary risks or make unnecessary mistakes that will prevent them from winning the La Liga title. The three teams will keep on believing in their squad and hope there are no injuries to their key players. 

The eventual winner of the La Liga title is very difficult to predict. The three teams are giving their absolute best to make sure they win the title. What thing that is absolutely sure right now is that Whoever wins the La Liga title this season deserves it.