Barcelona’s poor form puts them level with Atletico Madrid at the top of the La Liga table.
Prior to El Clasico, it looked as though Barcelona were going to cruise to another La Liga title and that every game after that would be their coronation ceremony. At that point, they were 10 points up on Real Madrid and nine points up on second place Atletico Madrid. But since then, they have lost three in a row, including today to Valencia at home, putting them level on points with Atletico Madrid and one point ahead of Real Madrid.
Here’s a look at the standings after Barca’s most recent loss. There are five games remaining in the season:
If Atletico and Barcelona stayed level on points until the rest of the season, Barca would be crowned the winners since they have beaten them 2-1 twice. The same goes with Real Madrid — while they split wins, Barca’s 4-0 margin of victory was greater than Real’s 2-1. However, it has to be said that the momentum has completely shifted as the season heads into the home stretch.
Nobody could’ve predicted that this would happen. There was talks of this year’s Barcelona team being arguably the greatest we’ve ever seen. Last season, Messi, Suarez, and Neymar made up the highest scoring trio in Barcelona history and they carried that momentum through, even during a two-month period where Messi was out of the lineup.
While it is understandable to lose to Real Madrid, and even Real Sociedad given their struggles at Anoeta, losing at home to a Valenica side languishing in 14th place is inexcusable. It’s unlikely that Barca will finish the season without a trophy, as they can still beat Sevilla in the Copa del Rey Final. But if they just won the domestic cup, that would have to be regarded as a failure. Luis Enrique will have to pull out all the stops and keep his team composed if he wants to stay out of the hot seat.
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