They each have reason to be cheerful, and also cause for some frustration, but El Clasico head coaches Xavi and Carlo Ancelotti are both in praise of their players as the La Liga season reaches a climax.
Barcelona are riding high at the top of the league table, 13 points clear of Real Madrid, and the La Liga 2023 betting odds have long since held the Blaugrana up as champions elect. But Xavi’s team has bowed out of the cup competitions, exiting Europe and recently taking a 4-1 aggregate thumping at the hands of Los Blancos in the Copa del Rey semi-final.
And they have just failed to win a second game in a row, being held to a goalless draw at home by Girona on Monday, a result which ended a four match winning run in the league and meant they lost an opportunity to extend their lead to 15 points. Xavi was, understandably, philosophical about his team’s result after Los Blancos had been beaten by Villarreal at the weekend, saying: The balance of the matchday has been good. We’ve increased our lead by one point, there’s one game less to go before the end of La Liga and also one week more to recover all the injured players.” With ten matches to play the Blaugrana are on target to finish the season with the highest number of clean sheets in Europe, an impressive record for such an attack minded team.
And there is more excitement around the Camp Nou with the news that Lionel Messi might be inching closer to a return to the club he loves and which loves him. The World Cup winner left for Paris two seasons ago and reports suggest he is reluctant to extend his stay at the Camp Nou in favour of a return to Catalonia. There is still work to be done to get the deal over the line but there will be dancing on the streets of Barcelona if and when it does.
Over in Madrid Los Blancos home match against Villarreal ended in a disappointing 3-2 defeat but Ancelotti remains upbeat. Real Madrid are set to take on Chelsea in the Champions League quarter finals, a match we’ll be reporting on here at SBOTOP, and the Spaniards will start as strong favourites to reach the semis. Strikers Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema have scored more goals than the entire Chelsea squad this season but the Blancos chief knows he can rely on his team to take this European tie deadly seriously. “This is a group, they feel good among themselves. They understand well when it is time to make jokes or to be serious,” he said.
“If you have to be serious, I don’t have to order them to be serious. For me as a coach to manage this squad it’s very simple.”
And Los Blancos too are looking forward to next season with an eye to strengthening their squad in their aim to wrestle the league title back to Madrid, assuming, of course, there is no spectacular capitulation in Catalonia this season!
Villarreal winger Samuel Chukwueze scored twice in the victory over Real Madrid and Blancos’ bosses see the Nigerian as a potential target for the oncoming transfer window. Madrid president Florentino Perez took the opportunity to open discussions during the game and, according to the Spanish media, he is weighing up a move for the player, who has a 100m Euros release clause in his Villarreal contract.
The 23 year old is an exciting talent and, since joining the Yellow Submarine in 2017, he has risen through the ranks to become one of the first names on the team sheet and is enjoying his best campaign yet, scoring 13 goals and making 11 assists from 40 appearances in all competitions.
While Real Madrid turn their attention to cup matters they also need to keep an eye on the league as city rivals Atletico climbed to within two points of them thanks to a 2-1 victory away to Rayo Vallecano on Sunday. Goals from Nahuel Molina and Mario Hermoso earned Diego Simeone’s side the three points which take them up to 57, on the heels of Los Blancos and ten clear of Villarreal in fifth. Atletico have been in red hot form in recent weeks, with a superb set of La Liga 2023 results, unbeaten in 12 and now, with a tight grip on their 2023/24 Champions League place, their fans would love them to take that second place
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