The last time Real Madrid lost a match, the year was 2013, and the calendar was flipped to October. On that occasion, Real Madrid travelled to the Camp Nou and suffered a 2-1 defeat to Barcelona. Fast-forward five months, and Real Madrid welcomes Barcelona to the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday in a clasico that could prove to be decisive in the Spanish league. The saying goes that revenge is a dish best served cold. Well, Madrid froze that dish five months ago in preparation for a Sunday feast in the Spanish capital. Over nearly five months of unbeaten play, Madrid mustered an impressive 27 wins and only four draws in 31 matches. With that near perfect record, Madrid enters this weekends clasico three points clear of city rival Atletico Madrid and four points clear of Sundays opponent, Barcelona. Whereas Madrid has gained strength with every passing week, Barcelona has looked, well, weak. Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale are building a partnership that may be good enough to win Europe, not just Spain. Meanwhile, Lionel Messi and Neymar continue to struggle in forming a consistent combination worthy of their widely heralded individual talents. While Barcelona supporters quickly point to their sides recent 7-0 demolition of Osasuna and successful passage to the quarterfinals of the Champions League as proof that the team is not in trouble, they cannot mask the recent stretch of poor away form. Barcelona enters Sundays clasico having lost both of its last two away matches. First, Barcelona fell 3-1 to Real Sociedad, a side that respectfully sits fifth in the table. Then, two weeks later, the Catalan club failed to put together any meaningful action in a 1-0 defeat away to Real Valladolid, a side that lives in the relegation zone. If one was to be critical, even the victory at Manchester City in the Champions League proved troubling for Barcelona until a red card and controversial penalty gave the Spaniards a one-man and one-goal advantage. Recently, Barcelona has not impressed away from the Camp Nou, as Messi and company have only won one of their last four away matches - the match in Manchester. Considering Barcelonas away form and Madrids unbeaten record, Real Madrid can and should collect all three points in Sundays clasico. If that happens, a seven-point gap between Madrid and Barcelona should all but eliminate the defending champion from the domestic league title race. With no more head-to-head league games between Real Madrid and the other two title contenders in the final 10 rounds of the league, the white team from Madrid would expect to cruise to the Spanish league title. It bears repeating that Madrid has not lost a match in nearly five months. With both Barcelona and Real Madrid part of the final eight in the Champions League, these teams have a strong chance of meeting in Europe. Sundays match would serve to set the tone for all future encounters between the Spanish giants. Should Barcelona and Real Madrid avoid each other in Europe, there will be one more clasico in the final of the Spanish Cup, better known as the Copa del Rey. That match will take place on April 16 at La Mestalla stadium in Valencia - the site where Real Madrid hoisted its last Copa del Rey (before Sergio Ramos promptly dropped it off the bus). Prior to looking ahead to the cup or to Europe, Barcelona and Real Madrid must look to Sunday. Madrid may be unbeaten in nearly five months, but the last team to beat Ronaldos Madrid was Messis Barcelona. As much as Barcelona needs a result to stay in the race for the league, Madrid also needs a victory to confirm its confidence and dominance. Its Madrid, its Barcelona, its el clasico, and its on Sunday.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 01:54:48 +0000
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