Hay Liga?

If a week is a long time in politics, than three days is a long time in football. Just 72 hours after Real Madrid’s ten point lead over Barcelona was cut to eight by an exquisite Santi Cazorla free kick, Marco Senna ensured that the gap was narrowed even further last night. Now the difference between the two sides is just six points, a much more palpable figure for Pep Guardiola’s squad to digest.

Real were caught off guard on Sunday against a Malaga team which unexpectedly popped up out of the woodwork, six months after it had proclaimed to the world in pre-season that it was about to shake things up at the top. Despite taking a first half lead through Karim Benzema, Madrid couldn’t kill the game off and paid the price right at the death as a result, when a poorly positioned Iker Casillas could only look on helplessly as the league’s most prolific dead ball specialist, Cazorla (four goals from 21 attempts), found the top corner of the Madrid captain’s net. The eerie silence that followed the former Villarreal star’s equaliser gave the Bernabeu the feel of a morgue.

It was no secret that Madrid had faced some arduous tests in the weeks proceeding Sunday night’s game – the close call in Vallecas, followed by the equally thrilling and controversial victory over Betis, as well as the slug fest in the Coliseum – but these were on the road and, while scrappy and disjointed, they all resulted in three points for the league leaders.

The fact that Sunday night saw los blanco’s being pilfered of points on their own stomping ground -- a place where visiting teams are supposed to come to get their bellies tickled -- sent shock waves through the stands in Chamartín. Suddenly, the team that was making a habit of winning when playing poorly, was now just playing poorly. The fans couldn’t even bring themselves to boo.

Mourihno’s reaction to all this was to revert to Mourihno tactics. Out with the recently back-in-favour Kaká and in with the workhorse Lass Diarra for last night’s encounter away to Villarreal. A technical and creative maestro replaced by a disruptor, of the Claude Makelele mould. Never mind that the Yellow Submarine had lost its previous three matches and had just sacked its second manager of the season, the Madrid coach decided that it was more important to prevent the home team from playing rather than taking the game to them. Thus a triumvirate made up of Xabi Alonso, Sami Khedira and Lass was favoured over pairing Özil and Kaka together.

The Special One stuck to his defensive guns even when Lass picked up a needless booking early on. Aware that the Frenchman is nowhere near as effective when he’s on a yellow, Mou choose to change him for Callejón. Admittedly this was more of a positive move but just as the tall haired midfielder was getting into the swing of things, a clumsy challenge from Bruno meant the sub had to come off at the break. Cue Hamit Altintop. The Turkish enigma came on as a bemused looking bench made up of Higuaín, Kaká and Esteban Granero, looked on. Madrid went ahead through a moment of telepathic brilliance between Özil and Ronlado, in an otherwise turgid, stop-start spectacle.

The visitors were punished though when (you guessed it) Altintop conceded a free kick on the edge of Madrid’s box, which Senna duly dispatched into the bottom right hand corner of Casillas’ net, with the keeper being guilty of poor positioning again.

The chaos that ensued after that was farcical. First Ramos became the most sent off player in Real Madrid’s history (14 reds) when he picked up a second booking for recklessly mauling Nilmar in a 50/50. He was quickly followed by Özil who clapped his way into the book, just as the team’s physio, Rui Faria had done earlier on. After that Mou got in on the act, as did Pepe who couldn’t keep his grievances with referee Paradas Ramero to himself in the tunnel after the final whistle. Even the usually angelic Ronaldo felt the team was hard done by and made his disapproval with the referee’s performance clear with a hand gesture that translates as “robbery”.

Madrid’s disgust with the referee was so venomous that neither the manager nor the assistant, Karanka, would make an appearance in the post-match press conference for fear of what they might say. But was this just a diversion? While the ref did have a nightmare, it went both ways. The harsh booking Pepe received for simulation, when his mouth was bleeding, was cancelled out by two penalty shouts for Villarreal which weren’t awarded.

Earlier on in the night, Marcelo Bielsa made no qualms about taking the rap for his Athletic side losing to Atlético Madrid, “I feel especially responsible for the defeat because the decisions I made didn’t solve any of the problems I intended to correct, which weakened the team”. A far cry from the Madrid coach’s refusal to own up to things.

Last week when los blancos seemed untouchable, the Catalan press resorted to playing the victim, claiming that referees were unfairly favouring Barca’s eternal rival. Mundo Deportivo went with the headline “Mano Blanca” (White Hand) to highlight the five “clear-cut” (non)decisions that were to blame for the ten point gap.  Now with the past four days events behind him, Mou is probably attempting to muster up his own conspiracy theories in an attempt to galvanise his squad. It wouldn’t be the first time.

Apparently dignity is a small price to pay where winning the league is concerned. However, with only six points separating first and second, the shouts of “Hay Liga” (League On) that had most of us rolling our eyes on Sunday definitely carry more weight now, especially when you factor in that Real still have to play Osasuna, Atlético, Athletic and, of course, Barca away.

The mask has slipped for Madrid in the past few days and more gun hoe performances like last night are only going to rattle the team further during the run-in. It seems as though Mou’s paranoia is getting the better of him or maybe it’s a case that Guardiola’s “there’s no way we’re catching Madrid” remarks were an ingenious mind trick all along?

Is the curtain coming down in Bilbao?

Old Trafford followed by la Catedral. One memorable night for Marco Bielsa’s young guns, closely followed by another. Dismantling the premier league leaders in both legs of their Europa League tie earned el Loco and his Lezama disciples plenty of plaudits from all corners of the footballing globe, and rightfully so. Not only did the Basque lions beat Manchester United twice, but they did so in exhaustingly emphatic fashion. Not by respectfully sitting back and hoping to nick a goal here and there, but instead by mercilessly suffocated the Red Devils from start to finish. Sir Alex was mesmerised by the incessant work rate his side had to deal with over the 180 minutes and magnanimously held his hands up in admiration of the hungry lions.

What the fawning admirers failed to pick up on over the past week was the fact that on either side of Athletic’s home leg victory over United, Bielsa’s side lost both of its league matches, first against local rivals Osasuna and then at the hands of Valencia.

Muniain does his Usain Bolt impression before rifling the ball past De Gea

But the very credible talk surrounding Athletic’s chances of going all the way in the Europa League, and the hotly anticipated Copa del Rey showdown in May against Barcelona in the Calderón, are big enough distractions to keep the red and white army’s eyes diverted away from studying la primera league table too attentively. Of course, any team can become a victim of its own successful cup run -- anyone remember how Ipswich Town’s flirtation with the UEFA cup during the 2001/02 season ended up with the club suffering relegation?

While that is an extreme example, it is still a relevant one where Bielsa’s team is concerned. Not only has the Argentine’s side had to tog out on 45 separate occasions so far this season (27 Primera liga, 10 Europa League, 8 Copa del Rey), but sterling performances from the likes of Javi Martínez, Fernando Llorente, Andoni Iraola and Iker Muniani have not evaded the attention of Vicente del Bosque, who now requires their services during the international breaks. On top of the extra fatigue these four very talented pairs of legs have to endure in the name of national pride, Óscar de Marcos, Mikel San José, Ander Iturraspe and Ander Herrera are also relied upon by their country, with Luis Milla counting on them for his Spanish under 21 squad, which is also acting as the precursor to the squad for the Olympics. And that’s without mentioning Fernando Amorebieta, who has clocked up an enviable amount of air miles traipsing back and forth across the Atlantic to marshal his native Venezuelan defense.

Bielsa goes loco as Osasuna leave his side pointless

 Although there may be 33 first team squad members on the Basque books, rotation is not a word that features heavily in the manager’s plans. There are 13 players who are relied upon far more than anyone else by the video tape opposed coach, and making up that number are all nine of the aforementioned internationals, as well as Gorka Iraizoz, Markel Susaeta, Ander Iturraspe, Jon Aurtenetxe and Gaizka Toquero.

In the press conference following the first leg of his side’s eventual elimination by the Spanish side, Sir Alex explained of how he looked on with exasperation as Bielsa had his team practicing drills for three hours with all the intensity one would usually reserve for a pre-season training session, the day before their encounter. The effects of such an energetic approach by such a small group of players was plain to see when the giant killing heroes took on fellow fourth spot chasers Osasuna in the Reyno de Navarra the following Sunday. Then the high-pressure game, which is probably still keeping Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans awake at night, was nowhere to be seen. The home side took all three points that night, as Valencia did with ease a week later in San Mamés.

Soldado gives Gorka the slip to begin his Catedral hat-trick

Muniain isn’t worried about these dropped points though, as he told Marca, “these two defeats haven’t been down to tiredness because you can see we run like dogs”. While this 19-year-old may have all the exuberance of a canine in heat, teammate Llorente’s body is slightly more mortal, as was seen when he limped off against United. His absence is a huge lose to any starting XI and he was sorely missed against Valencia. Diego Simeone no doubt rubbed his hands in mischievous joy upon hearing that his Atlético defence wouldn’t have the towering Lion King tormenting them in tonight’s important league clash.

Any thoughts that the highly inconsistent performances by the teams looking to bag the valuable fourth spot would continue indefinitely seem to be numbered. Santi Cazorla’s stunning last minute equaliser on the weekend, which left the Bernabeu so silent you could almost hear Mourinho’s heart rate increasing, capped off an impressive month for Malaga. While the nouveau riche club had been stuttering to find form for most of the season, the last four matches have seen them pick up an impressive 10 points from 12 and confidence seems to be soaring within Pellegrini’s ranks. Also worth mentioning is the fact that the Malaguistas only have the league to concentrate on. Bad news for the other clubs chasing the, perhaps not-as-available-as-before fourth spot.

Not that failing to reach the Champions League would be a massive catastrophe for Athletic, one of Spain’s only solvent clubs. However, hanging onto some of the most coveted players in Europe would be a lot easier with an extra few million euro in the bank. The summer is going to feel like an eternity for the fans as the inevitable offers come in for Martínez and Llorente and who knows who else.

Bielsa is not one to concern himself too much with looking ahead to the next season, but given the precarious nature of this golden generation’s future at the Bilbao club and the unlikelihood that the team will finish the domestic campaign much higher than it did last season (6^th), even he must be worried that if neither of the cup runs amounts to silverware, his legacy at the club may just become a footnote in the history books.

Besiktas vs Altético Madrid

“From purgatory to hell” is a fitting description of Atletico Madrid’s upcoming match this Thursday. After the paint-dryingly dull display in the Calderón last Sunday, where the 55,000 fans in attendance watched on as the home team stumbled to a 2-0 win over Granada, Atlético’s next stop is the infamously hostile Ismet Inonu Stadium in Istanbul, as the second leg of their Europa League clash with Besiktas needs to be settled.

Despite the comfort with which the colchoneros controlled last week’s encounter against the Turkish side, in the words of Atleti’s Diego Godín, “it would be a mistake to play for a nil all draw [this time round]”. The 3-1 cushion Simeone’s men take into Thursday’s tie by no means translates as a free pass to the quarterfinals, and the Uruguayan defender expects the home side, along with their ear-blisteringly noisy fans, to come at his team with a bang, "the atmosphere is going to be extremely heated, but if we score first we'll have the upper hand".

Going in the Spanish team’s favour is the fact that Besiktas have lost their last two home games (to Braga and Trabzonspor) and are generally treading water in a sea of mediocrity where form is concerned. To add to the Kara Kartallar’s (black eagles) woes, in-house fighting involving the manager, Carlos Carvalhal, and the Jorge Mendes represented (ahem, owned) midfielder, Ricardo Quaresema, means the latter will be left out of the squad for Thursday’s encounter, as relations between the two have soured to seemingly irreparable levels.

With Hugo Almeida still out injured and Fabian Ernst picking up a suspension in the first leg, Carvalhal doesn’t exactly have his strongest starting XI to choose from. Nonetheless, the former Porto coach is unlikely to deviate from his attack-minded 4-3-3 formation, with Holosko, Simao and Pektemek likely to make up the front line, Fernandes, Aurelio and Uysal supporting them from midfield and Toraman, Sivok, Sidnei and Koybasi behind them.

The 12^th man will no doubt play a vital role in this game and the presence of Arda Turan (on the bench I’d suspect), who played his football with Besiktas’ arch rivals Galatasaray before moving to the Spanish capital, will surely add fuel to the already raucous fire.

With Tiago and Diego carrying injuries, and Antonio López still not fit enough to risk playing, el Cholo made some unexpected call ups to his 19 man squad. Pizzi got the nod, while the Argentine also found space for cantera whizz kids Saul Ñíguez and Pedro Martín on the Turkish bound plane (the later almost not making the trip due to a misplaced passport).

With the race for fourth heating up in the league, Simeone is probably contemplating Sunday’s difficult clash away to Mallorca and next Wednesday’s showdown with direct rivals for the last Champions League spot, Club Athletic, although he would never admit it (and I’d never dare ask).

Giving the unfriendly setting, Simeone will more than likely go with the same tried and tested starting line up as last week: Courtois, Juanfran, Miranda, Godin, Filipe, Gabi, Suarez, Salvio, Adrian, Koke and Falcao. However, as the game goes on, and presuming Atleti grab a goal, I would expect changes to be made as key players are wrapped in cotton wool ahead of the upcoming week’s gruelling league fixture list.

Prediction: Given the internal problems at Besiktas at the moment and the manner with which they capitulated in the first leg, I can’t see them turning things around sufficiently to advance past an Atleti side which, under their new boss, have only once conceded more than one goal in a match; and that was at the hands of Barcelona. The Falcao and Adrian partnership is also too prolific --12 goals between them in Europe this season -- for me not to see the rojiblancos scoring over 90 minutes either.

1-0

Simao's Return: Atlético Madrid vs Besiktas

Tomorrow night’s Europa League clash in the Vicente Calderón sees one of Atleti’s most beloved players in recent history returning to take on the club he won the same competition with two years ago. Simao Sabrosa will be doing his best to remain cold-blooded as his current club Besiktas -- one he has also tasted success with by winning the Turkish Cup last year – take on the Madrid club he shares such fond memories with.

Losing their last two matches in the Turkish Super Lig to arch enemies Galatasaray and third place rivals Trabzonspor, Carlos Carvalhal’s men will be looking to make amends and keep their European adventure alive by getting a result in the Spanish capital to take into the second leg of the competition’s last sixteen.

They will have to do so without their biggest threat in attack, Hugo Almeida, who has to sit out because of problems with his knee. Even in the gigantic forward’s absence, the visitors do possess a more than decent forward line though, with Simao and ex-Barca player Ricardo Quaresma patrolling the wings.

Elsewhere on the pitch, the feisty Egeman Korkmaz will marshal the defence on his return back from injury alongside the Czech Republic international, Tomas Sivok. The Atleti forward line will be forced to come deep to pick up the ball, as the central defensive partnership breathes down their necks, however, where the Turkish side is vulnerable is in the left full back position, with Ismail Koybasi offering far more in attack than in defence. The goalkeeper, Cenk, is also prone to making the occasional howler from time to time.

Carvalhal likes to play a 4-3-3 system, with the trio of Fabian Ernst, Necip Uysal and Manuel Fernandes governing midfield with all the intensity and tenacity you’d expect from a Turkish outfit. Strong in the air, tough in the tackle and, with Fernandes, capable of keeping opposition goalkeepers on their toes with effective long-range strikes.

Meanwhile, in the colchonero dressing room, Simeone doesn’t exactly have a wealth of options to choose from thanks to sanctions, injuries and child births, with Arda, Silvio, Diego, Antonio López, Assunçao and new dad Tiago all unavailable to play. Saying that, the Argentine has at no point had a full squad to pick from since taking over in December, so is well used to having his hands tied where his starting XI is concerned, and with Falcao coming back after missing Saturday’s 1-1 draw away to Sevilla due to suspension, the home side will be strongly favoured.

According to reports from training yesterday, Perea and Godín are likely to partner each other in the middle of the defensive back four, while Domínguez and Miranda are rested. The inform Juanfran will take his position on the right flank with Felipe Luis on the corresponding side.

With the return of Falcao, Cholo will revert back to a four-man midfield, leaving the Colombian to double up with Adrian up front. Leaving Gabi and Mario to act as a double pivot in the middle of the park, with Salvio and Koke taking on the role of the wide players.

One man who knows more about these clubs is current Besiktas, and former Atleti, physical trainer, Carlos Cascallana. He warned the Spanish club not to get cocky ahead of this match, as the Turkish side, while not having the best season domestically, is capable of beating almost any side on it’s day, “Perhaps the concentration, coupled with the high tension, of a regular league is to much for them to fight for the title…..but in a one off match or in a knock-out competition they can beat anyone”.

Whether having home advantage in the first leg is a blessing or a curse remains to be seen, but Atlético should by no means count their chickens just yet. Just because of the relative ease with which they dispatched of Lazio in the last round, they should not take advancing past this round as a given. Their opponents this time are no lightweights, having already ended Sporting de Braga’s run in the cup and topped a group that included Stoke City, Dinamo de Kiev and Mccabi Tel-Aviv.

Apart from Perea, Domínguez, Assunçao and Antonio López, Simao won’t be too familiar with many of Atleti’s current ranks, but he is sure to get emotional as he faces the frente for the first time since leaving the Mazanares club.

Prediction: With Falcao and Adrian playing together again, the rojiblancos should be confident about scoring goals, and with the back line still holding up strongly, under Simeone stewardship, the visitors are going to find it difficult to score against the indomitable Courtois.

2-0

Goal Crisis

Last week in la Primera Liga only two keepers, Claudio Bravo and Iker Casillas, had the pleasure of enjoying a full 90 minutes of football without having to perform the pitiful task of picking the ball out of the back of their net. Plenty of goals to keep the neutrals happy, but for the 18 managers not in charge of either Real Madrid or Sociedad these defensive lapses would have required some midweek chalk and duster action, as drawing boards at their respective training grounds were wheeled out.

Spain is not only in the red where money is concerned, but also where goals are. A look at the league table shows that only five teams don’t have a minus sign in front of their goal difference figure: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Club Athletic and Atlético Madrid. Not even fourth placed Levante has counterbalanced it’s shortcomings in defence with more goals at the other end.

A night José Mendilibar's side would like to forget

Out of the top five European leagues, Spain has the least amount of teams with a positive goal differential this season. In both the Premier League and Serie A, eight teams have scored more times than they have conceded, in France, half of the sides (ten) in Ligue 1 have offset their ‘goals against’ figure with an equal or greater ‘goals for’ figure, while in the more diminutive Bundesliga, seven of the 18 teams can boast the same. Most startling of all is the comparison with the league’s less glamorous underling, la Segunda división, where 11 teams are solvent when it comes to goals in their favour.

So what’s behind all this defensive leakiness in the Spanish top flight? The short and predictable answer is the colossal gulf between the top two and the rest. This is definitely true for Osasuna, who are generally regarded as one of the more resilient sides in the league, but whose ten goal deficit somewhat contradicts that notion. Although recently putting a halt to Barca’s title hopes with a 3-2 win in a rancorous encounter in the Reyno de Navarro, Mendilibar’s side was on the receiving end of an 8-0 pummelling earlier on in the season at the hands of Pep’s men, before having to place it’s tail between it’s legs for a second time a couple of months later, on the back of a 7-1 humbling in the Bernabeu. As of writing, fans of the Pamplona club have an off-putting “-10” spoiling their view of the table when they scan the GD column.

Perhaps the Basques are a victim of their own playing style: pressing high up the pitch and leaving plenty of space for opponents to hit them on the break with. If this is true of Osasuna, it’s definitely the case for Rayo Vallecano (-4). The left leaning Madrid club’s frenetic approach, whereby the forward players are constantly pressing, thus leaving the likes of Movilla and Javi Fuego to put out any potential fires in midfield (excuse the pun), has so far proved an effective strategy for the newly promoted side, not to mention a great one to watch. However, this high-risk tactic has also exposed the Franjirrojo backline on more than one occasion, as their poor home record attests to. And yes, Barca and Real Madrid have also handed them their biggest spankings of the season so far (6-2 and 4-0 respectively).

Barkero beating Joel in one of the only non-Madrid/Barca goal fests this season: Levante 3-5 Rayo 

But, we should lay off the poor old blancos and culés, it’s not all their fault. Sure, they dish out drubbings on a regular basis, but clubs only have to face them four times a year. That leaves 34 other encounters to turn things around with. However, this season a clear lack of firepower has made redeeming embarrassing score lines by emphatically beating lesser teams less commonplace. Marcelino’s disastrous attempted revamp in Sevilla, where Trochowski was brought in to link up play between the back line and the forwards, never really got going. Defensively things were shorn up slightly but the former Sporting Gijon manager’s tinkering resulted in an uncharacteristically tame goals haul for the Sevillistas, which wasn’t helped in anyway by Negredo having to spend the majority of the season out nursing an injury.

Two other sides you’d expect to find among the leaders of the ‘goals for’ table are Villarreal (-11) and Malaga (-3), however neither of them has set the world alight this season, to put it mildly. The less said about the former’s catastrophic season the better. At this stage last year the Castellón outfit had a plus 22 goal difference but with a squad depleted to a shadow of it’s former self this time round, due to injuries and uninspired signings, the Yellow Submarine has failed to make any waves, or even notable ripples, in the league. Malaga, for it’s part, has spent big and received very little in return. It’s fair to say Van Nistlerooy has been an almighty flop, while the man getting in ahead of him, Rondon, is hardly going to be a contender for the Pichichi any time soon. Although, Pelligrini’s side mauled Zaragoza last week 5-1, that was Zaragoza and the final result was somewhat flattering.

Last season finished with seven teams scoring more than they conceded. How the rest of this campaign plays out is anyone’s guess but with Barca and Madrid continuing to steam roll teams and high score lines coming few and far between elsewhere, the goal shortage in Spain doesn’t look like it’ll be on the mend any time soon.