“In December, only the most optimistic fans still believed that Barca could win the championship, but a victory on Thursday and the team goes to the top of the table.”
This is how Barcelona launches the article published on their website. The Catalan club has written about the spectacular comeback they have made in La Liga.
There are only six games left in this edition of La Liga. For Barcelona, ??there are seven, because on Thursday they face Granada in their remaining match. In case of victory there, they will go one point ahead at the top of the table.
Sunday’s 2-1 win at Villarreal combined with Real Madrid’s draw with Betis and Atlético Madrid’s 2-1 loss to Bilbao put Barcelona in a better position than ever before this season.
It’s a pretty incredible turnaround when we consider what the league table looked like in December. Despite a strong start to the season, Barca then continued with just two wins in eight games, including losses to Getafe, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid and then Cadiz.
After the end of those losses, 12 points separated the Catalans from the leader Atlético, and not only was the team out of the Champions League places, but it was also out of the Europa League. Even Ronald Koeman was forced to admit that the team had lost almost all hope of winning the title.
The return from that time has been spectacular. Barca have won 20 of 21 games since then, and lost just one, the classic against Real Madrid.
Meanwhile, both Madrid clubs started losing points. Atlético has led since the 9th week, but although they were once uncompetitive leaders, their incredible run of 15 wins in 16 games ended abruptly in February. Just six wins in 14 games means their big lead is all gone.
Massive meeting with Atlético
Real Madrid and Sevilla can win all matches, but should hope their rivals lose points. Whereas, it is not so for the other two clubs.
Win their remaining six games and Atlético will be champions. But Barca are now in the same position and will have the advantage at home when the two sides meet in less than two weeks – a game that will not decide the league title, but that will have a tremendous impact on the epilogue of this season in La Liga.
