No Messi, no problem for Barcelona

The narrative for the final game of the season was already written… wasn’t it?

Well, not quite.

Yes, Eibar have still never beaten Barcelona, but they were good value for at least a point against a disjointed and lacklustre side that already looked as though they were on their summer holidays.

Lionel Messi and Pedri, probably Barca’s two best performers throughout the 2020/21 campaign, were both given the day off, and though the Catalans certainly missed their incisiveness and industry, they never looked in trouble at Ipurua. Continue reading

La Liga: Best 11 Players of Week 37

Barcelona are out of the title race! That was the biggest news of the weekend as the club lost yet another game at home this time to Celta Vigo by 2-1.

It means that La Liga is down to 2 teams and it should be an incredible tension filled ride for the final weekend of the season. In 1st place we have Atletico Madrid with 83 points and in 2nd Real Madrid with 81.

Atletico will be play Valladolid away from home and will be the favourites to win that match although it looks a tricky one. As for Real they will play Villarreal at home and be hoping that Atletico will lose or draw.

The relegation battle is also exciting as Elche in 18th place have 33 points but so does Huesca in 17th.

Let’s take a look at the players who shone the brightest in the penultimate week of the championship- did you have them in your team?- note some points also take in week 36 as that was played in midweek.

Goalkeeper: Sergio Asenjo- Villarreal 14pts

Two clean sheets in a row for Sergio Asenjo. But at the weekend Villarreal were able to conquer Sevilla 4-0 and no one quite expected that score. But Asenjo was made to have a busy night and pulled off some remarkable saves, and fully deserves to be included in the team of the week.

Defender: Pau Francisco-Torres- Villarreal 12pts

Two clean sheets for defender Pau who also assisted in a goal when the club played and beat Valladolid last week 2-0. It means that Villarreal are going to have a strong finish to the season and the defender earns a fantastic 12 points in less than a week.

Defender: Alvaro Odriozola- Real Madrid 9pts

Odriozola scored against Granada in midweek as Real Madrid smashed them 4-1. And has picked up a clean sheet at the weekend as Madrid beat Bilbao 1-0 away from home. He’s only played 8 times but has been overseen six clean sheets.

Defender: Raul Albiol- Villarreal 10pts

Villarreal have beaten Valladolid and Sevilla recently and in both matches were able to keep clean sheets and Raul Albiol has been at the heart of that. The veteran player has now helped to keep nine clean sheets so far

Defender: Alberto Moreno- Villarreal 10pts

Villarreal have been the team impressing everyone with 2 wins in a row and no goals conceded in those games as they rise to 5th place. Moreno’s brilliant understanding with Albiol in defence has helped to shape a strong relationship.

Midfielder: Carlos Soler- Valencia 10pts

Carlos Soler is a regular fixture in the team of the weeks now and if you have him you would have seen all the points accumulated by the talented midfielder recently. Soler scored a brilliant 2 goals at the weekend as Valencia beat Eibar 4-1.

Midfielder: Daniel Parejo- Villarreal 6pts

This is a team full of Villarreal players and Daniel Parejo is no exception and he has had a sterling season. Parejo has been involved in no less than 8 goals and with 34 points he is Villarreal’s best ranked midfield player.

Midfielder: David Silva- Real Sociedad 6pts

David Silva has scored just his 2nd goal of the season as Real Sociedad beat Valladolid 4-1. Silva scored a good goal and was absolutely delighted with that as his club try to finish in a Europa League position.

Midfielder: Manuel Trigueros- Villarreal 6pts

Manuel Trigueros scored at the weekend and that was the midfielder’s first goal of the season as Villarreal thumped Sevilla 4-1. The club are in great form now just ahead of their Europa League final meeting with Manchester United and the player will be hoping to star in that game too.

Striker: Carlos Bacca- Villarreal 14pts

You can’t beat the uniqueness of a hat-trick and Carlos Bacca did just that as Villarreal beat Sevilla at the weekend 4-0. Bacca now has 5 goals this season in a campaign which has been disrupted by injury.

Striker: Gerard Moreno- Villarrreal 10pts

Gerard Moreno keeps getting the goals and we have 2 Villarreal strikers in our team of the week. Moreno opened the scoring against Valladolid last week to propel his team forward. Moreno now has a fantastic goal tally of 23 this season and has 103 points and is ranked as one of the best strikers in Europe.

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Koeman is toast after Barcelona’s latest failure

It’s worth pointing out that there are lot of good things to have come out of Ronald Koeman’s tenure at Barcelona.

Not least the fact that he’s been brave enough to bring through youngsters that have changed the dynamic of the team and hinted at a bright future for the club.

After their worst start for over 30 years, the Dutchman recovered the team to such an extent that, until a couple of weeks ago, when a win against Granada would’ve meant the destination of the league title would be in their hands, they were still in the conversation for honours. Continue reading

Is Aguero the right man for Barcelona?

Though nothing has been signed or sealed as of this moment, the rumours are rife that Sergio Aguero will sign for Barcelona once the Champions League final between Manchester City and Chelsea has been played.

The Argentinian has had a storied career so far, having burst onto the European scene at Atletico Madrid before signing for Man City and becoming their all-time record goalscorer, including the strike which won them their first-ever Premier League title.

Soon to turn 33, the stocky centre-forward still knows where the goal is, but his injury record of late isn’t the best. Continue reading

More trouble brewing at Barcelona

There’s never a dull moment at Camp Nou these days.

If it’s not on-pitch issues that are causing heart attacks for Barcelona supporters, it’s the in-fighting behind the scenes.

Given how the season began, the club have to be happy with the job that Ronald Koeman has done to this point, however, it appears that he’s on a collision course with new president, Joan Laporta. Continue reading

La Liga: Best 11 Players of Week 35

Wow, just wow. The race for the La Liga champions is not for the faint hearted. The top 4 sides all drew this past weekend. First it was Atletico which seemed to let Barcelona in and then it was Barca and that seemed to hand the advantage to Real Madrid who had to beat Sevilla.

However Sevilla almost won that game and were leading Real Madrid 2-1 but Real found a way and the game ended 2-2. It means that with just 3 games left to play Atletico have 77 points and Real Madrid and Barcelona have 75. Sevilla are almost out of the title race now and if Atletico beat Real Sociedad in midweek then Sevilla’s title chances are officially over.

With all that excitement in the bag let’s take a look at the players who made the team of the week.

Goalkeeper: Jan Oblak- Atletico Madrid 7pts

Jan Oblak is believed to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world and he proved it yet again as Atletico drew 0-0 away to Barcelona in a crucial game for the league leaders. Oblak made some superb saves and in total Barcelona had 7 shots on target but couldn’t find a way through.

Defender: Jose Gaya- Valencia 7pts

Jose Gaya kept a clean sheet as Valencia cruised to a 3-0 win over Valladolid. But Gaya earned some more points as he assisted in one of the goals, that’s his 6th assist of the season so far.

Defender: Mario Hermoso- Atletico Madrid 5pts

Mario Hermoso made some vital tackles as Atletico’s back four was tested to the limit as they managed to keep a clean sheet against Barcelona. Hermoso now has 74 points for the season.

Defender: Serginho Dest- Barcelona 5pts

Serginho Dest has had a good personal season with Barcelona and when he was called into action he helped Barca to keep a clean sheet as they drew 0-0 with Atletico Madrid in a tense game. Dest has helped to keep 10 clean sheets.

Defender: Robin Le Normand- Real Sociedad 5pts

Le Normand helped Real Sociedad to keep a clean sheet as they beat Elche 2-0 at the weekend. That is the 11th time the club have been able to do that when he has been in the team.

Midfielder: Ivan Rakitic- Sevilla 6pts

This was an interesting game for Ivan Rakitic who scored the penalty for Sevilla which seemed to have condemned Real Madrid to defeat. It felt as though Rakitic had done his former club Barcelona a huge favour as he scored a penalty which put them 2-1 up against Real Madrid, but the game ended 2-2.

Midfielder: Jose Luis Recio del Pozo- Eibar 6pts

Also known simply as Recio the midfielder scored the only goal of the game as Eibar won 1-0 against Getafe. It was a tense time too as it was an 89th minute penalty but Eibar with the help of Recio got all 3 points in the end.

Midfielder: Carlos Soler- Valencia 4pts

Carlos Soler is in great form and he earned another 4 points as he assisted in the clubs 2nd goal of the game in which they beat Valladolid 3-0. That was his 7th assist of the season and he has been involved in 16 goals so far this season.

Midfielder: Fernando- Sevilla 4pts

Fernando opened the scoring for Sevilla as they nearly stunned Real Madrid in a game which in the end finished 2-2. That was only the midfielder’s third goal of the season.

Striker: Jose Luis Morales- Levante 8pts

What a great weekend for Jose Luis Morales who scored both of his clubs goals as they drew 2-2 away to Alaves. Morales scored the goals in quick succession but the final results wasn’t to be. He has an impressive 13 goals so far now.

Striker: Maximiliano Gomez- Valencia 8pts

Gomez was able to score 2 goals as Valencia beat Valladolid 3-0 and it was an important win for the home side as they recorded their first victory in five games. Gomez now has seven goals for the season and is valued at 7.5m.

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Barcelona fail on the big stage again

Although there are still a few games to go of the current La Liga season, only the most optimistic of Barcelona fans will believe their team is in with a chance of winning the title now.

After a hugely surprising loss to Granada saw any advantage that they might’ve had in the title race evaporate, the Catalans had one last chance to put a marker down by beating an Atletico Madrid side that had been under par away from home in recent weeks.

A win over Diego Simeone’s side would’ve seen Barca top the table for the first time in 2020/21, but the blaugranes were toothless for long periods of the 0-0 draw. Continue reading

Old boys to decide Barcelona v Atletico?

Saturday afternoon sees the most important match of the season in La Liga.

Although Real Madrid and Sevilla, who meet on Sunday, might have something to say about that, the Barcelona v Atletico Madrid match is arguably the bigger game.

That’s because Atleti can boot Barca out of the title race with a win, and keep their noses ahead of Los Blancos and Sevilla with their destiny remaining in their own hands.

Barcelona simply have to win, and then hope that Sevilla can do them a favour on Sunday. Continue reading

La Liga: Best 11 Players of Week 34

Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Barcelona all won and the league title looks like it will go down to the wire! The difference is just 2 points between the three teams with 4 games to play.

One team who look to have bowed out of a surprise title is Sevilla who lost at home to Athletic Bilbao. However they have the consolation prize of 4th place which means they will be playing in the Champions League.

There were just 19 goals scored in match day 34 but the Spanish league remains as thrilling as ever, let’s take a look at the best performing players over this past weekend.

Goalkeeper: Unai Simon- Athletic Bilbao 7pts

Unai Simon had a terrific game as he was under pressure constantly as Bilbao surprised Sevilla away from home to win the game 1-0. He now has 40 points and has had a solid season.

Defender: Stefan Savic- Atletico Madrid 5pts

This was Savic’s 16th clean sheet so far for Atletico Madrid as they nervously beat Elche 1-0 away form home to remain top of the league. Savic maintained his lines well and made some important blockages.

Defender: Rafa- Eibar 7pts

Eibar beat Alaves 3-0 at home and whilst Kike stole the headlines for his hat-trick Rafa did well to firstly back track and keep a clean sheet for the club. Secondly he wasn’t afraid to come forward and that paid off as he assisted for the 3rd goal. That was Rafa’s first assist of the season.

Defender: Kieran Trippier- Atletico Madrid 5pts

It hasn’t been an easy few months for Trippier but he defended well and probably played his best game for Atletico this year. The club are still top of the standings as they beat Elche 1-0.

Defender: Mario Gaspar- Villarreal 5pts

With another 5 points earned Mario Gaspar is now 2nd in the rankings for Villarreal defenders. Villarreal beat Getafe 1-0 and Gaspar has now helped to keep six clean sheets

Midfielder: Marcos Llorente- Atletico Madrid 6pts

Marcos Llorente continues to be so important for Atletico and he scored the only goal which was enough for Diego Simeone’s team to edge past Elche 1-0 and stay top of La Liga. Llorente has scored 12 goals and assisted in 10 in what is turning out to be a vintage season for the midfielder.

Midfielder: Casemiro- Real Madrid 6pts

Real Madrid made heavy weather of Osasuna at home but won the game 2-0. Casemiro scored the winning goal to earn him 6 points. Casemiro has scored 6 goals and is valued at 7.5m and he has been a consistent performer this season.

Midfielder: Carlos Soler- Valencia 6pts

Valencia lost 3-2 against Barcelona but they gave it everything. Carlos Soler at 1-3 down pulled a goal back and for the next ten minutes Valencia could have had a battling draw but it wasn’t to be. Soler has scored 9 goals this season.

Midfielder: Yannick Carrasco- Atletico Madrid 3pts

Carrasco makes the team of the week again but with only 3 points which was good enough. Still he had a solid game and helped to make the difference as he assisted for the 8th time this season in providing Llorente with the only goal of the game as Atletico beat Elche 1-0.

Striker: Kike- Eibar 14pts

What a fantastic weekend for Kike and all of his 3 goals were taken so well as Eibar overpowered Alaves 3-0. Kike scored a fantastic hat-trick to stun the visitors and bottom placed Eibar still have a chance to survive relegation. Can they repeat the trick next weekend and can Kike save them again? Kike has been magnificent for a club that have struggled and he has 12 goals and is valued at 6.5m.s

Striker: Lionel Messi- Barcelona 10pts

Messi again! He saved Barcelona at Valencia as he scored 2 more goals as Barca won 3-2 in a tension packed game. The win means that Barcelona could still win the title and are just 2 points behind Atletico Madrid. Messi has now scored 28 goals in La Liga and with 122 points he has the most points in the fantasy football

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Messi masterclass keeps Barca in the hunt

What a game to end the La Liga weekend, as Barca took all three points at Mestalla with a fantastic performance against an energetic Valencia side.

The blaugranes need to win all of their games between now and the end of the season to stand any chance of lifting the title, but even then it may not be enough.

Their loss to Granada on Thursday leaves the destination of the title out of their hands unless Real Madrid drop points. Continue reading