The day, on paper, is propitious so that, two years later, Barça is once again the leader
If the team wins Elche this afternoon, they will only need a draw in the Madrid derby to rule in LaLiga
The worst, at least on a sporting level, gives the feeling that it has already happened. There are only five days that have been played in LaLiga, enough material to verify that Barça is once again prepared to fight for the title. Real Madrid was champion last season, in part, due to the failure of the Blaugrana to appear, who, from the first minute, showed deficiencies that were too important to foresee anything good.
The arrival of Xavi and the winter reinforcements injected talent and ambition into the team, which fulfilled the goal of finishing second and qualifying directly for the Champions League. After a very intense summer, the runner-up no longer works and the goal is to win again. That’s where they are and the path they’ve started invites optimism, but the coach prefers, for now, not to look at the classification. “Let’s focus on what’s ours and, if we end up leaders, all the better & rdquor ;, he said yesterday at a press conference, responding to a question from Alfredo Martínez, a contributor to this newspaper.
There is no rush to take a look at the table at the end of the day and see yourself at the top. This is a long-distance race and the coach prefers to focus only on what is in his hands: to beat Elche this afternoon at the Spotify Camp Nou. He has a lot of work polishing his team’s game, clearly in the ascending line, and using the calculator is a distraction he can’t afford. And yet, the Blaugrana are only two points below Real Madrid, who have won everything, a distance that allows us to dream of storming the lead on a favorable sixth day, on paper, for that. The Whites visit Atlético tomorrow, while Barça host a team from Elche that have only added one point to date. Xavi prefers not to think about it, but the leadership is a stone’s throw away and, beating Elche, he serves a draw in the Madrid derby to lead the table.
Two years later
It may be that, at this point, it is of little use, but everything must be valued in its fair measure because the Blaugrana have not finished a day as leaders for more than two years. Specifically, since matchday 29 of the 19-20 season, when they added two more points (64) than Real Madrid (62), with Quique Setién on the bench. On the following date, the Catalans drew in Seville (0-0) and the Whites beat Real Sociedad (1-2), which left a tie on points that broke the particular goal-average in favor of the Merengues. Since then, the team has seen a leadership that, now, is very close again, unequivocal proof that Barça is not only coming back, but that it is already here.