After Matchday 25, Real Madrid have managed to widen their lead by six points in the La Liga title race despite their pedestrian performance during their 1-1 draw against Rayo Vallecano at the Estadio de Vallecas last weekend.
To be honest, Real Madrid’s extended lead in the standings was caused more by Girona’s fumble than Real Madrid’s doing. Girona, who once led the La Liga title race and were the only convincing threat to Real Madrid’s title bid, have lost two straight matches, where they were humbled with a 4-0 loss to Los Blancos, then fell short against Athletic Bilbao 3-2 at San Mames.
Despite failing to score a single point in the past two weeks, Girona are still safe in the second spot of the league standings, but their shortcomings mean that the title race is slowly slipping from their grasps.
Aside from that, teams below them, Barcelona in particular, have been undefeated in their last four top-flight matches and are now just two points behind Girona.
Luckily for Míchel and his men, unlike other La Liga title aspirants, they don’t have any European competition to worry about, and they could funnel all their energy into winning the Spanish league.
They’re set to go against Rayo Vallecano and Mallorca in their next two top-flight ties, which could mean good results for Girona, as both Rayo and Mallorca are currently in the bottom half of the league.
João Félix back in training for Barcelona
In the latest La Liga 2024 news, Barcelona forward João Félix has appeared to be back participating in Barcelona’s training sessions.
Félix was sidelined for over three weeks due to an ankle injury he sustained during a training session last month.
The Portuguese forward’s return comes at the most opportune time for Xavi and the rest of Barcelona, as they’ve found themselves one win away from possibly taking the No. 2 seed in the La Liga standings from the recently struggling Girona.
The 24-year-old could make his much-awaited return to the field during their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first-leg tie against the Italian outfit Napoli. Félix was initially ruled out of their clash against Napoli, but it was reported that the forward could travel with the team to Naples.
If Xavi chooses to err on the side of caution and decides to sit his striker out for their clash in Italy, Félix’s next opportunity to grace the field will be against Getafe later this week. Their match against Getafe will be a pivotal one for Xavi and his men, as a win might lift them up the standings and narrow down their deficit from league leaders Real Madrid.
Félix’s impending return serves as a major morale boost for Blaugrana as they continue to strive for a winning season before their head coach, Xavi, departs by the end of the campaign.
Costly bookings for Los Blancos
Ancelotti’s Real Madrid are on a high and are blazing through the Spanish top flight and the UEFA Champions League in the past few weeks. They successfully gained a one-goal lead in aggregate over Marco Rose’s RB Leipzig at Red Bull Arena, then proceeded to annihilate La Liga rivals Girona with a 4-0 clean sheet victory at Santiago Bernabéu.
They however came across a minor speed bump when they faced Rayo Vallecano last week. Real Madrid were the SBOTOP La Liga 2024 betting odds favourites in that match, but Rayo Vallecano were able to hold their own and tallied a 1-1 draw.
The draw forced Real Madrid to settle to leave Estadio de Vallecas with just one point in their back pockets, but arguably the most detrimental thing that transpired was Dani Carvajal’s red card in added time and Eduardo Camavinga’s fifth yellow card of the season.
Carvajal booked two yellow cards in their match against Rayo, the first yellow had been for dissent while the next one was for lashing out at Kike Perez following a foul by the Rayo midfielder. Meanwhile, Camavinga was also booked for dissent, which was his fifth yellow card this season.
Subsequently, both Carvajal and Camavinga are now suspended for one La Liga match, which will be Madrid’s game with Sevilla next weekend. Head coach Carlo Ancelotti would have his hands full and is set to make major adjustments to their defencive line against Sevilla.
An unfortunate predicament for Ancelotti and his men, as they would need every able and capable body they can get to fend off convincing threats from Girona and Barcelona in the Spanish league title race.
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