Today in Madrid is derby day, and the whole Spanish capital is divided. The closest rivals, Champions League finalists and the first two teams from one city, who fought for the most important club trophy in the world. Two of the biggest European teams, fighting for yet another title. An extremely important match that will determine the trophy holders and league champions. Win and you'll celebrate all year, but if you lose, you won't have a chance to make up for it. Life or glory match.
This is how Sidas Lowe from ESPN FC would like to present these matches, however, there is a 'but' - the current situation in the 'La Liga' championships doesn't remotely resemble the circumstances previously described.
This week is an unusual derby week. Not only do most people think that the Madrid clubs have already given up on their chances to win the Spanish league title, but it also seems that they have just now given up on these chances - the weekend before the derby week. The storm has been stolen, the interest has dwindled. Just a few days ago, 'Malaga' fans watched their supported team play to a draw 1:1 against 'Real' team at the end of the match and cheerfully sang 'Goodbye draw'. That same night, at home, 'Villarreal' teams didn't overcome 'Atletico'.
The Madrid derby will take place in the 26th 'La Liga' round, and the 25th ended with the 'Barcelona' team gaining a two-point lead over the five leading league teams and further strengthening their march towards the champions title. Just five days ago, 'El Mundo Deportivo' on the front page placed the headline 'Nine points ahead', when just three days ago, when 'Barca' defeated 'Sporting Gijon', it was 'Seven points ahead'. After the recent stumbles of 'Real' and 'Atletico', another phrase has emerged that usually means that the fight in Spain is over: 'Game Over.'
But is that true, considering the current situation? 'Barcelona' leads by nine points over 'Real' and eight points over 'Atletico'. But in reality, 'Barcelona's' advantage is even bigger -they have a head-to-head advantage over 'Atletico', which means that Diego Simeone's team would have to collect nine points more than Catalans in the remaining rounds. The situation with the 'Real' club is similar: after a crushing 0:4 defeat in the first season 'El Clasico', to have a head-to-head advantage, they should beat 'Barca' with an even greater margin. In other words, they need to collect ten more points to win the title.
Even if 'Real' and 'Atletico' win every match from now on, they would still need 'Barcelona' to lose three times (in 'Real's' case, they would also need additional draws with 'Barca') in the last thirteen matches. Up until now, Catalans have suffered two losses and played to a draw three times in the first 25 rounds. Also, it should not be forgotten that both 'Atletico' and 'Real' cannot finish the season without losing points. They both can't even finish this round without losing points.
In these matches, both teams need a victory. Lose, and you definitely won't win the title, especially if it hasn't been lost until now, as Luis is convinced. For him, it was much easier to say than to their opponents. 'Atletico' coach even after a draw last weekend didn't panic and stated that they still have a 'goal', which after these statements doesn't seem to be aimed at winning the 'La Liga' champions title.
The situation among 'Real' is somewhat different. Neither of them will admit that the fight is over. They can't, although they shouldn't.
'The situation is complex, but we will fight to the end,' - Cristiano Ronaldo is convinced.
'You may think everything is already lost, but I don't think so - we won't give up,' - said Zinedine Zidane.
'If we stumble again, then we can forget about the champions title,' - Sergio Ramos spoke about the difficult situation.
This week, their camp was trying to instill optimism. From the news about Borja Mayoral to the matches in Rome, from news about Cristiano Ronaldo to the announcement about Paul Pogba's attention. However, the situation on the local front was not depicted optimistically. Indeed, history tells us that when the Madrid team wins in Europe, they lose at home. This week, that was exactly what the Madrid press tried to convey to their readers: there is no reason to worry about what is happening in Spain. One commentator even asked, 'Where did the Madrid derby go?', and this statement was made because in his opinion this week there were 'No comments, no announcements, no veteran dinners - absolutely nothing.' Though this is somewhat of an exaggerated statement, the truth is that there is something missing from this derby.
This week was maybe because the league title further distanced from the teams, and the fact that 'Atletico' played Champions League matches in the Netherlands on Wednesday also contributed to such media silence. It seems that the Champions League has become the main priority for both teams this season. 'La Liga' matches were not even the main priority for the 'Atletico' club until Thursday when they returned to Madrid just 58 hours before the start of the derby.
'Atletico' left Eindhoven with another nil-nil draw. They haven't scored a goal in 269 minutes, and the last one was from Fernando Torres at the beginning of the match against 'Getafe'. Antoine Griezmann, who is their top scorer, has not scored in five consecutive matches, Koke is not playing well, and the team is also missing Tiago, who is not playing due to a foot fracture, which is more than apparent to many. Who knows, maybe they will also be missing Jackson Martinez, who went to play in China at the beginning of this month.
'The lack of goals? I am the king of patience and I know that we will score goals,' - Simeone is convinced.
'When we score once, we score more,' - Griezmann believes.
But this does raise concerns for 'Atletico' fans, especially when Yannick Ferreira Carrasco should again be absent from helping the team, who missed the last two matches, although he was already a part of the team's training on Friday.
Good news for 'Atletico' fans, undoubtedly, is that even if they do not score many goals, they rarely concede them. Their defense is the strongest in the league, and nobody surpasses them in terms of results in away matches. 'Santiago Bernabeu' awaits them with the most scoring team in the championship, who under Zidane's coaching at home crushes opponents with scores of 5:0, 5:1 or 6:0, and when playing away usually spreads points. One could say that the teams often look better at home than on their opponents' grounds, but 'Real' played against teams they should beat.
In the hosts' ranks, they will again lack Gareth Bale. The treatment, which should have lasted two to three weeks, has been going on for 40 days now, and the Welshman has missed just over a third of all 'Real' minutes in the 'La Liga' championships this season. But Karim Benzema returns to the squad, and 'Real' will undoubtedly also have Cristiano Ronaldo, who has only spent two minutes on the bench in the Spanish championships this season. He has also recently started to look like the Ronaldo he was 18 months ago from time to time, and he and his teammates have spent the whole week preparing for the match. However, these matches will not be easy for 'Real'. But that's exactly how it should be.
Over the past two seasons, Ronaldo has scored two goals against 'Atletico' in nine matches, and their opponents have beaten them in cup matches as well as in the Spanish Super Cup. Last year, he celebrated victory with 'Real' just once, although that victory resulted in their opponents being eliminated from the Champions League.
No matter who loses the Saturday match, they are guaranteed to drop out of any fight for the league title. Even if they have already dropped out of that fight, the derby remains an important match, not only for those 90 minutes that the teams will fight on the field. Despite the titles, these matches have internal interests and importance that cannot be forgotten. In the competition, it is not only important what happens at the end of the season, but the result after each match. Especially after such a fight. Exactly - a fight.
'The derby used to be easy,' - Guti said this week. It used to be. Perhaps the Madrid 'Real' and Madrid 'Atletico' duel on Saturday evening has lost some of its charm when 'Barcelona' escaped from them even more last Sunday, but it remains a big match. It's just that there hasn't been enough intrigue in this derby to watch it with enthusiasm.
