Barcelona gave another body bladder to Real Madrid on Saturday evening, while Los Blancos in the Copa del Rey final with only five minutes to go, thanks to the late strike of Jules Kounde in extra time. With four points between the two parties at the top of La Liga and five more games, Real Madrid is more convinced that they can turn things around.
That is the last that comes from the Spanish capital from Monday morning. Diario as say that the feeling of the dressing room and the coaching staff is that La Liga is still there for them. After being beaten 4-0 and 5-2 in the first two meetings between the two, Rreal Madrid participated much better in the Copa final, and in the second half the better of the two parties were better.
They believe that if they beat Celta Vigo and Barcelona in the Clasico between the two on 11 May, Los Blancos has a strong chance of winning La Liga. Provided that Barcelona is the victory against Real Valladolid this week, that Real Madrid would leave a point with three more games to go.
Los Blancos is confronted with RCD Mallorca, Sevilla and Real Sociedad, a trio of competitions that they consider to be profitable. In the meantime, Barcelona ends the season with a trip to Rivals Espanyol, who will be motivated to destroy their title hopes, and then Villarreal and Athletic Club in San Mames, two parties compete for a Champions League place. It is a message that is reflected by El Chiringuito, who say that the message of Real Madrid is 'when Barcelona slips away, the competition is our'.
Barcelona certainly has the more difficult run of the two, but it can partly partly amount to the situation of the sides with which they are also confronted. Villarreal may desperately need points or have already protected a Champions League spot. Similarly, Athletic could be in the same situation, and/or at the back of a Europa League final come, depending on how things are going against Manchester United. For Real Madrid, Sevilla could be involved in a relegation struggle, while Mallorca and La Real will compete for a European place, just like their opponents this week, Celta. However, there is a good chance that they will be more ruddered by suspension without Antonio.