agencies
Posted on: Tuesday, April 26, 2022 – 12:19 PM | Last update: Tuesday, April 26, 2022 – 12:19 PM
Real Madrid put a hand on the Spanish Football League title after the shocking defeat of its arch-rival and direct pursuit, Barcelona, by losing in its stronghold to Rayo Vallecano with a clean goal, yesterday, Sunday in La Liga..
And now the royal needs one point to ensure the crowning of its 35th title in the Spanish League.
With five rounds remaining, the leaders benefited from Barcelona’s sudden loss, and with a 15-point lead over Barcelona and Seville, coach Carlo Ancelotti’s team will secure the title if they only draw at home with Espanyol next Saturday.
Real Madrid performed their duty in the last round, winning 3-1 against Osasuna, despite resting a group of key players such as Casemiro, Luka Modric and Vinicius Junior, before playing against Manchester City in the Champions League semi-final first leg on Tuesday.
Now, thanks to the help of Vallecano – the little neighbor in Madrid – winning at the Camp Nou, the “Mérengue” can start the title celebrations at the “Santiago Bernabeu” next Saturday.
Historic decline for Barcelona
The Catalan newspaper “Sport” titled its home page with the word “Disaster!!!”, in reference to Barcelona’s loss at home to Vaikano.
Barcelona continued to decline in the recent period, and came out with a new disappointing result, to lose for the third time in a row at home in all competitions, for the first time in the club’s history.
After losing in the quarter-finals of the European League against Eintracht Frankfurt, the team stumbled for the first time at home against Cadiz, then gave Rayo only their second victory in the league since last January.
It is noteworthy that Vaikano beat Barcelona back and forth in La Liga this season.
Barcelona is now threatened with losing second place, whose owner receives 3.4 million euros for participating in the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.
Champions League Qualification Race
Barcelona also faces the risk of missing out on qualifying for the Champions League, as it is 6 points away from Real Betis, fifth in the standings, with the struggle to finish the season in the semi-finals and ensure play in the continental championship continues.
And Betis, the Spanish King’s Cup champion, will play at home with Barcelona in about two weeks, and will try to reduce the points difference.
Barcelona is equal in points with Seville with 63 points, and will face a difficult confrontation against Betis, who received a moral boost by winning the King’s Cup title on penalties on Saturday, to win his first title in nearly 20 years.
Atlético Madrid is fourth with 61 points, and Real Sociedad is sixth with 55 points and still has a chance to qualify for the Champions League, with 5 rounds remaining at the end of the competition.