Real Madrid’s win over Barcelona in the Clasico was not only dramatic due to Jude Bellingham’s delayed goal, but also increased their lead at the top of La Liga to 11 points.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side are now on course to win a record 36th in the Spanish league. Their Clasico rivals are second with 27 La Liga trophies, while Atletico Madrid have 11.
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With a Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich also looming and having already won the Spanish Super Cup (Spain’s equivalent of the Community Shield in England), Madrid are smart this season.
Barcelona will almost certainly relinquish the La Liga crown they won last season and Opta’s end-of-season predictions give Madrid a 100 percent chance of winning the title.
But it’s not sewn up yet.
Here, we know when they could be crowned La Liga champions.
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Real Madrid leads with 81 points, 11 points ahead of Barcelona with 70.
Girona are third with 68 points after the end of the first race for the name, but Michel’s side have secured European football for the first time in their history and are still on course to qualify for the Champions League. Atletico are seven points behind in fourth place, while fifth. Athletic Bilbao are three things further back.
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“It’s a lot closer,” Ancelotti said of Madrid’s chances after the Clasico, a victory that followed their Champions League penalty shootout triumph over Manchester City. “Let’s move on, we’ve got more games. Now we have to rest well because it has been a week that is not easy but unforgettable.
Madrid visit Real Sociedad on Friday night before the semi-final first leg against Bayern at the Allianz Arena the following Tuesday. They then host Cadiz on Saturday 4 May, before the second leg against Bayern at the Santiago Bernabéu on Wednesday 8 May. Can.
A holiday in Granada follows on the weekend of 12 May, before a midweek home game against Deportivo Alaves. They will travel to Villarreal on the weekend of May 19 and host Real Betis in their final game of the league season on the weekend of May 26. .
There is also a chance that Madrid will play in the Champions League final at Wembley on June 1, if Ancelotti’s side beat Bayern.
Xavi’s side have three tough games to play: they host Valencia on Monday and home rivals Girona on Saturday, May 4, before Real Sociedad make a stop on the weekend of May 12.
They will then travel to Almeria on the weekend of May 15, host Rayo Vallecano on the weekend of May 19 and close the season in Seville on the weekend of May 26.
*Date to be determined
As soon as possible, Madrid can get the name on May 4.
If they win their next two games against Real Sociedad and Cadiz and Barcelona lose problems against Valencia or Girona, then Ancelotti’s side will be crowned champions on Saturday night.
But Ancelotti’s side could even get their hands on the name this afternoon, before Barca play Girona.
If Madrid beats Real Sociedad this week and Barcelona loses to Valencia, a point in Los Blancos’ home game against Cadiz would give them a 15-point lead. Barca still have five games left to play, but if the final point is points, Madrid emerge victorious thanks to their impressive head-to-head record this season (which is taken into account by goal difference in Spain).
If Barca keep up the pressure and either group wins its next three games, Madrid would secure the title on the weekend of May 12 by beating Granada. Barca would not be able to make up for the 11-point deficit with nine remaining.
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Winning Madrid’s name would be an impressive feat for Ancelotti’s team. It’s simple that they lost their first-choice goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, and their most productive centre-back, Eder Militao, to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries right at the start of the season. Then they saw centre-back David Alaba also get sent off with a one.
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Bellingham’s goals (17 in 25 La Liga games so far) have helped them gain momentum, but the Englishman’s stoppage-time goal against Barcelona is Madrid’s first since February. The team’s players have made significant contributions and Ancelotti has tweaked his formula to make the team better forged defensively when they lost to Atletico in September. It remains their only loss in the league.
It would be Ancelotti’s second name in La Liga with Madrid, having already won in his second spell at the club since 2021. That would reflect well on Los Blancos’ future plans: key players such as Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Eduardo Camavinga are all 23 years old. and minors, with teenager Endrick and potentially 25-year-old Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain, to watch this summer.
Barca, on the other hand, will be disappointed not to have capitalised on the La Liga name won last season under Xavi. They combined after the legendary former midfielder announced he would retire at the end of the season, but it was not to be. It’s not enough. Their biggest hope in the short term will be La Masia’s sons, Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi, two of their players this season at the ages of 16 and 17.
(Top photo: José Bretón/Pics Action/NurPhoto Getty Images)