Round 14 of this La Liga season saw one of most astounding turn of events, which almost caused the whole of Saturday’s matches coming close to be called off. The main reason being the sudden air-traffic controller’s strike leaving most of Spain stranded. The general lack of organization from the Real Federación Española de Fútbol (RFEF) has become a major talking point. This was a critical round for the top of the table, after an unbelievable EL Clasico last week. Both Real Madrid and Barca had tricky ties, which they had to win to keep pace with each other. In the end, both teams came out on top, to resume their usual business. After the end of round 14, Barca sits on top of the table with 37 points with Real Madrid on second and Villarreal on third with 35 and 30 points respectively. Espanyol are fourth on 28 points with their strong successful home record.
Barca’s race to Pamplona
Barca was having a race against time to reach Pamplona, to play their game with Osasuna. Guardiola prefers to travel on the day of the match for away matches and they had planned so for this match. The original plan was to travel by air to Pamplona at 9:00 AM, having been assured by the Spanish Air Authorities (AENA) that flight would be available. As the situation became worse, the RFEF informed Barca that the game would be rescheduled on Sunday. Osasuna ,on the other hand, refused and eventually it was told that Barca must reach Pamplona by 8:30 or else risk losing 3 points. They eventually reached the stadium at 8:00 PM, after taking a high speed train to Zaragoza at 17.00 and then taking a coach to Pamplona.
Guardiola started with the same team that started El Clasico, clearly stating that he means business and is not taking any chances with this match. It was a match that almost started immediately as they got out from the coach. They had a 15 min warm-up and the game started. Barca was misplacing a lot of passes in the initial stages of the game, a consequence of their unplanned journey. Osasuna on their part were giving Barca a hard time on the ball, closing down and pressing all over the pitch. Valdes was kicking the ball straight to Osasuna players, and almost gifted a goal. The movement was off, and Xavi and Iniesta were notably misplacing passes. Abidal was the best defender on the night. It was not long before Barca started finding the passing game going; and just like that in the 30th minute, Messi slid in a ball for Pedro to finish off a beautiful move. He then again hit the post a few minutes later. By the half time, Barca seems to have taken control of the match. Osasuna started chasing the match in the second half, leaving more space for Messi and Iniesta.The second goal came on a counter attack, with Villa putting Messi through with a superb through ball for the Argentinian to finish splendidly. The third goal was a penalty for a foul on Messi, and Messi got his second goal on the night. It was a night of missed chances, with Villa being the main culprit. For Osasuna, Soriano had a glorious chance in the beginning which he wasted. Osasuna changed their strategy and brought on their big strikers, and started lobbing ball directly to them, but with no avail. It was overall a tight match which Barca overcame.
Pedro – seems to be everywhere on the field
Real Madrid shrugs away El Clasico trauma
Real Madrid came for the match against Valencia, trying to erase the defeat suffered on Monday. Valencia is a very technical team and was on the top spot in the league for few weeks; they have all the qualities needed to defeat any team on their night. Unlike Barca, Valencia took a bus to reach the Bernabéu instead of waiting for the strike to get over. The injury to Higuain has reduced the options for Jose Mourinho up front, forcing him to start without a regular striker. Ronaldo, Ozil and Di Maria were given the instructions to get the goals. Diarra started the match along with Khedira and Alonso patrolling the midfield. Albiol was playing in the place of the suspended Ramos. Valencia started their third choice goal keeper.
The match was a cagy affair initially, with no clear chances for both the teams. Ronaldo and Ozil looked dangerous and had few shots on goal. On the other hand, Mata was combining with Soldado to provide a threat toReal. Khedira had the clearest chance of the first half, when he found himself with only the keeper to beat, but his shot was blocked by the keeper. Real ended the first half stronger, with Ronaldo’s flick hitting the post. The second half resembled the first,with both teams taking a cautious approach initially. There were many half chances created on both ends. By 55th minute, Jose substituted Benzema for Khedira, a clear sign that Real Madrid needed more in attack to break the deadlock. The change worked immediately, as his dangerous shot was saved by the keeper. Valencia also came close with Soldado and Tino Costa combining but failing to control their shots.
Then came the potential game changing moment at 65th minute of the game. Albelda was sent off on his second yellow card for handling the ball, which looked a little harsh. This shifted the game towards Madrid and in the 73rd minute, Ronaldo broke the deadlock with a superbly taken shot with his left leg. Valencia found the going hard, and the numerical advantage proved too much to cope with. Ronaldo increased the lead with his second goal after a superb run down the right channel. The final whistle sounded a round of relief around the ground, which announced that Real Madrid are back on track.
Ronaldo – back on track
Athletico Madrid’s worries
After a promising start to the season, Athletico Madrid seems to have taken the wrong turn. Their recent performances have been poor to say the least, and this week’s match turned out to be even worse. This week they travelled to Estadio Ciudad de Valencia to play against Levante, and returned home with a defeat. Athletico boast one of the deadly combinations upfront, but they seem to lack ideas in the middle of the park and are struggling to supply Diego Forlan and Sergio Aguero; this is their third straight loss. Meanwhile, this victory fetched three invaluable points for their fight against relegation, and they are now four points clear of the drop zone. Victoriano Nano and Felipe Caicedo scored for the home team.
Villarreal keeps up the pace
Villarreal were playing Sevilla at home and were expected to come out with all three points. It was not a flowing game , as Sevilla went in hard and fought for every ball, knowing that Villarreal, if allowed to play their game, could demolish them. The quick short passing game pursued by Villareal was halted by the ever present Zokora in the middle of the pitch. But the deadly twins of Rossi and Nilmar combined for the only goal of the match. Rossi slipped in a superb pass for Nilmar, who rounded the keeper and slot the ball into the posts. Sevilla were chasing the game and came close on number of occasions, only to find Diego Lopez stopping everything in their way. The Villarreal stopper made some crucial goal line saves to keep them in lead. In the end, it was a well deserved victory for the yellow submarines, which keeps them third in the table. five points behind Real Madrid.
The surprise package
Espanyol seems to be almost unbeatable at home this season, as they notched up their seventh home win of the season. With this win at Estadi Cornellà-El Prat, they have 28 points and are behind Villareal on fourth spot. The victims this time were Sporting Gijón, who despite having the numerical advantage couldn’t breakdown Espanyol. Sporting has lost their last four matches, and this defeat puts them in the relegation zone. It was an impressive win, considering the fact that they scored the only goal of the match after being reduced to ten men, following the sending off of their midfielder Jose Baena. Espanyol withstood the onslaught from Sporting till the end, earning a victory which puts them in a surprising fourth spot in the table.
Other results
Getafe recorded a fine 3-0 win over Mallorca, which put them in the top half of the table. Pedro Rios scored twice to give them a comfortable early lead. Getafe will face Valencia in the next fixture. Real Sociedad reached the sixth position after beating Athletic Bilbao 2-0 in the Bilbao’s derby. Fernando Llorente couldn’t provide any meaningful threat with his height on the night. Real Sociedad has been a new revelation this season after being promoted. Manuel Pellegrini’s Malaga struck four past Racing Santander and is heading towards safety from the drop zone. Almeria drew with Zaragoza, which helped neither as they both are at the bottom of the table. At the end of the round 14, Sporting, Almeria and Zaragoza are in the relegation zone, with Barca leading Real Madrid at the top of the table.