The match takes all the headlines & eclipses the other games scheduled today/tonight. The FC Barcelona - Atletico de Madrid game was costly to both sides in injuries, especially Atletico de Madrid which lost Diego Costa & Arda Turan. Both have a cloud over their participation in the UEFA Champions League Final against Real Madrid next Saturday. FC Barcelona lost Sergi Busquets to injury & is a concern for the Spanish National Football Team selector.
The game in itself was as expected nervous, tense & taken to the limit as both sides had the Liga Championship in their hands. FC Barcelona went ahead against the "grain" of play when they were not playing well when Alexis scored a "cracker" in the 33rd min. However, it is not the same Barça team we have been used to in the passed seasons or at the start or midway through this season. The "Barça Machine" is not precise, fine-tuned & reliable with obvious "problems" in the defensive area & in fixed ball situations.
It was from a corner that Atletico de Madrid managed the prized draw & point after Godin flew in to header a corner in the 49th min. This put doubts into the Barcelona team as Atletico regrouped to neutralize Barça & their efforts. This included a great Courtois goalie save that inspired his team. Barça will claim an unjust disallowed goal to Messi for off-side which would have possibly given them the title, but in the end the packed "Camp Nou" crowd rose to applaud the new Spanish League Champions Atletico de Madrid.
For Barcelona its a "bad season" finishing second & not winning any titles signalling the end of a "Golden Era" that perhaps will never be repeated. Big chances are coming starting with a new Coach (rumour is Luis Enrique ex Barcelona & Celta de Vigo Coach) as Tata Martino announced his "goodbye after the match & a string of players that will leave or be sold. More news in coming weeks & months, so stay tuned!
The other Round 38 games final results are:
The Friday night Round 38 game was Malaga FC 1 (Portillo) - Levante 0
Today:
Real Madrid 3 (Bale, 2 X Morata) - RCD Espanyol 1 (Pizzi)
Real Madrid finished the Liga season third with shared points ( 87points ) with FC Barcelona. Their star forward Cristiano Ronaldo did not start todays match as he retired during the warm-up & Karim Benzema felt a pinch in the groin during the match. Both are under a cloud for next weeks UEFA Champions League Final against Atletico de Madrid. However, Coach Ancelotti said he is confident of having both available.
Valencia CF 2 (Feghouli, Piatti) - Celta de Vigo 1 (Inigo Lopez)
Valencia made a comeback to take the match & give the local fans something to smile about tonight, after a very difficult season.
Tomorrow the last games of Round 38 of Spanish Liga continue with big drama at the bottom of the classification table. Half a dozen Clubs will be playing for their Liga future next season as they attempt to avoid relegation. Tense afternoon/night tomorrow of Spanish Football.
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