So far this season, Barcelona have been near unstoppable in La Liga. They have dropped only a handful points, the latest of those coming this past weekend against Almeria. This was somewhat out of character for Xavi’s side considering they have been churning out victories all season long; it really feels like an odd one-off incident rather than the start of a bad run. On the other side of the spectrum, Real Madrid drew 0-0 with Betis on matchday 38 and now languish nine points behind The Blaugrana. Barcelona look set to take home their third title in a row; it would be a sure sign that things are back to normal at Camp Nou.
While Barcelona have not traditionally benefited from luck or favourable refereeing decisions in previous seasons, this season viewers have been left scratching their heads as the reverse appears to be true. Despite countless opportunities for Real Madrid to regain their usual footing, chaos and misfortunes seem to continually crop up in Barcelona’s favour. The most recent turn of events being a potential late-match penalty that would’ve tied things up for the Catalan giants against Valencia. Furthermore, when Ronald Araujo had to leave with a red card in hand, some expected the team to come crashing down due to this major setback.
Barcelona have certainly taken a heavy hit to their squad in both injuries and suspensions lately. It seemed like a tough few weeks could lead to a series of below-par results for club. However, what became quickly apparent was the resilience of Barca’s team and the unity it exudes on the pitch. After one off week that saw Barca lose two games back-to-back, they were able to regroup and come back firing on all cylinders – literally taking six points from their next two fixtures. That gives them every hope of securing a domestic double with just a handful of games left in the season where it looks impossible to derail their confidence once more.
