El País: Madrid Didn't Even Need Its A-Game to Beat Barcelona

“La Liga va definitivamente camino de Madrid.” This now-obvious statement, which opens the recap to Saturday’s Clásico in El País, didn’t seem like it would ever come to pass in the era of Messi. It took Mourinho eleven tries, but finally Real Madrid have definitively beaten their Catalan rivals, and in doing so have put themselves firmly in the driver’s seat to win their first league title since 2008.

According to the aforementioned article: “El Madrid no necesitó ni siquiera de su mejor versión para asegurarse prácticamente el título en casa del campeón, la mejor manera de oficializar el traspaso de poderes. Jugaron los madridistas con determinación y carácter, agresivos con el balón, convencidos de que se acababa el campeonato. A falta de cuatro jornadas y con siete puntos de ventaja, no hay duda sobre el éxito del equipo de Mou.”

Madrid didn’t even need its A-game to practically assure themselves the title in the house of the current champion, the best way to make official the transition of power in the league. Madrid’s players played with determination and character, aggressive with the ball, convinced that they would finish their run for the championship. With four games left in the season, and with a seven-point advantage, there is no doubt about the success of Mou’s (José Mourinho’s) team.

Well, nobody has ever accused Madrileños of being modest, have they?

But as one of about five Madrid supporters in a sea of azulgrana at the pub on Saturday, I was more than willing to overlook the historic arrogance of la capital (and the absurdity of the assessment that Madrid didn’t even play that well) considering what Barcelona has become, especially in countries outside of Spain. It makes one wonder how any team could make Madrid look like underdogs, but the Barça brand is almost unrivaled, and the inevitability of the club makes it not just a juggernaut but and extremely annoying one. Here’s to hoping that their run is coming to an end (and maybe next near Bilbao or Sociedad will make runs of their own?).

Oh, and in case you missed it, here is a video recap of the highly entertaining match.

I have to disagree about Madrid’s A-game; both teams played extremely well. And with no red cards nor distracting tussles, the match was one of the better Clásicos in recent memory.