Real Madrid's sustained negligence has ended up condemning them to a La Liga season in which the players stopped believing a long time ago. In Seville, Alvaro Arbeloa's side took to the pitch with the sole mission of preventing the result from giving Barcelona the opportunity to win the championship in the worst imaginable scenario. They wanted to avoid the eternal rival’s title celebrations or something almost equally painful, having to give them a guard of honor in El Clasico. There was no middle ground, no matter how hard Los Blancos tried.Celebrations or guard of honor. Two images that are equally uncomfortable and portray the moment of each team. And in between, an inevitable question: what would hurt more in the Real Madrid imagination? Spanish soccer, so given to its unwritten codes, is facing an unprecedented situation: never before has one of the two giants mathematically won La Liga in a Clasico.
A real threat
But this Madrid has been treading a different path for some time now, one that has taken them away from the consistency needed to compete for the title. The gap is already nine points, with the real threat of it stretching to 11 if Barcelona beat Getafe. Week by week, La Liga is turning more and more blaugrana while Los Blancos’ reaction has come to nothing. Not even a Barcelona collapse seems enough to sustain hope.
Obliged not to fail, the team once again let a key opportunity slip away. Two points that stay at La Cartuja and weigh more for what they mean than for what they add up to. Because on the other side, Flick's Barca are starting to look at the calendar with a different perspective… and without suffering in a demanding away game like the one at Getafe. Madrid forgot to keep the pressure on their eternal rivals.
An inevitable question
And so, almost without wanting it, the focus changes. From the fight for LaLiga to the accounts to certify it. A Barcelona triumph in this matchday opens up a different scenario: to arrive at the Clasico on matchday 35 as champions. With all that this implies and with the question of whether Real Madrid would accept the role they would have to play on the pitch at the Camp Nou.
Before that, however, many things can be resolved. If Hansi Flick's side do their homework (Osasuna) and Madrid do not respond (Espanyol), matchday 34 would leave La Liga in the balance. If both teams overcome their rivals, Barca could win the title in their stadium and with their fans… by beating Madrid in El Clasico. But football, capricious like few things, seems determined to lead the story to the same point. And there awaits El Clasico. That is why the question is inevitable: will it be the title or a guard of honour?
