As we approach the midway part of the 2020/21 season, it is becoming clear on which teams are serious for the La Liga championship.
Perennial contenders Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid have been climbing up in recent weeks, while Barcelona are finding their groove after a lacklustre start.
On the other hand, Real Sociedad dropped to third place with three straight defeats, while Cadiz and Valencia have fallen to the lower half of the standings.
These are the winners and losers of Week 15 courtesy of SBOTOP.
Winners
Atletico Madrid
By winning four of their last five, Diego Simeone’s men finally secured the top berth of the Spanish top-flight standings.
Los Rojiblancos were buoyed by their depth and superb performances from their stars as they’ve scored five goals in their last two fixtures, resulting to back-to-back wins despite missing the services of injured forward Joao Felix.
Now sitting at the summit, Atletico Madrid have a big target on their backs and they will gear up for a tougher grind next year.
With full-back Kieran Trippier banned to playing football for at least 10 weeks due to a betting misconduct as per La Liga 2020 news, Atleti’s backline depth will take quite a hit.
This means that the likes of Renan Lodi, Stefan Savic, and Mario Hermoso will shoulder the load more in the upcoming weeks and they have to step up to the challenge.
Real Madrid
Since their shocking defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League, Los Blancos bounced back with six consecutive wins in all competitions.
Real Madrid on a rampage, showing everyone exactly why they are the defending La Liga champions.
The Bernabeu has been a haven for Zinedine Zidane’s men as they have scored nine goals in their last four matches.
The biggest one was their win over Atletico Madrid and it was followed up with convincing home victories over Athletic Bilbao and Granada.
Karim Benzema is at the forefront of their resurgence as he now leads the league in scoring with eight goals and five assists.
Barcelona
Barcelona’s Lionel Messi reacts after his side’s La Liga win against Real Valladolid
The Catalan giants have improved to fifth in the standings by winning three of their last five, as they have been the main beneficiaries of Lionel Messi’s sparkling form.
Not only did Messi lead Barca to a much better place, but the 33-year-old forward also achieved a historic milestone in the process.
Lionel Messi surpassed Pele’s longstanding record for most goals scored playing for a single club by finding the back of the net for the 644th time during their win over Valladolid in the last time out.
It’s safe to say that Barcelona’s La Liga 2020 odds of winning the championship can only go to as far as Messi takes them.
Losers
Cadiz
Their re-entry to top-flight status has been met with raised eyebrows early on since they were punching above their weight. But with three consecutive losses, Cadiz have fallen to 11th place in the standings.
After defeating Barcelona in a stunner few weeks ago, Alvaro Cervera’s side slumped against Celta Vigo, Getafe, and Real Betis.
The sad thing about their defeats is that Cadiz didn’t put up any resistance whatsoever in those games since they didn’t score at all while conceding seven goals.
Injuries have hurt Cadiz’s depth to a degree, but their intensity on the defencive end must be rediscovered fast in order to arrest their skid.
Real Sociedad
La Real will be left looking for answers as we are about to take a break for the holidays.
Imanol Alguacil’s men haven’t won a single fixture since late November as goals were hard to come by for them.
With Mikel Oyarzabal and David Silva nursing their hamstring injuries last month, Real Sociedad were devoid of two capable playmakers and scorers.
Now that they are both approaching 100-per cent fitness, the Basque giants’ confidence will have an uptick as they try to get back on track in the upcoming weeks.
Valencia
Los Che are normally known as a top-five or six team in La Liga, which is why their fall to the 14th spot came as a surprise to many.
Valencia have yet to win since upsetting Real Madrid last November, as they simply couldn’t get the job done in games that are considered winnable.
Alaves, Eibar, Athletic Bilbao, and Barcelona held Javi Gracia’s side to draws, while defeats to Atletico Madrid and Sevilla did not help either.
Slow starts have bogged down Valencia’s momentum and that needs to change if they are going to claw their way up in the standings.
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The post La Liga: The Big Difference Between Contenders and Pretenders appeared first on SBOTOP.
