For the last six months, La Liga watchers have been revelling in the rarity of a title race involving more than just the usual suspects of Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Atletico Madrid’s season has been remarkable, with Diego Simeone’s men proving the doubters wrong at every turn by maintaining their title challenge as well as making highly impressive progress in the Champions League.
Following Atleti’s humbling 3-0 defeat at Osasuna on Sunday, however, the doom-mongers are resurfacing with added vigour. And, indeed, that lack of faith in Atletico’s ability to last the course is well-founded.
Their dearth of squad depth, shortage of world class talent, stunted goalscoring options and crowded fixture list could well count against them and lead to their challenge falling apart just as it did last season – albeit a couple of months earlier.
Atletico now have perhaps one more chance to prove they can continue to rival the ‘big two’, and it could hardly be a stiffer challenge as they welcome their in-form city rivals to the Vicente Calderon for a local derby loaded with title ramifications on Sunday.
Win, and Atletico will be well and truly back in the race. Lose, and they’ll be six points adrift of their inordinately more wealthy and glamorous neighbours, with realistic hopes of claiming their first title since 1996 effectively gone for good.
Indeed, the title seems to be swiftly heading in the direction of Carlo Ancelotti and his increasingly impressive team, who are now unbeaten in 15 league outings since their Clasico defeat against Barcelona in October.
Ancelotti has done a magnificent job in his first campaign in Madrid, restoring harmony to a conflict-ridden camp, integrating a batch of new signings and introducing a possession-based style of play.
With Cristiano Ronaldo returning to the fray, refreshed and eager following his suspension, it’s very easy to envisage Los Blancos repeating their Copa del Rey semi-final victory when they head downtown to the Vicente Calderon this weekend.
And that’s not all. With Barca in a state of confusion over the extent to which their ‘tiki-taka’ philosophy should be retained or jettisoned, Madrid will be rubbing their hands at the prospect of welcoming the Catalan club to the Bernabeu a little over three weeks from now.
On current form, there can only be one winner, and Ancelotti’s team will be a very different proposition for Tata Martino’s men to tackle from the disjointed bunch that travelled to the Nou Camp in the autumn.
Don’t be surprised, then, if the La Liga title race, which was supposed to be one of the closest in years, is suddenly more or less over by the end of March.
Sociedad right back in contention
Real Sociedad’s sparkling performance against Barcelona on Saturday, although overlooked given the subsequent attention heaped on their opponent’s troubles, showed they are ready to mount a challenge for their second consecutive topfour finish.
Having endured a summer which saw them lose manager Philippe Montanier to Rennes and midfielder Asier Illarramendi to Real Madrid, Sociedad made a poor start, struggling in La Liga and the Champions League alike.
New manager Jagoba Arrasate – previously Montanier’s assistant – cut an unconvincing figure, appearing powerless as they were eliminated from Europe without winning a game and marooned mid-table in La Liga.
But Arrasate has steadily grown into his new role, with Saturday’s decision to change from his usual 4-3-3 formation, instead fielding Carlos Vela and Antoine Griezmann together as a dual strike force, suggesting he now has the confidence to put his own stamp upon the team.
The signing of Sergio Canales from Valencia could also prove a masterstroke. The talented midfielder, inconsistent at the Mestalla, looks revitalised and it was notable that Barca boss Tata Martino admitted his team didn’t know how to deal with him.
Sociedad have left it late, but it’s them, neighbours Bilbao or Villarreal for fourth.
