Who is finishing second? – Spanish football around the web

By Austin Long
Updated: 20 December, 2012

Photo: Jasper Juinen/Getty Images Europe

Boston Celtics basketball legend Larry Bird once arrogantly asked the locker room before 1988 NBA Three Point Contest–Who’s finishing second? Barcelona can simply look at the table after 16 matches and ask the same question.

Round 16 started slowly and was fairly muted on Monday in terms of goals, but in the middle were two fascinating games—Real Madrid v Espanyol and FC Barcelona v Atletico Madrid—which produced drama and astonishing goals. More on that shortly.

Thus far a couple of tiers have emerged in the table: Barca alone at the top, with the Madrid teams below them; then the contenders for fourth including Malaga, Betis, Levante and Getafe; the middle of the table sees seven teams separated by three points from 8^th to 14^th; finally there is the relegation zone with six teams under threat. One more round before the holidays could change all that, but the teams are at the bottom are in real danger, with goals at a premium.

——

Sevilla 0 Malaga 2

John Pelini analyzed Malaga’s tactics through the first half of season for El Centrocampista. Los Boquerones have been lining up in a 4-2-3-1 with full backs supporting the attack from wide positions. Two holding midfielders control the central part of the field and supply the ball to a fluid attacking group that interchanges positions and likes to combine through the final third. They have been able to turn some of their dominance into goals and results this season as they have progressed to the knockout stage of the Champions League and headed into the Sevilla match tied with Betis in fourth place.

Paul Wilkes analyzed the game for La Liga UK. In the end, Sevilla paid the price for squandering the chances of the first half. Michel’s double substitution early in the second half was blunted as Rakitic went off injured and Fazio was sent off, leaving the manager with no additional subs to get back into the match. One thing Paul noticed was Demichelis moving into a defensive mid position in the second half. To be honest I missed that. Pellegrini’s men withstood an early battering and managed to capitalize on their few opportunities to secure three points on the road.

——

FC Barcelona 4 Atletico Madrid 1

Atleti were second best, and that’s because they are the third best team in the league. Maybe if Falcao had been more clinical in the opening exchanges, the game might have gone differently. But he didn’t. They are worthy of the “best of the rest” this season, a spot occupied lately by Valencia, but they simply can’t compete. Starved of the oxygen needed to burn against a great team, the legs finally went as they couldn’t tackle what they couldn’t catch and couldn’t attack without having the ball.

I simply hope that FCB win the lot. The league is over. Barring a catastrophic injury to Messi, this team will cross the line early and regain one of their crowns. The question remains as to whether they can retain the Copa and reclaim the Champions League.

Kxevin posted on Barca’s victory for Barcelona Football Blog while nursing an ankle injury, which was a result of celebrating Adriano’s golazo. He commented that Atleti did everything they had to yet were still down 2-1 at halftime. Why? He sees the difference in the Blaugrana this year thusly:

Last season, you could give Guardiola’s Barça the ball, like a plaything with which to amuse a child. They would pass it around, make wondrous things with it, but you would mostly be okay as long as you retained your shape and didn’t do anything silly. Give Vilanova’s Barça the ball, and it will kill you, because it is impatient. It shoots from distance, it rushes the box, it eschews the magic of tika-taka for one dude saying to the others, “Watch this!” And the longer Vilanova’s Barça has the ball, the more likely it will kill you with a moment of magic.

He does remain readers that Barca hasn’t won anything yet but if the team continues their wondrous passing and maintains a ruthless attitude, it’s only a matter of time.

Martin Rosenow, writing for Atleti Fans, saw Simeone’s troops tease fans before succumbing to a deeper and more clinical Barcelona team. Still as Martin points out, having a chance to finish with 40 points before Christmas as opposed to the 19 last year is nothing to gripe about

Zonal Marking saw Simeone’s 4-4-1-1 keep a relatively passive Barca at bay and made the point that perhaps Atleti scored “too early” and FCB had time and motivation to move through the gears. Looking at Barca’s goals– the first goal was long-distance scorcher, the second was from a set-piece and the fourth from an inexplicable defensive mistake—there may be a case that the visitors could have a better shot at the Calderon in May.

——

Articles

I caught the second half of 2-2 draw between Real Madrid and Espanyol at the Bernabeu. Ireland 26 of Managing Madrid saw the hosts dominate large portions of the match but still share the points. Callejon started up top with CR7, Modric and Ozil behind him, but Mourinho brought in di Maria at the start of the second half as Los Blancos reverted to a more traditional line up. Madrid battered Espanyol for most of the second stanza but failed to capitalize after Coentrao’s go ahead goal. I thought Ozil had a fantastic second 45 minutes, as he drifted from the middle to the right, which created space for others to run into.

Mando (The Ball is Flat) saw Los Pericos grab a late point at the Bernabeu as Real Madrid conceded on yet another set piece. He makes the point that Mourinho doesn’t quite have the loyalty that he had at his former teams, and while I agree to a certain extent, Chelsea got off to a slow start during the 2007/08 season, which saw Abramovich get rid of the Special One. Mourinho’s schtick wears thin with everyone, and this will definitely be his last season in the capital. The question now is: will he make it to the end of the season? As for Espanyol, another point towards safety for Aguirre’s men.

Sid Lowe reported on fantastic match that saw Barca all but seal the league as it was the tiger versus the flea, and the flea prevailed again. Barca continue to make the amazing ordinary—controlling games with metronomic passing and scoring astonishing goals. The result leaves Real Madrid clutching at the cups as Mourinho searches for La Decima to add to his legacy before exiting for the next challenge.

Phil Ball focused his attention on the game between Mallorca and Bilbao, which saw the hosts slump to another defeat. Phil put Los Bermellones’ run in perspective: Mallorca have now gone 11 league games without a win (two points from 33), plus three cup matches either drawn or lost. Aduriz, a former Mallorca player, scored the goal against Caparros, former Bilbao boss, as these two teams appear to be headed in different directions.

Frank Tigani drilled down into Mallorca’s poor run for Football Espana. The goals of Tomer Hemed have dried up, leaving Mallorca with no punch as goals are shipped at the other end. 14 goals in 16 matches have seen them slip into the relegation zone, and Caparros has gone from a possible contract extension to the chopping block. The islanders have a fight on their hands entering the New Year.

Looking ahead to the January transfer window, Francesc discussed Barca’s current strategy—promote from within—for ESPN FC. Still feel they lack depth at center back unless they plan to play Bartra more in the second half of the season. Further injuries to Pique and Puyol will put a possible dream season at risk.

Other than that, Xavi and Tello have signed until the 2016, which does two things: for Xavi, it keeps the midfield maestro part of the club to educate his successors; for Tello it gives the predators hovering around the player a number from which to negotiate. The young forward is in a tough situation. FCB will probably continue to play Sanchez because of the money spent, which reduces Tello’s chances for minutes.

Add to that the Villa factor and it’s hard to see how Tello gets on the field. If Villa is unhappy, ship him off and get Tello on the field and by this time in 2013, FCB should make a decision.

_________________

Visit Austin at Soccer Nomad and follow him on Twitter at @AustinLong1974

Follow @icentrocampista