Castellanos pone a girar al Real Madrid y el Barcelona no da la ultima estocada en la jornada 31 de la Liga Santander (ESP-ENG)

How are all my fellow platform members? I hope very well because today I would like to get a little of your energy because in recent days I have been unable to be so present in Hive, but sometimes it is better to recover health to come to 100% of my creative abilities, so let's leave this aside and focus on what is really important that those who follow me will know that is one of the most beautiful sports in the world, for this we will go to my favorite area "Europe" where different soccer competitions are carried out, among these the Santander League that this season has given much commotion by the various events occurred to their star clubs that usually dominate the competition.

Without going any further, let's talk about what happened at the top of the Liga Santander table, two of Spain's powerhouses had their respective interests, on the one hand FC Barcelona, who for the match against Rayo Vallecano would try to further increase the points advantage that has been important for several previous days, as this keeps their closest pursuers, Real Madrid, at bay, who would also have an interest in winning the 3 points in their match against Girona, so that the Culé team would not relax the march and observe in their rear-view mirror that the white house was closer than they thought.

However, soccer is a very capricious sport and no matter how many future plans any team may have, it is soccer and the indecipherability of the ball that when it is in one of those days when it does not want to enter the goal, no matter how much effort and talent, leads us to believe in destiny or luck.

As I mentioned in recent paragraphs, on matchday 31 there was a lot at stake for the top of the table, so in order of games played let's start with Real Madrid-Girona, a game played on Tuesday, April 25, which in principle did not seem to present major problems for Los Merengues, especially after witnessing their performance against Celta de Vigo. One would expect the home side to take the three points. However, the story would be different as the team led by Ancelotti would get not only with a daring Girona, but also with a Valentin Castellanos "TATY" who would be inspired and very accurate in front of goal. Of course this does not end here as this match would have more elements that are necessary to highlight, some of these in my opinion were detonators of the result.

For this game we will see some changes in the 11 of the white house, something not strange since the Spanish team needs to rotate whenever possible to have freshness and thus perform at its best in the different competitions in which it is active.

We would start with a change that is not very common unless it is inevitably necessary due to an injury and it is the goalkeeper position, Courtois could not be present due to health problems, being the Ukrainian goalkeeper Lunin the starter. It is no secret how important the Belgian is for the Merengue team, since many of the results obtained have been supported by a giant under the 3 posts and despite the good performances of Lunin when the DT demanded it, this was still an important casualty.

Continuing a little further up the defensive lines, we have the entry of Nacho, another of the most used by the Merengue tactician due to the fact that the Spanish defender always tends to perform well in the position in which he has been placed.

The midfield would see practically no changes, we would see the usual duo (Modric and Kroos) accompanied by the Uruguayan Valverde.

Finally, in the attacking zone, with the important absence of Frenchman Karim Benzema, the young Brazilian Rodrygo will be the main striker, supported on the wings by Vinicius Jr and Asensio.

A starting 11 quite correct in my opinion, beyond the absence of Courtois. Very necessary rotations thinking about their difficult match against the English team Manchester City in the Champions League.

In this opportunity I will not talk about the minute by minute of the match, I would have liked to bring it as hot cakes, so to speak, to be able to debate and exchange opinions having the match fresh in my mind as well as yours, unfortunately I was not in conditions. However, there are some points that I want to share with you that despite the time I think it is important to highlight to take into account in future matches of the merengue team.

As a first detail to highlight at least for me is the Vinicius factor, the fast Brazilian was unquestionably one of the most unbalanced, he generated many chances on the left flank executing his daring "Jogo Bonito", but it is worth noting the change of attitude of the Brazilian when he feels to be the leader in the Merengue attack, referring to the absence of Benzema, In my humble opinion Vinicius feels the pressure in this situation, this leads to be vulnerable to any provocation from the opponent, this was one of the reasons why I consider that the first half was lost not only on the scoreboard but also mentally, the team was caught by Girona and led to the collective deconcentration. It seems something not so important, but in my opinion it is an important point that can make a big difference not only in games like this one that look like affordable from the lineup (without underestimating any rival).

By the time Ancelotti's team wanted to respond, it was too late, and the 2-4 scoreline left them 8 points behind the leaders, who would also see action the day after the match.

Finally, the 31st matchday continued on April 26th, with FC Barcelona, who had in their hands the opportunity to regain that abysmal advantage that at the time was almost 15 points. Who was facing the team led by Xavi was Rayo Vallecano who also had their own interests, perhaps not aspiring to win the title, but the possibility of fighting for cup places.

This objective would be more than enough to fight for the 3 points against Barcelona, who, incredibly, also failed just like their rivals in the standings.

The Barcelona-Rayo Vallecano match could be summarized as a good approach by Iraola, complicating Xavi's team in their outings and counteracting them with high pressures that forced the azulgranas to make mistakes.

At this stage of the season it is normal to begin to see mistakes in the leaders of the different competitions, it is not easy to maintain continuity and performance, even more so in competitions as long as a league.

To conclude this chapter on the league and its two competition tips, I can say that although there is a mathematical possibility it is very complicated because one of these is operating in several tournaments, compared to a Barcelona that only has its sights set on becoming the champion of its local league. This type of clubs are usually obliged to win everything and the slightest fall is usually very marked, but that is the sacrifice of being a top team.

Soccer has many things in store for us, not only at the local level, we are entering decisive instances in which the cries of champions are getting closer and closer. I hope to be at 100% to be able to accompany them and enjoy the good sport, with this I can only wish you a happy day waiting for you in a next opportunity!

Fuentes de las imágenes

Image sources