Page 14 - Soccer360 Issue 105

2024
TITLE RACES
‘ EVEN LA LIGA HAS
CAUGHT THE
COMPETITIVE
Atlético Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann surpassed Lionel Messi in La Liga appearances during
a draw with Madrid, becoming
the foreign player with the most league appearances ever.
BUG THIS
SEASON’
Barcelona have picked up 19 points in the last 10 minutes of matches, and on five occasions, they’ve scored the winning goal in stoppage time this season. Without those late goals, Barcelona would be in 9th place as of gameweek 25.
LA LIGA
In La Liga, it has always been more of a duopoly, with the regional powerhouses of Real Madrid and Barcelona duking it out for national supremacy. Atletico Madrid has made incursions into the battle in the last few years - and become more of a major player again - but it has generally been a question of which of the big two would be named champions.
Barca’s financial situation and mismanagement had been a problem for
a few years but Xavi was able to inspire
his team to a 27th La Liga title last season and it looked like the onus would be on Carlo Ancelotti to balance the books with Real Madrid this term. But even La Liga has caught the competitive bug this season.
Real Madrid, Atletico, and Barcelona have all filled the top spots for the majority of the campaign as usual, but a supposed minnow has also entered the fray.
Girona may be owned by the City Football Group, but they are nowhere near the level of stable mates compared to Manchester City and really don’t have any right
to be challenging for the title. But the performances shown by the players have been rightly lauded this year - without
any end to their victories in sight. With everyone expecting the plucky outsiders
to fall away as the months went on, Girona have continued to play the same way and, more importantly, get results. By the end of January, they had only lost one game - to Real Madrid - and had managed to beat Barcelona 4-2 in the Camp Nou. Even now
ABOVE:
Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid celebrates
a goal during the
La Liga EA Sports 2023/24 football match between Real Madrid vs Girona Madrid
LEFT:
Girona have the opportunity to cause a major shock in La Liga
This season has seen a goals-per- game average of 2.64, the highest since the 2017-18 season, with Real Madrid and Girona contributing the most to no surprise.
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