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Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid - La Liga title race analysed

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The La Liga title race showed no sign of abating as Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid all won on Saturday.

Just six weeks ago, the suggestion that anyone other than Barcelona would be crowned champions in May would have been dismissed as foolish in the extreme.

But Spain's title race was blown wide open in April as Luis Enrique's men lost three consecutive league games for the first time since February 2003, with the men from the capital taking full advantage.

The Catalans urgently needed to rediscover their winning in touch in order to maintain their title push, and they responded with 8-0 and 6-0 thrashings of Deportivo La Coruna and Sporting Gijon.

Atletico kept pace with the leaders with victories over Athletic Bilbao and Malaga, while Real also stayed in touch thanks to wins against Villarreal and Rayo Vallecano.

Luis Enrique hits back at critics
Luis Enrique hits back at critics

Luis Enrique rejected suggestions Barcelona under-performed in their 2-0 win at Real Betis.

On Saturday, the three sides were in action one after the other. Real kicked things off as Gareth Bale's goal clinched a late 1-0 win over Real Sociedad, and Atletico beat Rayo by the same margin before Barcelona moved back to the top with a 2-0 win away to Real Betis.

As the title chasers play out one of the most dramatic season finales in La Liga history - and with all three sides in action at the same time next Sunday - we look at how things could pan out with just two games to go...

Also See:

La Liga table

Team Played Goal difference Points
1 Barcelona 36 75 85
2 Atletico Madrid 36 44 85
3 Real Madrid 36 73 84

Form

Two goals to the good at Villarreal on March 20, Barca could do no wrong, but 45 minutes later the seeds of doubt were planted. Luis Enrique's men threw away a two-goal lead, and then saw their season fall apart at home and on the continent.

Real Madrid capitalised on an indecisive Barca to secure a vital El Clasico win at the Nou Camp - ending the hosts' 39-game unbeaten run.

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Luiz Suarez scored four in Barcelona's 6-0 victory over Sporting Gijon

Then, a fourth defeat in as many visits to Anoeta saw Real Sociedad inflict further damage to Barca's confidence, before a Champions League exit and the Valencia loss left us all dumbfounded.

And it's that form which makes their recent resurgence all the more impressive. Having seen a nine-point lead at the top whittled away in the space of three weeks, Barca blew away Deportivo and Sporting Gijon before their comfortable victory against Betis on Saturday night.

SAN SEBASTIAN, SPAIN - APRIL 30:  Gareth Bale of Real Madrid celebrates after scoring goal during the La Liga match between Real Sociedad de Futbol and Rea
Image: Gareth Bale netted Real Madrid's winner in their 1-0 victory against Real Sociedad

Real have also been in fine form domestically. Since defeat in the Madrid derby in late February, they have won 10 league games in a row, scoring 34 goals in the process. The run has brough Zinedine Zidane's men right back into the hunt - with Madridistas also eyeing the Champions League final after a goalless first-leg draw away to Manchester City.

Atletico, meanwhile, have done what they do best and performed when it really matters. Diego Simeone's men have won 10 of their last 11 La Liga games and have a huge psychological advantage over Barca having knocked them out of the Champions League.

Remaining fixtures

Barcelona Atletico Madrid Real Madrid
Espanyol (h) - 15th Levante (a) - 19th Valencia (h) - 8th
Granada (a) - 18th Celta Vigo (h) - 6th Deportivo (a) - 14th

In reality, the title is Barcelona's to lose with their remaining fixtures seemingly all more than winnable, on paper. First up is a home clash with Catalan rivals Espanyol, who are 15th having failed to win in their last five La Liga games, then on the final day they travel to relegation battlers Granada, who they beat 4-0 at the Nou Camp in January.

Real - who need Barcelona and Atletico slip up if they are to have any chance of clinching the title - face a tricky home game against a resurgent Valencia side on Sunday before an away game against Deportivo on the final day.

Live La Liga Football

Real also have the small matter of their Champions League semi-final with Manchester City to contend with, while Atletico have to travel to Bayern Munich either side of La Liga games against Levante and fifth-placed Celta Vigo.

Live La Liga Football

Head-to-head rule

Significantly, Barca have the advantage if they finish level on points with their title rivals when the season draws to a close.

Barcelona's Luis Suarez (C) celebrates after scoring against Deportivo
Image: Barcelona hold the head-to-head advantage over Atletico and Real Madrid

If Barcelona end up level with either Atletico or Real at the end of the La Liga season, the Catalan club will prevail on the head-to-head rule.

Unlike the Premier League, which is settled on goal difference, La Liga's tie breakers are decided by a straight aggregate scoreline between the two sides.

Despite beating Barcelona 2-1 in El Clasico earlier this month, Real's 4-0 defeat earlier in the season has them at a disadvantage, while Atletico lost both their league games against Barcelona earlier in the season 2-1. 

Fernando Torres continued his excellent goalscoring form against Athletic Bilbao
Image: Atletico have the better aggregate score over their city rivals Real

If Atletico and Real Madrid were to finish level on points, Atletico would prevail having beaten their city rivals at the Bernabeu earlier this year, following a 1-1 draw at the Vicente Calderon in the autumn.

Conclusion

Despite doing their best to make things interesting on the Iberian Peninsula, Barcelona should still secure their sixth La Liga title in eight seasons, with their remaining fixtures looking favourable

Both Madrid sides have rather tougher La Liga fixtures to navigate, and they also have Champions League commitments to contend with too.

Barcelona's dip in form already seems like a distant memory having claimed maximum points - and scored 16 goals - in their last three games.

Luka Modric (2nd R) celebrates a goal during the Spanish league football match Real Madrid vs Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium
Image: Real have won 10 La Liga games on the spin, scoring 34 goals in the process

Atletico will go about things the way they normally do, and with Simeone at the helm they won't be allowed to relent for a second.

And, after appearing to be down and out, with the pressure mounting on rookie boss Zidane's shoulders, Real have completely turned things around to give themselves a chance. With two games remaining, it's all to play for in La Liga!

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