Revista Predictor: Slim pickings for pundits as Barcelona win El Clasico
Sunday 24 December 2017 07:47, UK
It was another case of opportunities spurned on the Revista Predictor this week - regional clashes, big-name players, but a shortage of points gained. David Garrido explains...
One first goalscorer, one exact scoreline - that's about the sum total of our efforts on Matchday 17 of La Liga. Not much Christmas cheer, admittedly.
Match 1 - Real Madrid 0-3 Barcelona
A chess match of a Clasico in the first half burst into life in the space of 10 minutes in the second - Barcelona identified that Mateo Kovacic was solely focusing on Lionel Messi and exploited it after the break, allowing Luis Suarez to score the first and then the move to unfurl for what ultimately led to the second, the Messi penalty. Zinedine Zidane could have started with either Gareth Bale or Isco, but his gamble didn't pay off.
That Suarez opened the scoring was at least good news for me, earning me six points, but no other points were awarded as no one was brave enough to forecast a Barcelona win. Surely now the title race is run for Madrid, 14 points back - and even with a game in hand, that should be even beyond their powers of recovery. And two other results made it a perfect start to Christmas for Barcelona - Atletico losing at Espanyol was one, and the other...
Match 2 - Valencia 0-1 Villarreal
Carlos Bacca was the man who ultimately won this derby for Villarreal to give them back-to-back victories, and both Simone Zaza and Manu Trigueros saw red in a feisty game, a result that takes the Yellow Submarine to within two points of Sevilla in fifth place. Rob Palmer was the only man to back the visitors here, so a single point for him, nothing doing for anyone else.
Valencia's title tilt has really come off the rails in the last five games, taking just four points from them. They had been one of the real surprises or even revelations of the first half of the season, but after their eight-game winning streak ended, it was like it took the wind immediately out of their sails. There are rumours of the club having an agreement in place with PSG to make Goncalo Guedes' loan permanent, and they desperately need him for the rest of the campaign. We'll see if they can strengthen elsewhere.
Match 3 - Deportivo 1-3 Celta Vigo
What a start from Juan Carlos Unzue's side at Riazor, with Daniel Wass opening the scoring inside three minutes. That was the good news for Celta fans, but the bad news was that none of the experts had backed the Dane to break the deadlock. Still, at least Kevin Keatings got the scoreline spot on to pick up four points. Pione Sisto is fast becoming one of the most impressive performers in La Liga this season, picking up a ninth assist as Iago Aspas helped himself to two more goals to take his tally for the season to 12 in all competitions.
For Depor, they'll spend the Christmas break in the bottom three and with plenty of food for thought. The only silver lining was Florin Andone's consolation goal after coming off the bench - that might give him a bit of confidence in a difficult campaign so far, and Cristobal Parralo might even try playing him up front with Lucas Perez in future.
All of the above means that we've now got the field spread out in the overall pundits' table...
Not the best week for all of you out there on Twitter who had a go - perhaps it was down to it being three away victories, which perhaps isn't what you'd expect in three local derbies. Only one name to mention, then - @Charterz_ picked up seven points for predicting Suárez to score first at the Bernabeu and the right match outcome at Riazor.
We'll be back with the #RevistaPredictor for La Liga Matchday 18 in early 2018 - have a good one and Feliz Navidad!
