Spanish La Liga storylines coming out of winter break
Spain’s domestic league may be the least competitive from top to bottom, but it is the most competitive at the top. With teams returning to pitches across the Iberian Peninsula on Saturday, several storylines have taken shape at the start of 2015.
Chasing the title
The only debate at the moment is whether Cristiano Ronaldo or Real Madrid is in better form. The white shirt-wearing 10-time European champions started the season slow domestically, but Los Blancos began streaking and never stopped. They hit 22 wins in a row when they beat San Lorenzo in the final of the Club World Cup.
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Technically, the streak ended when Real Madrid lost in a recent friendly with AC Milan, but the streak in competitive matches continues. Ronaldo, meanwhile, is a surefire winner of the Ballon d’Or. In 2014, Ronaldo scored 61 goals in 61 games and got a rather handsome statue for that achievement. In one impossible to miss way, that statue stood out as the most remarkable of his achievements.
Even with Ronaldo at his best and the club winning every match, Real Madrid is only one point ahead of Barcelona at the Christmas break. Atletico Madrid, who won last year’s league title, sits four points back of the top in a three-horse title race.
With Barcelona still in the lab searching for the perfect combination of how to maximize the talents of Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar, Real Madrid has a long way to go before claiming the league title. Also, Barcelona plays host to Real Madrid in the second El Clasico of the season, and revenge for a 3-1 defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu would be good enough to help Barcelona go top if both teams unexpectedly go perfect against the remainder of the league.
Atletico Madrid topped the two giants of Spanish football a season ago, and a repeat may not be likely. However, Atleti is still well in the hunt. Hopefully for them, the return of Fernando Torres doesn’t ruin their chances. Atletico Madrid was the last side to beat Real Madrid before it began its stunning winning streak.
Fighting for Champions League
The race for Champions League spots is thinner in Spain than it is in England as four teams are within one point of fourth place. Usual suspects Malaga, Sevilla, Valencia and Villarreal expect to be entrenched in a tight battle to the finish. Barring an unforeseen run of extraordinary form from a traditionally weak side, one of the aforementioned sides will end up in the Champions League.
At the bottom
In La Liga, the battle to stay in the first division involves the majority of the league. At the bottom of the table are Elche and Cordoba, who both have been steadily sinking. Granada, Deportivo La Coruña, Almeria, Levante and Real Sociedad are all within two points of the drop, and nine of the 20 teams in the league are either in the relegation zone or within four points of the drop zone.
In truth, 13 of the 20 teams in Spain are more likely to go down than to end up even playing in the Europa League. Eighth-place Celta Vigo trails seventh-place Malaga by 10 points. What's telling of the state of the league: Celta Vigo leads last-place Elche by only 10 points.
Shahan Ahmed is a soccer columnist for Yahoo Sports. He has previously written about the 2014 World Cup and 2013 Confederations Cup and regularly provides opinions on the English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A and Spanish La Liga. Follow Shahan on Twitter: @ShahanLA
