Five months since the last game
Five months have passed since the Clásico of the first round and the championship seems like a radically different tournament from the panorama that it painted before and after the Bernabeu event. Until that match, on matchday nine, Real Madrid and Barça walked along almost parallel paths. The victory (3-1) of Ancelotti’s men seemed to launch the whites to the revalidation of the title, but shortly after, when the first defeat of the defending champions came in Vallecas, the League took a very different turn. In the 16 days played after that Clásico, Barça have added 12 points more than Madrid to open a gap of nine in the lead.
Fate of La Liga
The first time that meringues and culés saw each other in this League, they arrived with equal forces. 22 points in each one’s backpack after the eight days played. Xavi’s men had dropped two points (0-0) on the first day against Rayo Vallecano; Ancelotti’s men had punctured (1-1) in the seventh against Osasuna. After that Classic, Madrid took off and left the Catalans to three points, 25-22. The whites, after an almost unbeatable start in which they added 10 victories in the first 11 days, gave up the lead before the World Cup with the draw against Girona (1-1) and defeat against Rayo (3-2).