By Safaa Kasraoui
By Safaa Kasraoui
Rabat – Despite their good technical play, La Liga’s giants, Barcelona and Real Madrid showed a lack of balance during their Saturday’s games.
The results of Saturday’s two games in the Spanish league is a clear indication of what has been happening this season. Real Madrid conceded a draw on Saturday against Atletico Madrid while Barcelona was been beaten on the same day by Malaga.
Spanish press has been severe in its analysis on the last two games and concluded that neither team are taking the competition seriously due to different reasons.
Barcelona’s loss took everyone by surprise and the defeat against Malaga led to a flurry of criticism in Spanish media, who laid the blame squarely at the feet of coach, Luis Enrique. Spanish media outlet, Sports, called the changes made by Luis Enrique during the last game very puzzling. It added that they came at a time when the team was virtually at the top of its technical game.
Real Madrid could not escape the harsh analytical criticism of the Spanish press either. According to Marca, the player rotation utilized by Real Madrid’s coach, Zinedine Zidan, during their Saturday match against Atletico Madrid was an example of very bad decision-making. Spanish sports outlet, AS said that, “It seems a little complicated to understand the significance of changing best midfielder of Real Madrid, Toni Cross.”
In response to the reckless decision taken by Zinedine Zidane, Diego Simeone succeeded in blocking the scoring of his opponent by pushing midfielder Angel Correa at the expense of striker Fernando Torres.
The change seems to have been someone’s attempt to play in a defensive manner. Atletico Madrid, however, took advantage and scored a surprising equalizer against its rival.
As a result of these rash changes, Spanish media is predicting a dramatic end to La Liga’s, where everything has become unpredictable.
Real Madrid and Barcelona are scheduled to meet on April 23 in an encounter that could be very critical in the fate of the Spanish league competition.
