We have talked so much about the ridiculousness, for a championship such as La Liga, of not having invested in goal-line technology, that we almost forgot the essential part, Sunday evening, during Real Madrid’s victory in the Clasico (3-2): the Merengue are almost guaranteed to finish champions of Spain for the 36th time in history within a few weeks. With 81 points, they are eleven points ahead of FC Barcelona with six days remaining.
81 points – already three more than at the end of last season – which are the result of almost flawless consistency so far. It’s simple, only Atlético de Madrid managed to derail Carlo Ancelotti’s machine. Once in La Liga (3-1), another in the Copa del Rey (4-2), for two defeats in all competitions. With the exception of the unbeatable Bayer Leverkusen, no one does better, or even as well, among the European elite.
Vinicius celebrates his goal against Barça
Credit: Getty Images
Best pace in over ten years?
81 points in 32 games is also an incredible rate of 2.5 points per game that only Leverkusen and Inter exceed (2.6) and which, if maintained, will lead to a season of 96 points. Which would be the best total in La Liga since Barça’s 100 points in 2012-2013.
A projection, nothing more. But the situation at the moment is already an accomplishment for this Real, winner of the Spanish Super Cup in January, and semi-finalist in the Champions League. The daily life of Europe’s greats, and again, since only Paris will probably win its championship among the other members of the last four of the C1.
Real therefore continues to navigate its world alone. The one in which we have won three La Liga out of the last five, while being three matches away from conquering the Champions League for the 6th time in the last 11 editions. Nobody does that. Real, yes.
Bellingham and the normalization of exceptional integration
This future king of Spain who, without even talking about the biggest European clubs, spent less (240.5 million euros) than Southampton, Brighton, Nottingham Forest, Leeds United, Wolverhampton, Aston Villa or even West Ham on the transfer market since the 2020-2021 post-Covid season. Is England a world apart? Rennes, Marseille and Monaco, Atalanta and Naples, Leipzig and Dortmund, among many other examples, have also broken the bank more over the period.
So yes, Florentino Pérez spent 103 million euros to bring in Jude Bellingham from Dortmund last summer. But the 20-year-old kid put the biggest club in the world in his pocket in just a few months, as if it were normal, even though he had less than 200 professional matches when he arrived, and the pressure was enormous. . This is also why this Madrid season is extraordinary.
However, we talk less about the English crack than about his future teammate Kylian Mbappé – whom Real has never let ruin its news despite his announced arrival – just as we talk less about the Merengue than about PSG version of Luis Enrique, about Barça and its nuggets, or Manchester City who until recently were still aiming for a second consecutive treble. Carlo Ancelotti is still not a coach with revolutionary ideas, his players still do not develop a flamboyant game, do not have any scorer who is close to the statistical stars. But on arrival, it is they who could shine the most.
Jude Bellingham, decisive with Real Madrid in the Clasico won against Barça
Credit: Getty Images
