Can Atletico Madrid catch Barcelona with their pants down?
The
2012 - 13 Spanish La Liga season continues and with a few games left,
nothing has changed, FC Barcelona are still on top of the table in the
top flight of Spanish football as they look to celebrate with the 22nd
La Liga title in the history of their club at the end of their campaign.
However, it seems these guys haven't had the best of days lately,
especially following their shocking 4 - 0 loss to the newly - crowned
German Bundesliga champions FC Bayern Munich in the semi - finals of the
UEFA Champions League this year.
Yes,
FC Barcelona got their behinds whooped, big time, as Bayern Munich
showed just how big of a difference their level of play is compared to
the La Liga in this face - off between the uncrowned kings of Spanish
football and the new champions of the Bundesliga. The loss to Bayern
Munich also put Barcelona's chances of advancing to the final of the
Champions League in peril because in order for them to move on, they
would need to beat the Bundesliga champions by more than four goals in
the second leg of their semi - final encounter. And that fans is easier
said than done.
So debilitating was Barcelona's loss to
Bayern Munich that the Barca side couldn't even beat Athletic Bilbao at
home, a team at the bottom half of the pecking order in the 2012 - 13
Spanish La Liga season. Yes, the runaway leaders of the league wasted a
perfect opportunity to clinch the league championship in front of their
fans at Nou Camp, letting the Lions escape with a 2 - 2 draw after
letting Athletic Bilbao midfielder Ander Herrera come up with the
equaliser in the final minute of regulation.
You just
know all these stuff must be bothering the Spanish football giants a
little bit, whether they are willing to admit it or not. On May 12,
Barcelona will pay Estadio Vicente Calderon a visit to take on Atletico
Madrid, a side sitting on the third spot of the La Liga table. This
match between Barca and the Los Colchoneros will be a battle between the
No. 1 and No. 3 clubs of Spanish football's premier domestic
competition respectively and I reckon Barcelona will be hoping that they
have already worked out some issues with regards to the Champions
League and the La Liga championship by then.
FC
Barcelona hope to head into their May 12 match - up against the Los
Colchoneros with a ticket to the final of the UEFA Champions League and
the 2012 - 13 Spanish La Liga title, secured. You see, they'll be fresh
from their return leg match - up with Bayern Munich in the semi - finals
of the UEFA Champions League and a La Liga face - off with Real Bettis
at Nou Camp, where they can try clinching the league championship again,
so naturally, that means we'll know what frame of mind the Barca side
Atletico Madrid will be going up against will be in when it's time to
play ball.
Fortunately for Barcelona, they don't have
to beat themselves up so much just to be in the right one because the
fact of the matter is, the Los Colchoneros
haven't been putting up that strong of a home stand on their own pitch lately.
The
last time Atletico Madrid played in front of their fans at home, their
heated rivals were in town as Spanish football giants Real Madrid paid
Vicente Calderon a visit for the El Derbi madrileño, otherwise known as
the Madrid Derby. And unfortunately for the Los Colchoneros, they lost
that contest 2 - 1, marking their second straight defeat at the hands of
their rivals this season.
With
Atletico Madrid forward Radamel Falcao not wasting any time in giving
his side the early lead, scoring the first goal of the Madrid Derby,
merely four minutes from the opening kickoff, it did looked like the Los
Colchoneros are on the right track to finally earn their first victory
over Real Madrid since 1999. Yes, for 14 years, Atletico Madrid have
always fallen victim to the Los Blancos and as it would turn out, their
last meeting wasn't any different.
Despite the fact
that Atletico Madrid got on the board early, thanks to Falcao's early
score, it felt as if fate intervened when Francisco Juanfran committed
an own goal to give Real Madrid the equaliser, much to the dismay of the
rest of the Los Colchoneros. The Los Blancos then, despite the fact
that they were obviously struggling on the pitch at Vicente Calderon,
would take the lead after Real Madrid midfielder Angel Di Maria came up
with his first and only goal of the contest in the 63rd minute at the
halfway point of the second half, ultimately giving their inter - city
rivals another loss to contemplate over.
On May 12 at
13:00(ET), Barcelona will be visiting Atletico Madrid next and whether
or not the Los Colchoneros would be facing the newly - crowned Spanish
La Liga champions competing in the final of the 2012 - 13 UEFA Champions
League, one thing is certain, this is Atletico Madrid's last home game
in front of their fans this season and for their sake, let's hope they
won't look too bad.
Bet on this match - up between
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