“El Clasico” Determines the Direction of the Champion

BARCELONA, SUNDAY – Real Madrid's defeat to Valencia and Barcelona's draw with Real Betis have created an ideal scenario for the Spanish League title race. Barca, which initially had the opportunity to widen the gap with Real to six points, now has to recalculate. The league will not conclude prematurely. The true league champion may very well be decided in the "El Clasico" match next month.

Valencia, considered the underdog, unexpectedly silenced Real with a 1-2 victory in front of their own supporters at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Madrid. This marked Valencia's first win at Real's home ground since their last triumph in 2008, or 17 years ago. In addition to the embarrassment of being defeated by Valencia, who are still struggling at the lower end of the standings, Real also failed to secure full points to catch up with Barca at the top of the table.

Barca greatly benefited from Real's surprising defeat. However, they squandered that advantage after only managing a 1-1 draw against Betis at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium, Barcelona, on Sunday (6/4/2025) early morning Western Indonesian Time. The draw felt more like a loss for Barca. Barca fans described it not as one point gained, but rather two points lost.

Betis has always been a formidable wall that is difficult for Barca to break down. In their first meeting at Betis' home ground, Barca could only manage a 2-2 draw. However, this draw feels even more frustrating this time because Barca had the opportunity to end the season earlier by extending their lead over Real, who had lost a few hours earlier.

Barca's goal was scored in the 7th minute by Gavi, who is a graduate of Betis' academy. As a form of respect for his former club that nurtured him, Gavi chose not to celebrate after scoring the goal. The process of Gavi's goal began with Barca players collectively pressing their opponents from the moment they started building their attack. As a result, Betis players were never able to freely move the ball forward.

The chaos during the transition from defense to attack was utilized by Barca to dismantle Betis's solid defense. Lamine Yamal, who exchanged passes with Ferran Torres, then delivered a precise pass to Gavi.

However, Betis only needed 10 minutes to reply. The team coached by Manuel Pellegrini maximized the advantage in executing dead balls (set pieces). Betis center back, Natan Bernardo de Souza, won the aerial duel against Ronald Araujo. So far this season Betis is among the top three teams with the most set piece goals in the Spanish League, namely 10 goals.

"On the days when you don't score goals, you have to accept it. You must think positively. I am confident that we have tried everything. I am optimistic. This is another point. It is now April, and we are in a good position. We must keep moving forward," said Barca Coach, Hansi Flick, after the match.

With this draw, Barca successfully widened the gap to four points over Real in second place. Although they were able to move away, this result was somewhat regretted by Barca players who felt they should have been able to maintain their lead and score an additional goal.

"We did well and did everything right. But today we didn't succeed. We lacked determination and a great desire to win," said Barca defender Pau Cubarsi.

On the other hand, the less than satisfactory results achieved by Barca actually make the competition for the championship title not boring. The points disparity between Real and Barca is not too far apart. That way, it is still difficult to guess who will lift the trophy at the end of the season.

Barca has not been able to fully relax from Real's pursuit. Real still has a chance to surpass Barca in the remaining eight matches. One match that will certainly affect the direction of the champion is "El Clasico" between Real and Barca at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in May.

“El Clasico” is the most reasonable moment for Real to continue to shadow Barca. However, it is quite difficult to realize considering Real's inferiority in front of Flick's Barca. Since Flick arrived this season, he has never lost to Real. In the previous two matches, Flick has always been able to overcome Real with a fairly convincing score. In the first meeting, Real was defeated 0-4. Then in the second meeting in the Spanish Super Cup final, Flick led Barca to a 5-2 lead.

"Now it's more complicated to fight for the league. But we want to play well until the end because we still have a chance. We have to keep fighting until the last game," said Real coach Carlo Ancelotti. (REUTERS)