Faced with La Liga matches on Saturday in between two midweek Champions League quarterfinal fixtures, many wondered how Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid would manage their squads to balance the two competitions. After Saturday’s matches, it was clear that all three sides wanted to keep their best players out there in both competitions, and that they will continue to do so going forward.
This behavior is certainly justifiable from Barca and Real Madrid, as the two teams are separated by just two points in La Liga’s table with six matches to go. Both sides need to go all out in La Liga to claim the league title, and their players possess the quality to play in multiple important matches each week, making their Champions League fixtures in the middle of the week no problem.
The head scratching element among La Liga’s top three is Atletico Madrid, who by all accounts should put all of their eggs in the Champions League basket for the remainder of this season. Sitting nine points behind Barcelona with six matches to go, it’s not realistic to expect Atleti to come back and win the league title. They are, however, deadlocked with Real Madrid in the quarterfinals of the Champions League, and should be resting their players for that competition, one they have a much better chance to win this year.
We will have a much clearer picture as to where the priorities for these three teams lie following this week’s midweek Champions League games, which will be the second legs of the quarterfinal round. We will also know which of the three will be in the greatest danger of faltering down the stretch in the league campaign.
Barcelona should easily advance past Paris Saint-Germain, which means that they will have at least two more Champions League matches to deal with in the semifinals. While that is certainly a great accomplishment, there is always a worry that they could then falter in either La Liga or the Champions League for having to juggle so many fixtures this late in the season. This could open the door for Real Madrid to snatch the title.
Conversely, the winner of the second leg between Real and Atletico Madrid will still be in the two biggest competitions that a Spanish club team can be in, which could lead to dropped points in the league standings for them. For Atleti, this is not an issue as they are already out of the title race, which should benefit them in Champions League fixtures as their entire focus can be on that competition.
For Real Madrid, though, a berth in the Champions League semifinals could derail their chances at overtaking Barcelona for La Liga’s crown, even more so than Karim Benzema’s latest injury concerns. But a Champions League exit at the hands of Atletico, while it would hurt, would put them in the driver’s seat for the domestic league championship.
For Spain’s top three club teams, navigating a tricky week of Champions League and La Liga fixtures is not an easy task. But after this week’s Champions League games, we will have a much better idea as to who is in the best position to claim the league title, and who will be a part of Europe’s final four.