La Liga, Week 19: Real Madrid closes to within three points of Barcelona and Atlético

Barcelona and Atlético Madrid remain virtually tied at the top of the table with Real Madrid lurking just three points behind. Atheltic Bilbao, Villarreal and Real Sociedad remain within four points of one another in the race for fourth. Every team from eight place down are no more than seven points clear of the drop zone.

In other words, things are close.

Real Madrid certainly had plenty of chances to win by a bigger margin, but Pepe’s header ten minute into the second half was all they could manage. Fortunately for Carlo Ancelotti’s team, it was enough for them to claim all three points against Espanyol. The win moves Los Blancos within three points of Barcelona and Atlético Madrid at the top of the league table.

Ronaldo again nearly opened the scoring in the 36th minute after Javi López brought down the Madrid striker on the edge of the 18-yard box. Ronaldo’s free kick was on target but Francisco Casilla was positioned well and blocked Ronaldo’s effort to keep the match scoreless.

Neymar starting on the bench is also not a huge shocker after the young Brazilian missed Barca’s Copa del Rey match with a stomach bug. There’s a good chance that even if he’s over the illness, his energy levels may be down a bit and Martino feels more comfortable starting with Pedro and Alexis.

Both players are available off the bench.

Hence the importance of Saturday’s match at the Vincente Calderón.

Despite all their success since Simeone’s arrival in late December 2011, there’s still plenty of people who doubt Atlético. A Europa League title in 2012, the UEFA Super Cup victory in 2013 and a third place league finish in 2013 are apparentlynot enough for many to believe that this is anything more than a flash in the pan. Even I’m skeptical, to a certain extent, because we’ve seen other Spanish teams step-up to momentarily challenge Barca and Madrid’s supremacy, only to fall back to earth as quickly as they rose.