The Spanish League title race got very interesting this past weekend when Barcelona and Atletico Madrid both managed to drop all three points while Real Madrid pulled ahead with a huge win.
With Los Blancos in complete control, one must ask whether they are now the clear-cut favorites to take home the Spanish League for the second time in three years. Or will Real Madrid run out of steam right before the finish line? Here are a few reasons why Real Madrid will win the title.
Carlo Ancelotti
Gerardo Martino showed the world this weekend how not to manage a top side. He subbed out some of his top players and replaced them with youngsters against a Real Sociedad side that has not lost to Barcelona at home in quite some time. The result? A 3-1 loss that has put the team in serious peril.
Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti has been a genius at managing his squad. Those who were against his goalie rotation are now seeing the benefits of that decision. Lopez has been solid in the domestic league while Casillas has been breaking records and looks to be in fine form for the Champions League and Copa del Rey. Moreover the coach has managed his roster rather well with a few exceptions. His decision to utilize Angel Di Maria, Luka Modric and Xabi Alonso as his three-man midfield has worked to perfection. Jese Rodriguez has flourished under him. Karim Benzema is playing his best soccer for Madrid. And even Gareth Bale has been solid for the team. Of course Cristiano Ronaldo's play at the end of 2013 provided the team with a huge lift but he has also looked better than ever under Ancelotti.
Offensive Depth
Since winning the Ballon d'Or Ronaldo has not been at his best and even picked up a red card that left him out of three domestic league games. His dip in production has not been much of concern for Ancelotti, however, as his troops have managed to pick up the slack for Ronaldo. Madrid actually leads the league in goals scored with 71; Ronaldo has 22, Benzema has 14 and Bale has 10. Next in line is Isco and his seven strikes; the Spaniard has spent more time on the bench of late than he has on the pitch, which only emphasizes this team's offensive depth. Rodriguez has also provided a huge boost for the team and even created a bit of a controversy for Ancelotti over whether he deserves a starting spot over Bale. The fact that this is a problem for Ancelotti only adds to the fact that his depth is so strong.
Barcelona has strong offensive depth, but Atletico Madrid has struggled to get scoring from anyone not named Diego Costa; of the team's 59 goals in the Spanish league this season, 21 have come from Costa. David Villa has scored 11 goals; combined the two starters have scored 54 percent of the team's goals. This statistic makes it clear how to stop Diego Simeone's men.
Defense
In 12 Spanish League games since Nov. 23, the team has only conceded seven times; the team has eight clean sheets in that span. And that statistic does not take into account the team's impressive run of shutouts in the Copa del Rey.
Barcelona has conceded 12 goals in the same span with only five clean sheets; Atletico Madrid has conceded 10 goals in the same span while pitching seven clean sheets.
Barcelona's defensive woes are nothing new and everyone knows that Atletico has also looked brittle on the backend of late. So what is Madrid's secret? Ancelotti has managed to get Pepe to step up his game significantly while also getting solid play from Sergio Ramos. The return of Raphael Varane has also added a level of strength to the team's defense. Even with Ramos out this past weekend the team got solid play from Daniel Carvajal on the flanks. It speaks volumes that Ancelotti could leave Ramos and Marcelo on the bench and still get a tremendously sound defense from his group of four defenders.
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