MADRID.- The LaLiga podium, Barcelona, real Madrid and Atlético, returns to the domestic competition against rivals from the lower half of the table after having achieved important victories in the Champions League, which have galvanized their optimism to face the last part of the year.
Barcelona, which has secured at least the Champions League playoff, is already second behind Liverpool, after beating Borussia Dortmund 3-2 on Wednesday, and will want to continue displaying its good feelings at the Camp Nou against Leganés (17th) on Sunday.
The team’s main absence will come from its coach, the German Hansi Flick, who has been given a two-game ban for the red card he received last weekend against Betis, although the club has already communicated that will appeal it.
In Dortmund, their stars shone, the Brazilian Raphinha and Lamine Yamal, but above all Ferran Torres stood out, who knocked on the door to play more minutes after scoring two goals against the Germans. Furthermore, Pedri and Marc Casadó showed that they are in a state of grace.
Real Madrid, two points behind and with one game less than the leader, will face Rayo Vallecano (12th) on Saturday in a rival field, in good spirits after dispelling doubts in the Champions League, by beating Atalanta on Tuesday by 3-2.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men have found the magic formula: BMV. The trident, formed by the Englishman Jude Bellingham, the Frenchman Kylian Mbappé and the Brazilian Vinicius, each scored a goal against the Italians.
On his visit to Rayo, Mbappé’s presence is in doubt, after having retired in Bergamo due to muscle discomfort. The good news for the Frenchman came from Sweden this Thursday. The Scandinavian prosecutor’s office closed the investigation into alleged rape of the French star due to lack of evidence.
The persistent Atleti
Atlético de Madrid, third and three points behind Barça, will face Getafe (15th) at the Metropolitano, where they have won lately.
Last Sunday, Diego Simeone’s men came back against Sevilla (4-3) and, on Wednesday, they beat Slovan Bratislava (3-1) without major problems, thanks once again to Frenchman Antoine Griezmann, author of a double.
After the European confrontation, the Argentine coach complained about the schedules that the team is having this season: “I am left with the work that the team did. They had made a very great effort. The response was very good in all the games. It’s normal that he was left without that freshness, I’m sure that with a little more rest we would have had it.”
In other matches of the day, Athletic Club (4th), which has been launched after beating José Mourinho’s Turkish Fenerbahçe with a double from Iñaki Williams, will visit Alavés (16th) on Sunday, while Villarreal (5th) will receive to Betis (11th), also on the same day.
