{"id":25610,"date":"2020-06-30T20:12:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-30T14:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kyrosports.com\/?p=25610"},"modified":"2020-06-30T20:12:00","modified_gmt":"2020-06-30T14:42:00","slug":"real-madrid-and-barcelonas-race-to-the-finish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kyrosports.com\/real-madrid-and-barcelonas-race-to-the-finish\/","title":{"rendered":"‘The two towers’: Real Madrid and Barcelona’s race to the finish"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Marcelo hastily cleared the ball in front of Thibaut Courtois\u2019 goal, coming uncomfortably close to scoring an own goal in the dying minutes of a decisive match against Espanyol. Fortunately for the veteran Real Madrid left-back, the ball missed the frame of the goal and went out of play, prompting the match official to signal the end of the match. <\/p>\n\n\n

That was it! Real Madrid<\/a> once again opened up a slender lead at the top of the league table, placing themselves two points above bitter rivals and defending champions, Barcelona<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CCA9EeroEJx\/\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n

Last season, Los Blancos endured one of their worst campaigns, ever. They lost 12 games in La Liga<\/a> alone and finished in third place, 19 points behind table-toppers, Barcelona. Julen Lopetegui and Santiago Solari tried their luck at managing the most demanding club in the world, but it was Zinedine Zidane, who, once again, decided to save the club, become its messiah. <\/p>\n\n\n

It was always meant to be an uphill battle without the club\u2019s record goalscorer, Cristiano Ronaldo, but Zidane didn\u2019t shy away from taking the fight to Barcelona. \u201cLet\u2019s go for the title,\u201d he said to his team. And his boys haven\u2019t disappointed, yet. <\/p>\n\n\n

Turmoil at Barcelona<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n

We\u2019re 32 games into the 2019-20 La Liga campaign, and the title race couldn\u2019t be tighter. On paper, both Real Madrid and Barcelona have benefitted from the pandemic-enforced postponement, getting the opportunity to field the likes of Marco Asensio, Luis Suarez, and Eden Hazard. However, unlike Real Madrid, Barcelona haven\u2019t quite managed to put their best foot forward.<\/p>\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CB8jNvJqtqV\/\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n

Since the restart, Barcelona have won three matches and drawn two \u2014 against Sevilla and Celta Vigo, respectively. The two draws have cost Barcelona their two-point lead at the summit and left them to play catch up with Zidane\u2019s Real Madrid. If that wasn\u2019t bad enough, there are reports of unrest in the Barcelona dressing room.<\/p>\n\n\n

As per sources<\/a>, Blaugrana boss, Quique Setien, isn\u2019t seen as an ideal candidate for the job and is living on borrowed time. The reports claim that the Blaugrana players, including the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, are disappointed with the way the team\u2019s been playing over the last few matches and have little respect for the coaching staff.<\/p>\n\n\n

Barcelona skipper, Lionel Messi, was also spotted disregarding Setien\u2019s assistant\u2019s \u2014 Eder Sarabia \u2014 instructions in the draw at Vigo, which many are interpreting as a sign of a rift between the Argentine and Setien\u2019s staff.<\/p>\n\n\n

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This is very clear that Messi does not respect Eder Sarabia, Quique Setien's assistant manager.

A shame that Barcelona is going through this. https:\/\/t.co\/c77ysunsID<\/a><\/p>— Bill Eshun (@Bill_Eshun) June 29, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote>