Soccer - Spanish La Liga Title Race: Part 1

It was down to the last two matches to decide who will be the Spanish La Liga Champions for the 2006/07 season. Just three months ago, Barcelona were showing so much promise fighting on three fronts, the UEFA Champions League, Spanish Cup and leading the Spanish primera division.


Will these scenes appear after the final match on June 17th?

But the Catalan side were defeated by Liverpool, and humiliated by Getafe 4-0 in the cup final and now have the Spanish title out of their hands... Will it be a trophyless season for Frank Rijkaard's side in a league which does not accept failure as a result?


Barcelona 2 – 2 Espanyol

Lionel Messi was quoted as saying they only had themselves to blame, but he also showed his determination to make things right in order not to have a fruitless campaign. Indeed he had a ‘hand’ in the final result against their city rivals Espanyol.




Espanyol were looking the more threatening side in the opening exchanges, with Tamudo looking particularly dangerous, forcing a fine save by Victor Valdes from an acute angle. There was no surprise then when Tamudo drove espanyol into the lead from a perfectly weighted pass by Ivan De La Pena in the 30th minute. (This equaled Espanyol's all-time scoring record of 111 goals set by Rafael Maranon.)


However, the controversial moment of the match arrived when Lionel Messi leapt and used his hand cheekily to “head” the ball in just before half time. Espanyol players protested furiously in unison but the referee allowed the goal to count. It was an ironic incident as the goal was reminiscent of the infamous “hand of god” goal scored by Diego Maradona against England in the 1986 world cup.


Recently, his goal against Getafe in a cup match when he dribbled past six players starting from the half way line and then scored also brought up memories of Maradona’s famous goal scored in the same match.


In the 57th minute, Messi scored a more legitimate goal, slotting the ball home after a swift move. But Barcelona was denied a precious victory when Tamudo popped up again to score an equalizer in the dying moments.



Real Zaragoza 2 – 2 Real Madrid

Real Madrid knew they just have to win their last two matches and they would be La Liga Champions, regardless of other results elsewhere. But it was not an easy match playing away against Real Zaragoza in a rain drenched playing field.


Madrid started shaky, with Zaragoza’s skillful Argentinean Andres D'Alessandro looking dangerous all night. Iker Casillas had to stay sharp to block Alessandro’s shot at his near post, but he could not prevent Alberto Diego Milito from scoring in the 32nd minute with a penalty kick. Ivan Helguera had commited the foul on former Valencia ace, Pablo Aimar in the box.

Van Nistelrooy nearly equalized just before the break with a powerful header but former Madrid keeper Cesar managed to react in lighting speed to prevent the ball from going in.


However the prolific striker was not to be denied in the 57th minute, scoring his 24th league goal of the season with another header from a Sergio Ramos cross.


But just like in Barca’s case, Alberto Diego Milito who gave his side the lead, scored his second with a cool finish in the 64th minute after stepping past Roberto Carlo’s challenge. Again, like the match at the Nou Camp, there was a second goal for the other goal scorer Van Nistelrooy who finished off a rebound in the last minute, after the in form Cesar had parried out Higuain’s shot.



Real Mallorca 0 – 0 Sevilla

Meanwhile, underdogs Sevilla still have an outside chance of winning the title after they were held 0-0 at Real Mallorca in a heated match in which they had a man sent off. Sevilla have to win their last match and hope both Barcelona and Real Madrid lose theirs.


So after this week’s round of matches, its still in Real Madrid’s hands. They only have to beat Real Mallorca in front of their home fans to clinch a record 30th league title. They are odds on to do precisely that, but football can always bring lots of surprises. Stay tune next week to find out what exactly happens!