The importance of Almeria’s recent win over Granada cannot be understated. In what has been a wretched couple of months this has been the best news yet, but perhaps also as good as it is going to get this season.
Their 3-0 win on Saturday was their biggest this season and their biggest in La Liga since last season, when they beat Granada by the same score line. If they could face Granada every week, they may not be in the situation they are in now.
Rather unfortunately that is not the case, and they must deal with the Barcelonas and Real Madrids of this world just as everybody else. But it is not those losses which have derailed Almeria’s season. Results such as the 4-1 home reverse to Levante and the 5-2 defeat at Eibar have been devastating.
Again this emphasises the necessity to the win against Granada. They are relegation rivals, and this puts a little distance between the two sides. But after Deportivo La Coruna’s late draw against Real Sociedad, Sergi Barjuan’s side are level with Depor and Levante, hovering over the danger zone on 28 points.
For Barjuan, it was an important win, his first in charge of the club. Hiring a new Coach is sometimes a catalyst for an uptake in results, however April may be cutting too close with regards to sparking a revival. What is he meant to do?
They squeezed through by the skin of their teeth, last season, finishing 17th with the magic 40 points necessary to distance themselves from Osasuna on 39. They were lucky that time around, but have made many of the same mistakes this season, and may not be so fortunate again.
It the same old story with transfers. The Andalusian club let go 16 players from last year, brought in 12 and only spent €200,000. While their finances may always be an issue, such an overhaul can never be conducive to a successful season.
Hanging on to players such as Ramon Azzez, Tomer Hemed, and Verza has helped their cause somewhat, but with no team cohesion and little direction, things look bleak. Then again, Almeria were in just as much hot water last year as escaped. Luckily enough for Almeria, some of their competition were well below the Primera standard, and have been equally hapless this year.
Cordoba look done a dusted after their 2-0 loss to Elche and both Granada and Levante are in just as deep of trouble. As long as those three keep losing, they’re fine. Things start to look rosier until you look at the fixture list. Their last five matches come against top 10 opposition including Madrid, Valencia and Sevilla.
That makes the next two matches crucial – Rayo Vallecano and Eibar. Both have beaten Los Rojiblancos earlier this year. One win in 10 games is not La Liga-worthy form. They rode their luck last season and again at times this year, and it seems their stint at the top could be over soon. There appears to be little hope for Almeria.
