1. Luis Enrique is on his way out of Camp Nou
It may not have been a major shock to learn that Luis Enrique won’t be Barcelona’s Coach next season, but it was surprising that he announced it at this point of the season. After fielding questions in the Press conference after the Blaugrana’s 6-1 win over Sporting Gijon, the Asturian announced that he would be stepping down to enjoy some much-needed rest. The hunt for a successor now begins and Barca must hope that this announcement inspires the current team to one or two more trophies, rather than become a distraction.
2. Madrid’s ‘yellow fever’ is back
It shouldn’t come as a major shock that Real Madrid have struggled against Villarreal and now Las Palmas, given that they also found it tough against them earlier in the season. Los Blancos were held to draws by the two yellow-clad teams in the first round of fixtures and, although they beat Villarreal late on in controversial fashion at the weekend, they have found it just as tough this time around. Against Las Palmas on Wednesday night, it took two late Cristiano Ronaldo goals to salvage a point and the title race is now wide open. Next up is Eibar, another team that tested Madrid in the first round, even if they left their yellow away kit at home.
3. The title is almost in Sevilla’s hands
For both Barcelona and Real Madrid, this week’s results mean they now control their own destiny. If either of those two teams win every match from now until the end of the season, including the Clasico of course, then they will top La Liga. For Sevilla, they are close to being in a similar situation after racking up yet another victory, this time over Athletic Bilbao. If they win all of their remaining fixtures, including the matches against the big two, then they will need just one other Madrid slip-up to take an unlikely League title. That scenario is obviously unlikely, especially the part about Los Merengues slipping up just once more…
4. Valencia should be safe from relegation
With three wins, three defeats and one draw in their past seven matches, Valencia’s form remains inconsistent, but they should have now collected enough points to be safe from the threat of relegation. That doesn’t mean Los Che are suddenly a good team, but the group at the bottom of this campaign’s pile are so poor that the cut-off for survival in the 2016-17 season is unlikely to be anywhere near the usual mark of 35 to 40 points. By defeating another relegation-threatened team in the shape of Leganes, Valencia have now surely pulled themselves out of trouble.
5. Some things are more important than football
At the very end of what had been an excellent and entertaining midweek of action, thoughts turned away from the League table as concern grew for Fernando Torres, who had been knocked unconscious after his head hit the ground during a late aerial clash in Atletico Madrid’s trip to Deportivo La Coruna. Thankfully, the news seemed to get better as the night progressed, but the incident reminded everyone that there are some things which are more important than the La Liga results.
