La Liga Weekly

There are many reasons to pick Real Madrid in this game. They are playing at the Santiago Bernabeu and, as advertised in the madridista handbook, where they are 13-0. They are coming off a very emotional win, they have leadership in the league, and everything seems right for them turning over a 0-1 loss at Lyon and finally, expectantly, after a handful of years, qualifying for the next round. Could this be the year they finally get their hands on la decima, their tenth European title?

Then again, I get hunches sometimes, it’s the paranoid in me I guess, and I start playing devil’s advocate in my head. Sure, Real Madrid have a trident of attacking talent that Lyon can’t muster up to, hell their best striker from last year is now sitting injured on the Real Madrid bench for that matter, but they are missing two key components going into this game: Xabi Alonso and (gulp, yes I said it) Marcelo. Look, anybody who has read my blogs over the years knows my opinion of Marcelo: he’s a waste of the several pounds of 100% cotton fiber that went into sewing that royal purple and white kit of his, and yet in the first half against Sevilla he was the only one with any amount of endeavor. If they were considering using him as a fullback Arbeloa can slot in there, and if Pellegrini had him in his more natural position on the left wing, then yes I guess they could slot Granero or Rafa Van de Vaart there, but the more obvious problem is the Xabi question mark. Everyone is automatically slotting Guti in for Xabi, but they play in opposite corners of a midfield diamond, and are you going to put your hopes on a player who, as some of the Spanish press are saying, “Can’t give you but 40 minutes a game whether because of age, he’s 33, disinterest or injury.”

Sergio Ramos believes they can win the Champions League with their “deep squad” and yes they have one of the deepest squads in the world: up front. What they don’t have is two top quality players at every position on the bus and those that they do, like Mahamadou Diarra and Fernando Gago, are either untested under Pellegrini’s command or injured like Pepe.

In spite of it all, there is that remarkable comeback last Saturday when they pulled back a two goal deficit and beat Sevilla 3-2 but could have beaten them 6-2 without some glaring mistakes in front of goal and yet, that could be the biggest mirage of all. It was clear from the get-go that, even with a deep squad of attacking talent in red kits that day, Manolo Jimenez came in with the intention of securing a draw. That they scored two goals without one shot on goal was a bonus, but they were obviously going to maroon their forwards behind an 8 man bus parked in front of Andres Palop.

If Lyon do the same, and try to park ‘l’autobus‘ in front of goal, then they’ll lose, and it won’t be close, but if they attack Real Madrid in the areas where they are vulnerable right now, on their left and in the middle of the pitch in front of Iker, where there are plenty of ball winners but few ball handlers, then surprisingly, shockingly I’m sorry to say: they have a chance. Not a big one, but a chance nontheless.

Update: LIVE STREAMING
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