Atletico Madrid, which was trailing Barcelona for most of the season and was tied in points before this weekend, dropped out of contention after a surprising 2-1 late loss to already relegated Levante. “We played a complete game, I’m happy with what we’ve achieved”.
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Barca are still haunted by memories of June 9, 2007, when Espanyol record goalscorer Raul Tamudo struck a 90th-minute equaliser to silence Camp Nou and allow Madrid to go on and win the title under Fabio Capello. The fans will be there for us because they know it’ll be a hard game from start to finish.
A run of three defeats in a row had threatened to see the Catalans surrender their title before three wins from as many games last month got them back on track and Alba is adamant there will be no repeat of the infamous “Tamudazo” to inspire another collapse.
The Catalan club recently relinquished a nine-point lead after going winless in four straight games, but Luis Enrique’s team picked up the pace just in time, winning four consecutive games by outscoring opponents 21-0 to stay ahead going into the decisive round. Barcelona will field a full strength side and the away team, who have failed to win 13 of their last 14 away games in the La Liga will hope to pull off a result that is largely unexpected.
“I want us to be better than Espanyol and deserve to win, that’s all I’m anxious about”, he said. That’s what we care about, not Barca.
“We are ending a fantastic season and we are one game away from competing with Barcelona and Real Madrid”, said Simeone. We are a small step closer, but the last game is still to play. “If we steal the ball and break, we can do damage”.
Espanyol held Barca to a tense goalless draw in January and the two sides met again in a two-legged King’s Cup tie, when Barca won a feisty first leg 4-1 as Espanyol had two players sent off.
France defender Jeremy Mathieu has been cleared to play by Barcelona’s doctors after recovering from surgery on his right knee.
Espanyol top-scorer Felipe Caicedo (Achilles) is a major doubt for the visitors, while Alvarez Gonzalez and Oscar Duarte are both banned.
A rampant 5-0 derby victory over Espanyol on Sunday – secured through goals from Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez (two), Rafinha Alcantara and Neymar – ensured Barca remain top of the table and on course to retain their title.
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Before the match-as reported by Goal-the Barca manager took the opportunity to share a photo opportunity with his rival manager Constantin Galca, now in charge of Espanyol, the reigning European champions’ cross-city rivals.
