Sunday won’t feature your average edition of El Clasico.There are no title stakes in play (Barcelona saw to that weeks ago before sealing the deal last weekend). Neither side is on the verge of shockingly falling out of Champions League contention (Real Madrid saw to that with its recent surge). The outcome won’t change a thing when it comes to competitive matters. Yet there are still plenty of reasons to tune in for the world’s preeminent rivalry bout.
It might not be as intense or cagey as has come to be expected, but here’s what the final Clasico of the season could entail:
BARCELONA’S RUN AT SPANISH IMMORTALITY–AND REAL MADRID’S CHANCE TO STOP IT
It’s downright ridiculous that Barcelona’s season–especially that of first-year manager Ernesto Valverde–will be seen in some corners as a disaster because of one horrible collapse in Rome. The Champions League title is certainly the most prestigious club crown on the planet, but does a domestic double mean nothing anymore? Especially one in which a team has gone undefeated in the league to pull it off? The three-goal capitulation vs. Roma was inexcusable, but that doesn’t take away from what’s been accomplished since August.
Barcelona vs Real Madrid – press conference
No team in La Liga history has had an “Invincible” season, and Barcelona is four games away from achieving it, despite not meeting the aesthetic standard set by past Barcelona sides. Real Madrid presents a final hurdle, and a tall one at that, but if Barcelona clears it with a win or a draw (its last home loss in any competition came last August in the Spanish Super Cup against Real Madrid, when the thought of an undefeated campaign was laughable), then it’s in for a relatively easy landing on its road to history.
So, no, Barcelona won’t win the Champions League this season, and, yes, Real Madrid just might yet again, but a season sweep of its rival and an undefeated league campaign would be plenty for the Catalans to boast. And for Real Madrid, taking that joy away from Barcelona–and snapping its record 41-match unbeaten streak in the league–would certainly help make up for an uneven domestic season, at least by its lofty standards.