As competitions go, we have rated the Premier League to the best in the world. It's not sure if United is gonna get 3 points at the OT. Anfield has fallen and Amazon Prime is rooting for an "All Or Nothing Series" on Leicester City. The FA Cup heroics and the relegation. All of this gives us goosebumps and it's safe to say that Premier League is the best in the world.
Or not?
Let's review this La Liga season a bit. We'll keep aside Ligue 1 and Bundesliga for a while and focus on La Liga which by many. Is considered the "second best" league in the world. And rightfully so. It has shared 11 Ballon d'Or and plenty of Champions League victories in the last decade. It's surely not as unpredictable as the PL. But it has its thrill.
Take this season for an instance. It a rollercoaster ride for the top 3 clubs of Spain. Nothing was certain until the last minute of the last game of the season. When does that happen? Not often you'd say.
But this season might give us a mixture of feelings. For some fans like Real Betis', it was dream season as they made it into the Europa League spot after finishing 6th. The last day 3-2 victory over Celta away ensured that.
With plenty of brilliant minds like Manuel Pellegrini behind this feat who deserve all the credit to take Betis into Europa, La Liga has shown promise. The top teams have suffered. Missing the chance to clutch the league has cost them plenty of time. Barcelona bottled. Real Madrid flushed. But in the end, it was the magic of Luis Suarez handed for €6 million by Bartomeu who won them the league.
This season had its drama. A 7 years wait for Atletico came to an end as they lifted the title last night. A very old Luis Suarez with 21 goals this season. Although there were several dips in the form of the Rojiblancos, the injuries, covid piled pressure on Diego Simeone's men. With 8 titles, Diego Pablo Simeone has won more trophies for Atleti than any of their previous managers. Their first game of the season, a 6-1 thumping of Granada at home showed signs that Atletico Madrid would be the one to look out for. Luis got a brace after being shown the door by Barca. Messi, crying after losing his best friend to rivals.
Talking about Messi. It's wasn't a start that Barcelona expected. Messi dropped a bomb through a burofax, stating to leave the club after a lifelong. This was probably the biggest news on Twitter. Barca fans stormed the Camp Nou gates, crying, begging for their savior to stay. In the end, Bartomeu couldn't handle the pressure and was made to leave. Barca was 13th on the table during the initial weeks of La Liga. The fans only hoped for a top 4 finish. After the 8-2 drubbing, it was only fair. Their season was another bizarre one. Having fallen till 13th, they found themselves second on the table as the calendar turned. 19 games unbeaten in the league. Messi dropping clinics every time he wore the colors of Catalans. This feat was stopped by the international break and/or the loss at the hands of Real Madrid.
Real, on the other hand, had an injury-plagued season. If it weren't for Zidane, Benzema and co would be packing bags for Thursday nights in Europa or worse. With 70+ injuries and regular visits to "Sanitas", Real competed like champions. They even had the Champions League to watch out for. Many would call their season a failure on account of going trophyless. But think for a moment, what have they achieved? They've found themselves at second as the league closed, they have their youngsters stepping up and they have their belief. To fight till the end. That's what is the lesson for this season. I guess, this speaks volumes. If Zidane stays, and if he gets a proper squad, Real Madrid is going to the top next season.
Atletico on the other hand has shone that they can deliver when they must. Saving their arses whenever they had to, Llorente turning a scorer from mid, Oblak sponsoring "Ambuja Cement" with his displays at the back. Atleti is the most solid unit in Spain. Very less penetrates them. Even Messi could bludgeon their title charge this season. With a few recruits after having money in the bag with La Liga's win, Atletico looks dangerous to be headed into the next season.
And that's where the comparison of La Liga with Premier League began. When Cadiz defeated Rea and Barca. When Atletico started to slip against Levante when Bilbao made a move with Marcelino when Villarreal and Granada exploited in Europa. Good ebening. The status of the league rose. Or some would call it a decline in the level of top clubs. But looking at the points on the table, no team crossed the 90 point mark for the third season running. What does it tell us? The competition is growing. The teams are coming up and not shying away from a surprise at the Wanda or Camp Nou. Let's hope the roof of the Bernabeu next season will save some blushes. But it's all to play for. Premier League or La Liga, for us it's all about football. The nail-biting finals and the clutch goals like Suarez. We have enjoyed this season and we love to congratulate Atletico Madrid for winning the La Liga 20/21
We move, after having gone through a lot. We self-inflict on our mistakes. We analyze and we come back stronger and better. It's only the start and I hope that we'll be here to tell you guys all about it.
Thank you for reading this piece.