~snip~
It is a double-edged sword when a team has become the champion in the domestic league quite early because they tend to rotate players in and out, try them on new positions or positions they are not used to and they somehow undermine the overall competition. Just look what this win by Valladolid means for Espanyol Barcelona and Getafe! Is that fair? Would Valladolid have won that game 6 weeks ago? Real Sociedad essentially saved their Champions League qualification thanks to beating Barcelona in the Camp Nou. It was the first loss at home for Barcelona in the entire season! Now Villareal almost has no chance to make it into top 4. If Sociedad lost that game and Villareal wins theirs, it would be 2 points difference between them. I really dislike it when the competition suffers so much from teams not playing seriously anymore because they literally finished the season already mentally.
I am well aware that Xavi will rotate his players, it's just that what I refer to as the initial scenario is not as it should be when the game is played. Pablo Torre is not in the starting line-up, and neither is Eric Garcia. Initial prediction, Dembele became the main starter to replace Raphinha. on the wing there is Torres or Ansu fati, for midfield, Kassie becomes De Jong's panter, instead Busquets will not be played. for defenders, according to the initial prediction that Arujo, Konde, will be absent. therefore, I dare to bet on Barcelona.
well, with the squad scenario that was originally predicted, Valladolid is not a difficult opponent for Barcelona to overthrow. however yes, as I posted before. apparently, the prediction missed the estimate.
For Real Sociedad, they deserve it. because, they did a good job and were able to overthrow Barcelona, which no longer had any ambition after securing the League trophy. for Villarreal, they have to accept that Real Sociedad is able to widen the points gap from them. but there are still two games left, both for Real Sociedad, as well as Vilarreal. both of them, have a crucial match in the remaining 2 bouts. if Sociedad is not consistent in the remaining 2 matches, then Villarreal can overtake the ranking occupied by Sociedad which is only 5 points away.