The Imminent Collapse of Real Madrid? Messi and Barcelona Rising

The city of Madrid is buzzing.

In just a few weeks, Real Madrid have let their 10-point lead in La Liga slip away. Yesterday, Valencia went toe-to-toe with Los Blancos and tied 0-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu.

What a great game—give credit to both teams for 90 minutes of battle.  

The Madrid media are in crisis mode. They are wondering what happened to this team—a team that, for some reason, is not able to finish off their opponent. Some are beginning to speculate if the collapse of Real Madrid happens, what will happen to the team?

What will happen to some of the players? Who will be sold?

Some are even wondering if the Real Madrid collapse happens, whether Jose Mourinho will be the manager of the team next season. Perhaps Mou himself is wondering as well.

Hey Mourinho, if your team completes the collapse, I heard that there could be a job opening in the City of Manchester very soon. The team wears blue and has an angry Italian player named Mario on the team.

It's like Inter Milan: English Version. I’m sure you’d love it, Mou.

For all FC Barcelona fans who are celebrating Real Madrid’s tie…smile, and tease them a bit, but let’s not get too carried away.

This is still Real Madrid’s Liga to win...or lose.

For me, there is no question Barcelona has to sign Jordi Alba. He was arguably the best player in the game for Los Che and we saw what kind of damage he can do against Real Madrid. His speed and awareness on the pitch is phenomenal and he almost had the goal for the win.

I know Sandro Rosell was watching the game. I hope he has the checkbook out, writing the name “Valencia CF” on it for the transfer. Come on, Sandro (I assume Sandro reads B/R).

Alba is the perfect replacement for Eric Abidal and would shine, as his game fits Pep Guardiola’s system. His lack of height is his flaw, but he makes up for it with effort, speed and heart. As we saw on Saturday against Real Zaragoza, Barcelona’s struggles on defense are not going anywhere.

Lionel Messi could have had four goals against Zaragoza. I was happy to see him get his brace, but I was even happier to see Pedro get his first goal in months. If Barcelona is going to get past Chelsea in Champions League play as well as beat Real Madrid in El Clásico later this month, Pedro needs to get back to the Pedro of old.

We all knew the April 21st Clásico was going to be important—all Clásicos are important. But now the temperature has been turned up on the game. With a Real Madrid win, La Liga is essentially done.

But with a Barcelona win, La Liga comes down to a one-point Real lead and the pressure of one of the biggest collapse in Liga history is upon Mourinho and his team.

But let me get back to today. Real Madrid and Barcelona still have two games left in La Liga until their matchup at the Camp Nou. Barcelona host Getafe midweek and then face Levante on Saturday. Real Madrid plays in the Madrid Derby against Atletico Madrid midweek and host Sporting Gijon.

Did I mention both Real and Barça have Champions League action next week, too?

As I mentioned in my previous article of two weeks ago (“FC Barcelona: La Liga Race Back On! Real Slipping and Barça Rising”) Real Madrid have the tougher schedule down the road (ex: this past Valencia game) than Barcelona.

May 2 is looking like it could be the most important day of La Liga season—especially if Barcelona is able to beat Real Madrid on April 21. Barcelona faces Málaga at the Camp Nou, while Real Madrid will face their toughest game post-Clasico as they go to the Basque Country and take on Marcelo Bielsa’s Athletic Bilbao.

If Real Madrid lose to Barcelona on 4/21 and to Athletic Bilbao on 5/2 and Barça are able to win out—which, with their schedule, is very likely—the collapse would be complete.

The city of Madrid is buzzing. One reason is for the upcoming Madrid Derby.

The other reason is the status of Real Madrid. Madridistas who flaunted the 10-point lead are now quiet, worried and beginning to wonder if the collapse is possible.

After the Valencia game, Real Madrid captain Iker Casillas said, "We could lose La Liga. We never said Real Madrid was going to win La Liga."

Madridistas are thinking about Barcelona breathing down Real Madrid’s neck. But are Jose Mourinho and the Real Madrid players just as worried as their fans, thinking about Barcelona breathing down on them as well?

Perhaps the collapse is in the back of the players' minds already.

For Barcelona, they have nothing to lose in La Liga. If they are able to overtake Real, that’s great. If Barça is not able to catch up, the Liga was essentially lost months ago and no one truly expected them to win—even Pep Guardiola—so it’s not going to be a major loss.

Real Madrid is losing their grip on La Liga. FC Barcelona has closed in underneath Real Madrid—ready and waiting for them to lose their grip—to catch La Liga.

Will La Liga fall into Barça’s hands? Looks like it may.

Could the collapse happen? Very much so.

Will the collapse happen?

We have a little over a month to get our answer.

Visca el Barça!

Xoel, The Voice of FC Barcelona on Bleacher Report!

Look out for my article “10 Biggest Collapses in La Liga History” coming soon.

Follow me on Twitter: @XoelCardenas

Don’t forget to check out my other columns:

FC Barcelona: 5 Reasons the Odds Are Looking Good for Them to Win the CL Title 

New Cristiano Ronaldo Coming to FC Barcelona?

5 Reasons Why Pedro Has Been Barcelona's Most Disappointing Player This Season