"I am a Madridista" - La Liga president Javier Tebas backs Real Madrid to challenge Barcelona for La Liga title
La Liga president Javier Tebas has backed Real Madrid to make a strong comeback and challenge Barcelona in the race for the La Liga title. Los Blancos are currently nine points behind the Blaugrana at the top of the table.
Carlo Ancelotti's team have 56 points from 25 matches. They look set to lose out on Barca in a bid to defend their throne as the Spanish champions. Tebas, however, believes that Real Madrid could make a comeback as he said:
"Is La Liga over? I am a Madridista. Real Madrid have already made league comebacks with 7-8 points behind, there are still a lot of La Liga games left... Imagine Madrid winning El Clasico, they would be very close..."
Javier Tebas (La Liga President): "Is La Liga over? I am a Madridista. Real Madrid have already made league comebacks with 7-8 points behind, there are still a lot of La Liga games left... Imagine Madrid winning El Clasico, they would be very close..." https://t.co/RGG0x1wnb0
Los Blancos' next La Liga game is set to take place on March 19. Ancelotti's team will face Barcelona at the Spotify Camp Nou in El Clasico. With a win, they can make a comeback in the title race.
But if Barcelona win, the fate of the La Liga title might be a foregone conclusion.
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti spoke ahead of the Liverpool clash
Despite trailing Barcelona in the La Liga title race, Los Blancos are completely focused on their upcoming UEFA Champions League clash against Liverpool. Manager Carlo Ancelotti spoke ahead of the match, saying (via Los Blancos' official website):
"The message is clear. We don't have to do any calculations, what we have to do is play as well as we can. We have to go into the game in the same way as we did in the first leg. We're not thinking about what could happen, we just need to play with the intensity and passion required to win the game."
He further added:
"I might not express a lot of tension but there are times in your career when you really struggle with it, that's to be expected. Against Chelsea was one of those times. Everyone who was involved in that comeback understands."
Real Madrid won the first leg at Anfield by a scoreline of 5-2. Hence, heading into the second leg, they are the favorites to progress to the quarter-final stages of the competition.
The second leg between the two European giants is set to take place at the Santiago Bernabeu later tonight (March 15).