Great write-up. Gracias.My Catalan-ness will not allow me to fully congratulate Madrid. Even the Espanyol supporters in my family won't go that far. That being said, Madrid were the most consistent team in La Liga this season and deserved to win. I'll give them that. For me, the top teams were weaker than usual but I have enjoyed the overall depth in the upper-middle part of the table (Betis, La Real, surprising Osasuna, Athletic Club etc). It's starting to feel like nobody wants to go to the Champions League next year though with all of the contenders dropping points.
It's both my least favorite and most favorite part of the season. Least favorite because some club I like to root for will get relegated. I do love me a good derby, so Levante going down will hurt. Are there two traditional rivals with separate stadiums geographically closer to one another than Valencia and Levante? Probably in London, but I'm not sure. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Cadiz, despite a little player controversy last season, so I'd love for them to stay up. Ditto Mallorca, where some of my family summers. Granada has great and truly passionate local support. It's hard to describe, but it almost feels like a family connection between the city and the team. But someone needs to go down. I do like Alaves, especially the ruggedness of players like Laguardia, but replacing them with Eibar and their super small stadium keeps level the Basque representation in La Liga, which by my count will still be at four including Osasuna- which is its own controversy. That gets to me what I love about this part of the season, seeing who will be promoted. Eibar is in good shape, along with Almeria. I can't bring myself to say who sits in the playoff positions, but I know others here are even more excited than I am for the possibilities for one Asturian club. Even a table lower, in the newly formed third tier called Primera Division RFEF, Deportivo la Coruna have a chance to return to the second flight, and man would I love to see them back in La Liga.
Segunda games are available on ESPN+ for those curious.
The race to finish in the top four certainly lost a bit of excitement over the last few weeks. In their last four matches, Sevilla have 5/12 points, Atletico 7/12, Betis 2/12, Real Sociedad 2/12, Villarreal 7/12, Bilbao 7/12.
Does 6th place in La Liga go to the Europa League or Conference League? Is there any prize for 7th? I ask because the race for 6th seems to be where the action will be for the last three matches with Sociedad, Villarreal, and Bilbao competing for the spot.
I subscribe to ESPN+ and had no idea I could watch Segunda on the platform. Thanks, again.