This season's La Liga has been incredibly exciting, something that everyone should have noticed. As the matches progress to this critical point, what is the current situation? You see, in each La Liga season, there are only a few teams with the real strength to challenge for the title. Today, let's take a look at the latest standings of the league. On the latest La Liga standings, the title race has become clear, with one team emerging as a big winner while the other two seem to be accompanying and conceding points. (Points data as of December 24th)
On the leaderboard, Atletico Madrid tops with 41 points, followed closely by Real Madrid with 40 points, Barcelona with 38 points, and Athletic Bilbao with 36 points. These four teams have laid the foundation for the title race this season, and the overall situation has thus been determined. To put it bluntly, the champion will come from among these teams. In fact, several seasons have been like this, with the title contenders always being these few teams, as their lineups determine the current state.
Let's talk about Barcelona. At the beginning of this season, Barcelona was fierce, dominating both in terms of points and goal difference. However, recently, Barcelona's form has been poor, with an increasing number of losses, some of which were quite baffling. Looking at Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, their positions have changed, with Atletico Madrid emerging as a big winner. It's not hard to predict that this situation will continue until the end of the season, with the title race this season bound to be extremely fierce.
The 5th and 6th place teams are Villarreal and Mallorca, both with 30 points. These two teams are quite active, having successfully increased their points to 30 after more than half of the schedule. However, for these two teams, the hope of challenging for the title is relatively slim, as they have a significant gap with the teams ahead. Nonetheless, these two teams have the ability to disrupt the title race, potentially changing the rhythm later on and causing trouble for the top-ranked teams.
The 7th to 11th place teams are Real Sociedad, Girona, Betis, Osasuna, and Celta Vigo. Their points are as follows: Real Sociedad 25 points, Girona 25 points, Betis 25 points, Osasuna 25 points, and Celta Vigo 24 points. These teams occasionally deliver some impressive victories, but they have yet to establish a stable pattern for winning games. Special mention should be made of Girona, which had great momentum last season but seems to be struggling this season, something that everyone is well aware of.
The 12th to 18th place teams are Vallecano, Las Palmas, Sevilla, Leganes, Alaves, Getafe, and Espanyol. Their points are as follows: Vallecano 22 points, Las Palmas 22 points, Sevilla 22 points, Leganes 18 points, Alaves 17 points, Getafe 16 points, and Espanyol 15 points. These teams are quite interesting, with some unexpectedly winning games while others seem helpless. This is somewhat helpless, as not every team possesses the strength to charge forward bravely.
Looking at the 19th and 20th place teams on the leaderboard, they are Valencia and Valladolid, both with 12 points. These two teams are purely playing a supporting role this season, even serving as point-givers. Valencia has a goal difference of -10, while Valladolid is worse off with a goal difference of -25. These two teams, how shall I say it, really have no ambitions, completely adopting a passive attitude in the games. There's no way around it; teams at the bottom of the leaderboard often look like this.
In summary, the general situation of the standings this season has become clear, with only a few teams capable of contending for the title. Currently, more than half of the schedule has passed, and the competition is sure to intensify even further.