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[av_heading heading=’The tables have been turned as Barca surges, Madrid skids’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”][/av_heading]
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Sunday, March 12, 2017
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Barcelona stars Neymar (right) and Sergio Busquets (5) celebrate their miracle victory over Paris St. Germain during the Champion League on Wednesday. AP
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MADRID – How quickly things can change in Spanish soccer.
It wasn’t long ago that Barcelona was in crisis, trailing Real Madrid by six points in the Spanish league and facing almost certain elimination from the Champions League. The team was struggling on the field and being jeered by fans. Coach Luis Enrique had just announced his upcoming departure, leaving the club mired in uncertainty.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, was thriving. Under Zinedine Zidane, the team was breaking records and enchanting crowds with top-notch performances. It was cruising in the Spanish league and had earned a comfortable first-leg win over Napoli in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Real Madrid was prospering. Barcelona was reeling.
It’s all different now.
Barcelona has retaken the Spanish league lead and found a way to overcome the 4-0 first-leg loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. The spectacular 6-1 win at Camp Nou on Wednesday reinvigorated the Catalan club and filled it with confidence.
”I can only imagine that the rest of the teams were not happy with what happened,” Luis Enrique said. ”We will learn from our mistakes and will continue to be as ambitious as ever.”
Madrid lost some of its poise after a dominant first half of the season.
The defending European champions started to stumble after enjoying a 40-game unbeaten streak and leading the league comfortably since the eighth round.
The team led by Cristiano Ronaldo recently lost to Valencia 2-1 and needed late goals to erase a 2-0 deficit at Villarreal and salvage a 3-3 home draw against Las Palmas.
Madrid is trying to become the first team to win back-to-back Champions League titles since the competition’s new format was introduced in 1992-93. It is trying to win the Spanish league for the first time since 2012. (AP)
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