Barcelona have taken a huge step towards three-peating this weekend. Not only did the blaugrana beat Hercules 3-0 on the road, but second place team Real Madrid lost 1-0 at Osasuna and Barcelona are now seven points clear at the top of the table.
Many critics and haters predicted that Mourinho's arrival would mean the end of Barcelona's domination in Spain, but it seems clear that they were dead wrong. If anything, coming to Spain has/will soon put an end to José Mourinho's aura of invincibility.
José Mourinho is a great manager and he's working with the most expensive group of superstars ever assembled, but he's no match to Pep Guardiola and his Dream Team. His Real Madrid were completely torn apart at Camp Nou in Novemeber and their away form has been very poor: they just can't keep up with Barcelona's pace.
With 17 matches left to go, it seems almost guaranteed that Barcelona will win La Liga yet again, for the third consecutive time, and that Mourinho will lose. At this point, only a catastrophic run of form would make Barcelona lose their lead. To put it in perspective, Barcelona would have to drop at least eight points in 17 matches, and they've only dropped five in 21 so far. And even if Barcelona did drop all those points, does anyone believe that Real Madrid will win all their remaining matches? No chance. The way things are, the lead seems likely to increase even more.
On April 17, Pep Guardiola's Dream Team will travel to the Santiago Bernabeu to face Real Madrid. But in all likelihood, it won't be a decisive match, just a chance for Barcelona to further humilliate their eternal rivals at their own ground, as well as their former translator.
Actually, on second thought, it might be a decisive match... but only for Real Madrid. Villareal beat Espanyol tonight and they're merely six points behind Los Blancos in the table, and Real Madrid still have to travel to El Madrigal, which, added to Real Madrid poor away form and tough away schedule, means that the second place is far from guaranteed for Mourinho's team.
At this point, the only thing that seems almost certain is that Barcelona will lift the La Liga trophy for the third season in a row, it's all a matter of keeping this form. But the league trophy is not enough for Pep Guardiola's Dream Team's insatiable trophy-hunger. In two weeks, Barcelona will start figthing for another Champions League trophy and it's safe to assume that they're everyone's favorites for the trophy!
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