RASH DECISION
As October draws to a close and a relentless winter of football looms into view, the biggest domestic game of the season anywhere in Europe – and a contest that could decide a title race – is set to light up a gloomy Sunday afternoon. But after Scottish league leaders Hearts take on Celtic at midday [GMT! – Football Daily Ed], there’s also a decent-looking fixture in Spain. Yes, el clásico is back, this time with a hefty dose of existential angst.
We may only be nine games into the season, but La Liga’s table already has a familiar look to it, with Real Madrid and Barcelona – who have taken turns to lift the title over the last four seasons – already forging a gap above chasers Villarreal and Atlético. Hansi Flick’s Barça, the defending champions, have an attacking deck so stacked they make the Harlem Globetrotters look conservative. Last season, they racked up 16 goals across four beatings of their bitter rivals – but an unexpected 4-1 hoofing at Sevilla last week means they go to the Bernabéu in second place. Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid rebuild has been less spectacular but still ruthlessly effective, the Death Star undergoing a deep clean. Like Barça, they have one weirdly lopsided away loss on their record – the 5-2 derby defeat to Atlético – but have won their other eight games.
La Liga’s dominant forces are also colliding with the league in turmoil after Barça’s planned jaunt to Miami fell apart in real time, while nominal ‘hosts’ Villarreal were playing a Bigger Cup game. The plug was pulled after La Liga players collectively protested against the decision last weekend after their union was left out of negotiations. Surveying the wreckage of his own hubris, league chief Javier Tebas decided to point the finger at … Real Madrid. “Their players only know to say ‘corruption, corruption, corruption’,” Tebas fumed. Earlier in the week, Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois had emerged as an unlikely revolutionary, condemning Tebas for “manipulation” of the league, “censorship” of the protests after TV cameras cut away in jarringly obvious fashion. As Courtois put it: “La Liga does whatever it wants, because it suits them”.
Sunday might be a rare clásico where the vitriol on both sides isn’t aimed at each other – and it’s also likely to be historic from an English perspective. If the on-loan Marcus Rashford starts opposite Madrid’s Jude Bellingham and Trent Alexander-Arnold, it will be the first clásico to feature an English player on both sides. After an impressive start to life at Barça, Rashford is already making noises about a permanent deal. “For anybody who loves football, Barcelona is one of the key clubs in the history of the game,” Rashford cheered, sounding a bit like ChatGPT. “For a player it is an honour.” With the England forward back in form and seven Geopolitics World Cup matches taking place at the Hard Rock Stadium next summer, Rashford may be one Barça player to get that trip to Miami.
LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I feel like I can finally breathe. It’s been a difficult couple of months here, with all the changes, the bad performances. Thanks to the fans for sticking by us” – Morgan Gibbs-White aims a thinly-veiled dig at Ange Postecoglou following Nottingham Forest’s 2-0 win over Porto in Bigger Vase – the club’s first win in all competitions since the first match of the season on 17 August.
Sadly, I mistakenly thought that nominative determinism would make a winner of me on my bet on Aston Villa’s opponents scoring first. Still, Come From Behind Eagles has a certain ring to it” – Richard Reisman.
Send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day winner is … Rollover. Terms and conditions for our competitions can be viewed here.
RECOMMENDED SUBSCRIBING
Prefer pictures to words? Well, Big Website has a brand new weekly newsletter on the way, highlighting the very best sport photographs around. You can subscribe here. But please do still stick with your faithful Football Daily, too.
