Real Madrid missed out on the chance to effectively seal the La Liga title on Sunday.
Los Blancos welcomed Barcelona to the Bernabeu with a three-point lead and a game in hand over their nearest rivals. Victory would have all but secured Madrid’s first title since 2012.
Even a point would have been satisfactory. And Zinedine Zidane would have taken a draw when James Rodriguez made it 2-2 in the 85th minute after Sergio Ramos was sent off.
But we all know what happened next. Madrid, inexplicably, pushed men forward and were caught on the counter. Jordi Alba teed up Lionel Messi and the Argentinian sent the ball crashing into the bottom corner.
Suddenly, the title race is back on.
Both Barca and Madrid secured convincing wins last night to reach 78 points. Los Blancos remain the favourites, however - they will win the league if they win their five remaining matches.
So Barcelona need a favour or two.
Madrid travel to Malaga on the final day
Malaga can supply it when they host Madrid on the final day of the season, May 21. Michel’s side are no push-overs and have won four of their past five matches.
However, it doesn’t sound as if Malaga are prepared to help Barcelona in any way.
Michel sparked suspicions about whether Malaga would help Madrid when he told Onda Cero, per Sport: “I’m a lot more Madridista than Valdana,” referencing former Madrid player Jorge Valdano guiding his Tenerife side to victory over Madrid in 1993, which helped Barcelona win the title.
But it wasn’t those comments that have angered Barcelona. It’s the comments of Malaga’s president, Abdullah Al-Thani.
Al-Thani's controversial tweet
Al-Thani implied his team will assist Madrid by tweeting: “The scum from Catalunya will not get a sniff of the league after their lies about Michel.”
The tweet was translated by Sport.
Barcelona will report Al-Thani
Barcelona haven’t taken Al-Thani’s comment lightly. They’ve announced their intention to report the Malaga president to National Sports Council’s Anti-Violence Committee.
“FC Barcelona hereby expresses its rejection of, and indignation with regard to, the content of a tweet posted by the president of Malaga CF, Abdullah Al-Thani, whose public declaration infringes upon the principles of fair play, and the ethical and legal precepts that must govern sporting competition,” Barca’s statement read.
“The Club, therefore, will report this case to the National Sports Council’s Anti-Violence Committee, and will bring the matter before the Royal Spanish Football Federation’s Competition Committee, as well as the Department of Integrity of La Liga.”
Madrid will no doubt hope to have the title sewn up before they travel to Malaga to avoid any controversy.