La Liga Set to Return from June 8, Details Awaited
Times are gloomy, and the light of hope flickers at the end of the tunnel. As the pandemic continues to wreak havoc worldwide, some countries are slowly easing the lockdown. The latest addition to this list of countries is Spain.
To the absolute delight of football fans, the Spanish Prime Minister announced the return of the country’s top-flight football league, La Liga. Declaring that the nation is past its worst battles against coronavirus, Pedro Sanchez gave a green flag for the resumption of various sporting activities.
La Liga Returns
The La Liga will resume with its final 11 matchdays in the week starting June 8. The league announced an indefinite suspension of all games back on March 23, owing to an alarming surge in coronavirus cases. So, with the second week of June, the Spanish fans will get some live action after an excruciating wait of over two months.
The teams conducted a coronavirus test for all their players and staff early in May. Following the test results, many first-team players returned to training from the second week of May itself.
Current Team Standings
Now, with an official declaration for the league’s resumption, teams will gear up for the race to finish the season with a good performance. As per the current standings, it will be exciting to watch where this cut-throat competition will take the teams.
Barcelona and Real Madrid, poised on top with only 2 points apart, will have their chances to finish a tight battle for the title. On the other hand, Sevilla, Real Sociedad, Getafe, and Atletico Madrid, all ranked within a gap of 3 points, will fight it out to book a spot for the Champions League. The tussle to escape the relegation ground is equally hard, with five teams competing to finish above the line.
Calendar for the Return Schedule
While the confirmation is a jolly news for football fans worldwide, there are still many details to confirm. The league’s completion calendar, for instance, would normally end by May 2 week. With two months of suspension, the league calendar is badly out of place now.
There are reports that the La Liga administration is planning to finish the remaining 11 matchdays in a span of 43 days. Any team will need a gap of 72 hours between two games. By that arrangement, the La Liga will finish in time to compete for the European competitions tentatively scheduled for the month of August.
Apart from that, one of the biggest trouble points, in addition to the coronavirus safety protocols, is playing in the unbearable Spanish heat. Therefore, the timings for the games remains a crucial question.
Things to Watch Out
Before everything came to a halt, Spanish football was steaming some of the biggest turnarounds this season. While Barcelona’s new coach, Quique Setien, managed to end the Catalan giant’s upsetting mid-season slump, Zidane’s men failed to capitalize with only four points from their last four games.
A team most hurt by the suspension was Real Sociedad, managing to get four wins out of five games. On the other hand, Mallorca and Leganes also secured wins right before the suspension to save themselves from the relegation zone.
With transfer rumors running hot around the fans and pundits, it will be interesting to see how the players manage to spark up some more news. One of the players awaiting a forecast on his future is Phillipe Coutinho. On the contrary, Ziyech Hakimi is set to return to the Los Blancos for the next season.
With the Bundesliga already completing two-game weeks and the Premier League also set to return, La Liga’s resumption is truly happy news for football fans all around. The confirmed details for every matchday with timings and venues are still expected.
