La Liga in their hands: Barcelona now in charge of their own destiny in title race

A new league starts for Barcelona. And now their destiny is in their own hands. They depend on themselves to win La Liga. Atletico Madrid's defeat to Sevilla means that if Barça beat Real Valladolid on Monday, they will be within one point of the leaders.

And keeping in mind they play Atletico at Camp Nou at the beginning of May, Ronald Koeman's side now know that if they win their remaining 10 games -- which will not be easy -- they will be champions.-

If Barça win against Valladolid, Saturday's Clasico against Real Madrid will be even bigger in the title race. With Madrid three points back from Atletico, they also have realistic aspirations of winning the league.

Ronald Koeman has gone from helping to build Barça's future to being part of it. From hoping to stay in the role to participating in the planning for next season.

A few days ago he met with Joan Laporta, Yuste and Mateu Alemany to think about what comes next. But before, the present has taken on increasing importance. A few weeks ago a transition season was on the brink of collapse after defeats to Paris Saint-Germain and Sevilla.

But now, a comeback against Sevilla to reach the Copa del Rey final, and an 18 game unbeaten run in h league have Barça dreaming again. They're competing for a domestic double.

Barça now have to keep winning to win a competitive title race. The three candidates are racing against the clock to get over the line, with Barça in the best form. They have taken 37 points from a possible 39 in 2021.

But Madrid have also kept pressing, while Atletico have shown symptoms of a collapse in recent weeks.

Four points off the top and one behind Los Blancos, Barça need to win their game in hand on Monday at Camp Nou. They have 10 finals to go in the league and everyone is worth the same. The Clasico being this weekend doesn't change the plans. Neither does the fact Messi and De Jong are a booking from a ban.

The final game before the international break, a 6-1 win against Real Sociedad, was a demonstration of the form Barça are in. Capable of scoring six goals against a team that just won tthe Copa del Rey was impressive. Now they must keep that momentum.

Koeman doesn't want any distractions, either. Erling Haaland's promotional tour and talks of Neymar's return (again) need to be kept away from the dressing room. The president and the board can think of the future.

The intention is still to renew Messi as well, of course. But now Barça are focused on Valladolid. They need to win before the Clasico.

If they do win, they will have taken 11 points of Atletico in four months. No one saw it coming, not this quickly, but now it's a real possibility. Football is all about momentum.

NEW FC BARCELONA PODCAST IN ENGLISH