#Ligarobada? Please, Barcelona's success is completely deserved
The hashtag #Ligarobada (robbed league) became a trending topic for several hours on Twitter on Sunday. It had more than one million impressions on the popular social media site. The Madridismo campaign took off after Barcelona’s game had finished against Villarreal and extended on through the night. There was even a debate between Gerard Pique and the journalist Pedro J.Ramirez, who the Barça defender accused of being bias.
It’s true that there was a couple of controversial decisions in the game (the handball not given against Pique and the dubious penalty Neymar won), but to jump from their to questioning if Barça deserve to win La Liga is a huge leap. Because this league is not a #ligarobada, but a #ligamerecida (deserved league)… and very deserved.
But it’s normal. It’s not the first time, nor will it be the last, that people try to discredit the Catalan cub’s success. Already in the Guardiola years, the Madrid press invented the ‘villarato’. And now, once again, they’re blaming supposed help from the referees. As if winning eight leagues in 12 years is to do with the officials and not good football…
Madridismo’s problem is that they cannot handle Barcelona’s superiority. Or the fact that their team, despite having Cristiano Ronaldo in their side, has only managed to win one Liga in seen seasons. It’s scant reward for a president, Florentino Perez, who has invested hundreds of millions on signings.
Those that question the legitimacy of this league which Barça are about to win (they have nine points over Atletico and 10 over Madrid) have to be countered with data. Overwhelming data. All of which is irrefutable. Such as the fact of the 30 games played until now, Barça have won 24 and drawn four - a win rate of 80 percent is not a coincidence.
More data: Barça have scored 86 goals from 209 shots, equating to a conversion rate of 21.8 percent. They have scored a goal every 31.4 minutes. And they average 66 percent possession. They’ve only conceded 24 goals, at an average of 0.8 goals per game. And in 13 games they’ve not conceded at all…
FC Barcelona have not lost a game since October 3, 2015. That was in the Sanchez Pizjuan against Sevilla. Since then, they have gone 39 games without losing. In the league, in the cup and in Europe. In the league, they have won 19 games since then (13 in a row at one point) and drawn four. One of those draws was on Sunday at Villarreal. #Ligarobada? Please.
