Real Madrid and Barcelona tied at Spanish Super Cup break

Spain’s Real Madrid and Barcelona are tied at 40 points apiece in the 2019-20 La Liga competition, with the Catalans on top by a two-goal differential, with 19 games completed. Both teams fly to Saudi Arabia next week for the revamped Spanish Super Cup.

Celta Vigo and Osasuna still have a game to play later today, but the result of their match will not impact the top of the table. Following Barca and Real are Atletico Madrid and Sevilla at 35 points, and Real Sociedad and Valencia at 31 points each. Most of these leaders from Spain’s domestic competition will feature in a Saudi Arabian Nights venture later this coming week.

Today, Granada won 1-0 at home over Mallorca, Real Sociedad lost 1-2 to visiting Villareal, and Alaves and Real Betis drew 1-1. On Saturday, hosts Valencia beat Eibar 1-0, Real Madrid won 3-0 away to Getafe, Atletico Madrid made home turf count by beating Levante 2-1, and Espanyol held visiting Barcelona to a 2-2 draw. On Friday Real Valladolid and Leganes tied 2-2 while Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao earned the same points but at a 1-1 scoreline.

At the time of writing, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi at 13 goals, Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema, at 12, and Barca’s Luis Suarez at 11, led the scorer’s table.

A newly contrived break then ensues for the recently revamped Supercopa de Espana (the Spanish Super Cup, originally contested in a single match between the winners of the previous year’s La Liga and Copa del Rey, with the second-placed team in either competition substituting in years when a single team wins both titles).  With the World Cup to be played in Qatar in 2022, though, there seem to be unending opportunities for top-draw teams, with their top players plying their trade for club and country, to play in the desert.

This year, Spain’s super cup competition will be held in Saudi Arabia, January 8—12 with, top earners Real Madrid and Barcelona drawn to meet other opponents—Valencia and Atletico Madrid—respectively, in the semifinals, with the hoped-for result that the clasico rivals will meet in the final.

La Liga matches resume on January 17.