Lame Liga race eyes climax

There was a time halfway through this season when Real Madrid looked as likely to win their first Spanish championship - or indeed trophy of any note - since 2003 as the Royal Bullfighting Federation of Spain were of outlawing one of Europe's last remaining blood sports. They were a team of individuals and one would often hear the question 'Que pasa en el Bernabeu?' uttered in the cafés and bars of the capital.

Under legendary Italian coach Fabio Capello they had played occasionally effective, boring football, though not in the manner of Chelsea in the Premiership: strangely the team of stylish characters that ground out results did so by playing, well, most unlike a team - while failing to ignite individually on a regular basis.

The atmosphere in the back corridors of the magnificent stadium at the side of the Castellana carriageway was best described by the situation involving David Beckham. Having failed to move his contract talks onwards, he signed a groundbreaking deal with Los Angeles Galaxy - prompting Capello to leave him out of the team.

Later convinced of Señor Beckham's professionalism, the former England captain was reinstated and he had an immediate impact, scoring to arrest a mini-slump after two consecutive games lost. He was hailed from the stands in the subsequent draw with Betis; though his late red card, attendant suspension and then injury led to another three matches without a win for Los Merengues.

Beckham has returned and Madrid have won five of their last six matches; but almost as important in the context of the title race is the manner by which they have done it. Perhaps as a direct consequence of the popular Beckham's return to the first XI, perhaps due to a myriad of factors, the team suddenly gelled.

The news that Beckham's yellow card against Athletic Club last weekend - Madrid hammered their Basque foes 4-1 in the San Mamés - for time-wasting has been overturned means that he can play in Saturday's vital home encounter against Sevilla, the team a point ahead in second place. It could be a turning point for Madrid's campaign and has been slammed by Sevilla boss Juande Ramos as a case of 'one rule for Madrid, one rule for everyone else'.

The turnaround may just have saved Capello's job for next season at a time when the media were more interested in who would replace him than whether he would be kept on. If they end up winning the league then surely he has to remain: the last time a coach was sacked after bringing the club Liga triumph, Vicente del Bosque, the present barren run began.

Gelling is something that reigning champions Barcelona are struggling with. They are inconsistent at best, scraping narrow home wins against frankly inferior opposition such as Deportivo, Mallorca and Levante, while losing to Villarreal and Zaragoza on the road.

They are largely reliant currently upon the individual brilliance of their players sparking occasionally into life. Remember back to how Lionel Messi, via a stunning hat-trick, single-handedly prevented Real Madrid from recording a rare and famous win in the Camp Nou; since then their triumphs have largely been due to single moments of skill or finishing ability amid a quagmire of stale attacking thought.

They seem a team in search of their identity: they cannot cajole their fantastic free-flowing best from the combined efforts of an impotent Ronaldinho and his midfield support. From them only Andrés Iniesta has looked anything like in his best form. Samuel Eto'o is essential to their potency and his finishing will be a key factor in the coming weeks.

The atmosphere is bad enough for Frank Rijkaard to be openly debated as the best coach to manage the team; this the man who brought the first European title to the Blaugrana in 14 years and won back-to-back titles with a new brand of exciting football.

Sevilla have bounced back from their three-game winless streak with big home wins against Athletic and Espanyol. Despite this they have been without Liga top-scorer Freddy Kanouté for a trio of Liga matches and will not want that to continue. He played the full 90 minutes in the UEFA Cup semi-final against Osasuna on Thursday night, so that is a positive sign.

Their second consecutive run to the final of that competition may have cost them the chance to capitalise on a relatively ineffectual season from the big two. They will be thankful that they can now concentrate on domestic matters; although they seem destined to meet Barça in the final of the Copa del Rey and still have to play the second leg of the semi-final. The 3-0 away win against Depor will at least allow Ramos to rest most of his team while remaining confident of a potential double- or treble-defining clash. Likewise the Catalan club, 5-2 up after the first leg against Getafe.

In the last games of the season, the fixture list has thrown up a pair of difficult away matches for Madrid to contemplate against Recreativo and Zaragoza, but they should expect to win their three home matches apart from Sevilla.

As well as Madrid away, the Sevillistas will not fancy Depor in the Riazor, but again have three matches in the Sánchez Pizjuán they will hope to win - and indeed need to if they are to succeed.

Barcelona have the most interesting run-in, facing Atlético Madrid - to whom they always seem to lose, with Fernando Torres offender-in-chief - and in the final two matches of the campaign, the city derby at home to Espanyol and Catalan equivalent away to Nàstic.

Sevilla have only been crowned champions on one occasion, back in 1946, and will know that this year presents their best possible opportunity of an historic triumph - and perhaps treble. However this is not news to their fans' ears. They will pray that, at the last, they can overcome the vertigo that has seen them stumble on a few occasions.

Madrid will be absolutely desperate to claim the title after four trophy-less years, but with a point more than Sevilla and two more than Madrid, as well as a season end that avoids both, the outcome is still very much in Barcelona's grasp.