Barcelona have been very disappointing in the league over the last few weeks, as they have not only surrendered a comfortable advantage over Real Madrid, but they have also slipped into the third place behind Atletico Madrid. There is, however, positive news for the club after they are almost on the verge of qualification to the quarter-finals of the Champions League after a 2-0 win over Manchester City in the first leg. Manager Gerardo Martino has come under intense pressure after the 3-1 defeat against Real Sociedad last weekend. This coupled with wins for Real Madrid meant that Barcelona have slipped into the third placed.
Martino, though, is confident that the club will be able to recover from this poor showing in get three points when they take on Almeria in the next match. This could potentially be an important match for the club since they will play a day later than their title rivals from Madrid. Both Madrid clubs will be involved in a derby at the Vicente Calderon and it is quite conceivable that they drop points. Barcelona, however, need to take three points from this encounter to profit from such a situation. After managing just two wins in the last four matches, they are not ideally placed, but Martino has faith in the team.
“Back at the start of the season, all of us would have settled to be in this position – we are still in with a chance of three trophies with 20 games left to play. We still have options and we are going to battle to win everything. When you suffer a defeat, you always want the next game to arrive as soon as possible so you can put it behind you. Whenever I have coached a side which is self-critical, like this Barca side is, I know that their reaction will be faultless,” said Martino.