January was gone, the first month of 2027 was gone.
A month of unrelenting fixtures, of trophies lifted and scars earned, of Clasicos, cup battles, and European storms.
In the month of January, FC Barcelona had the upper hand over their archrivals.
Now February loomed, and with it, a question that clawed at every headline, every podcast, and every fan debate in cafés across Spain throughout the season returned… who would blink first?
Barcelona and Real Madrid, still locked neck-and-neck at the summit of La Liga. Both were unbeaten and unyielding, two titans dragging the league to heights it hadn't seen in a generation.
And now, it was February 1st, Matchday 21.
The league standings glared back like a scoreboard carved into stone.
(La Liga table:)
1. FC Barcelona — 57 points.
2. Real Madrid — 57 points.
3. Atlético Madrid — 48 points.
4. Sevilla — 41 points.
5. Real Sociedad — 40 points.
At this stage of the season, every goal and every slip mattered.
