La Liga (Spanish League) Prediction Thread 2024/25

[GiftedMAN]

Even though if that was a minor injury and that needs to be observed even deeper to make sure this minor injury will not turn to be a serious injury. Ancellotti needs to change the line up on its attacking line. Real madrid will be forced to buy the new attackers.
We have only brahim and joselu who can play as a strikers for real madrid at this moment. I think that ancellotti will be rotating the line up again. He is going to put joselo and brahim diaz along with bellingham.

Ancelloti has not yet lost a chance to win the game caused by it's still having capable players but yeah missing vini and rodrygo was a big blow for real madrid caused by it's going to face serious match in UCL.
Joselu and brahim will become the only hopes owned by real madrid at this moment. El real needs to make sure everything will be going so well. The club is even closer to the opening of winter transfer window.

Real madrid can start to target the player before the market is going to be opened. I hope i will see more great players to join in real madrid soon.
Ancellotti needs to find more attackers to be used as backup.

The injury problem is big deal for Real Madrid as it’s threatening their attacking football and if they’ll really want to compete on Europe and for their league, they need to score goals amd Real Madrid won’t want to rely just on Joselu and Diaz, this January window, Real Madrid will make the best of it and get some quality signings to the team, one worthy to make them compete among top teams in Europe

 Vini out and Rodrygo too will be a big worry for Don Carlo Ancelotti and he’ll have to effect some rotation and get some youngsters and mix of old breeds such as Kroos and Modric to feature, Real Madrid has the funds and will be able to acquire top players and we’ll see a different Madrid side after the January window.

Even after having players like Rodrygo and Vini, Ancelotti still needs a good finisher and I think that's not something they can get from Rodrygo or Vini that's why Real Madrid is seeking for a good sticker for their team. However comparing Rodrygo and Vini, I think the performance of Rodrygo was even better Vini and he was definitely a more reliable player for his team.

I think Ancelotti as a good coach understands his team very well and he also believes that both players Rodrigo and Vini are not strikers like wise his Jude who has been so involved in the goal scoring of the team especially in them crucial and difficult games. Getting a striker right now should be the most important thing for them to do at Madrid even though it has been rumored that there's a possibility of Mbappe moving to Madrid when his contract expires at PSG I think Ancelotti may finally get to get a striker and I believe Mbappe will be the one after a long wait.

[Google+]

Almeria missed the opportunity to get their first win of the season when in the match against Getafe they managed to score a goal in the 7th minute but they were really unable to defend it until getafe could reverse the position to 2-1. I don't think Almeria has a strong enough mentality to recover from adversity where in the 14 match they have played they couldn't get a single win. Well, if almeria can't get up or get 2 win before the first half of the season ends then they won't be able to get out of the relegation zone.

For Getafe, of course, this victory was believed early on to be theirs and they managed to do it by coming back by scoring 2 goal. In another match, Atletico madrid also managed to get 3 point in today match where Atletico madrid were able to win this match with a narrow score which made them move up to 3rd place in the standing. The competition in the top 4 is getting more interesting, but for 5th place, Bilbao has such a gap in points with barcelona that makes barcelona not too worried about the pressure put on by the team below them.

[jeha2015]

We know the problem of Barcelona this season, they have been under pressure and this is basically having a negative impact on their players. Injuries and fatigue have cause good players decline in performance and this is terribly below the require standards of the team.

The international break really has a big impact on clubs. The large number of matches causes players to constantly suffer injuries. But for a team as big as Barcelona, injury and fatigue problems are not a reason for not being able to win the match, I think so.

Today's draw against Rayo Vallecano means Barcelona are struggling and not back on their feet this season. Xavi Hernandez should comprehend everything within his reach if he's still keen on winning league games and becoming more active in the competitive title race. Barcelona can sign players but it's going to be limited due to the cases they face in FFP.

In that match, Rayo Vallecano itself performed very well and solidly. They have proven this not only to Barcelona but also to other big teams who managed to hold Real Madrid to a draw. This draw made Barcelona drop to fourth place, of course this will be a big job for Xavi to continue to build a stronger strategy in dealing with situations like this.

[SUPERSAIAN]

Unai López scored an extraordinary goal in the Barcelona Vallecano match, from a very narrow angle, without any delay, with a magnificent shot from that distance. Vallecano was able to get a point thanks to this goal, although there were also bad referee decisions. We can say that these decisions caused Barcelona to lose to a certain extent, but Barcelona is a great team that should not need a penalty. Barcelona and Xavi cannot have any excuses. In my opinion, this match will be a much sought-after match in the season, it was a loss of points that should not have happened.

Xavi has not yet been able to create the formation he needs to play completely, and he makes new attempts from time to time, but he is not successful. If İlkay and Felix had played in the starting 11 in the midfield today, the organizations would have been more productive. The attacks were very weak, this game should not be played, so I am trying to say that penalty cannot be an excuse.

[n00ber]

Time after time, I see more people they say Ancelotti should leave Real Madrid and join Brazil because we are expecting to see Xabi Alonso start working in Real Madrid when Ancelotti leaves this team, but Ancelotti said he is very happy to see the offer from Brazil team but he is waiting for Real Madrid to extend his contract.


 

At this time, Coach Ancelotti is in his second term of service to Real. Coach Ancelotti has yet to be asked to extend his contract. When there is a talented coach like Ancelotti, why does Real need to find another coach? I know that the Real president is a very smart person, so it will not be easy to lose coach Ancelotti.
Ancelotti has never led the national team. The position of coach of his home country's national team, Italy, currently belongs to Luciano Spalletti. Indeed, he wants to experience the feeling of being a coach at this giant arena, lifting the world championship trophy with the team. The right to decide whether to stay or go is in Ancelotti's hands. But he should think because Brazil may be absent from the 2026 World Cup, although it is difficult for Brazil to miss.

[TopT3ns]

It's no news that Barcelona is currently in a state poor state with their performance and their form, reasons been they may be still suffering some set backs due to injury and they are aswell having some kind of downtime at the moment hence their performance has really dropped.

Yes, we can say that Barcelona's condition during this match was not optimal. Some of their first players experienced injuries and of course quite bad fatigue. So inevitably it still affects their performance. Even though they should remain as professional as possible, however, under these conditions, they cannot be optimal. The 1-1 draw with Rayo Valeccano made their position increasingly in danger of being overtaken by Atletico Madrid.

Meanwhile, on the other hand, Atletico Madrid is currently likely to win because they are leading 1 - 0 against Mallorca  until 69'

Barcelona's match against Rayo Valeccano ended in a draw, and this shows that Barcelona could not take advantage of the opportunity to win against an opponent who should have been easy to beat, but fortunately Barcelona was not defeated by Rayo Valeccano because Barcelona managed to score a goal in the final minute.Hopefully, Barcelona will bounce back and provide fresh air for its supporters.

[youdacapt]

Yes, we can say that Barcelona's condition during this match was not optimal. Some of their first players experienced injuries and of course quite bad fatigue. So inevitably it still affects their performance. 

Barcelona is struggling for form and with injuries; and it is now reflective in their league form as they fall behind in the title race again with a 1-1 draw away at Rayo Vallecano. Barcelona are now 4th with 31 points. A win for Real Madrid tomorrow away at Cadiz means that Barcelona would go 4 points behind the Galacticos in the La Liga title race.

The La liga title race this season is between Real Madrid, Barcelona, Girona and Atletico Madrid; Which team are you betting on ??

[puloweh555]

Time after time, I see more people they say Ancelotti should leave Real Madrid and join Brazil because we are expecting to see Xabi Alonso start working in Real Madrid when Ancelotti leaves this team, but Ancelotti said he is very happy to see the offer from Brazil team but he is waiting for Real Madrid to extend his contract.


 

I think Ancelotti will leave Real Madrid, he will not extend his contract again, because Ancelotti has prepared special tactics for young Brazilian players who are physically and mentally ready, and according to Ancelotti, the average age of his children who are now playing at Real Madrid is what he predicts. to get into the World Cup is 24 years old.

Brazil will welcome Ancelotti's arrival with pleasure, all Brazilian people are willing to accept Ancelotti's presence as "The Savior"

Yes that's right. I hope Ancelotti's replacement will be Axbi Alanso. Because he is just like Mou before, Xabi Alonso is a smart coach. Being able to create tactics with existing players, not formulating tactics with players who have star status or buying star players, has been proven currently with Leverkusen.

[Essential10]

Barcelona draw 1-1 with rayo vallecano and were forced to share the points. Unai Lopez's goal gave Rayo a first-half lead. Barcelona were relieved in the 82nd minute by an own goal from Florian Lejeune when he tried to block Lewandowski's shot. With 31 points from 14 matches, they are sitting at the fourth position in the points table. Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid moved to third in the La Liga standings thanks to Griezmann's only goal at home. Atletico Madrid are level with Barcelona on 31 points but still have a game to play.

[SOKO-DEKE]

Almeria missed the opportunity to get their first win of the season when in the match against Getafe they managed to score a goal in the 7th minute but they were really unable to defend it until getafe could reverse the position to 2-1. I don't think Almeria has a strong enough mentality to recover from adversity where in the 14 match they have played they couldn't get a single win. Well, if almeria can't get up or get 2 win before the first half of the season ends then they won't be able to get out of the relegation zone.

When the Almeria scored a goal around that 7 minute, I know they will hardly defend the goal because they are not in good shape compared to how Getafe has been performing. When Almeria team scored the goal, the probability of Getafe equalizing the goal was really high because they was attacking harding. It was a Getafe home game so I knew before the game started that Almeria would hardly win the  game  so their probability of winning the match today was really low. Almeria's performance this season is very poor, and if they continue like this, they will definitely relegate.

Atletico madrid also managed to get 3 point in today match where Atletico madrid were able to win this match with a narrow score which made them move up to 3rd place in the standing. The competition in the top 4 is getting more interesting, but for 5th place, Bilbao has such a gap in points with barcelona that makes barcelona not too worried about the pressure put on by the team below them.

Winning by one goal is not winning  by luck but many people always call it winning by luck, but seriously, atletico Madrid won today. I did not see it as lucky because I believe they can defend the goals because they are good to do It in fact, that is the atletico Madrid pattern of play in their football. I have known before  Atletico Madrid does not always score goals, but just recently, they started scoring more goals. From the statistics and performances of the match, it was clear that Atletico Madrid won the game comfortably because Atletico  was team that controing the pitch throughout the game, and it was even one attempt on goals Mallorca got.
 

[makishart]

Barcelona draw 1-1 with rayo vallecano and were forced to share the points. Unai Lopez's goal gave Rayo a first-half lead. Barcelona were relieved in the 82nd minute by an own goal from Florian Lejeune when he tried to block Lewandowski's shot. With 31 points from 14 matches, they are sitting at the fourth position in the points table. Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid moved to third in the La Liga standings thanks to Griezmann's only goal at home. Atletico Madrid are level with Barcelona on 31 points but still have a game to play.

Rayo could win the game if its player would not make own goal for barcelona. The only thing that will able to prevent barcelona to win the game once its opponent goes parking bus. Xavi's tatic is obviously useless against it. No doubt that if he will still use this old tactic and he will get nothing this season. Barcelona is always passing like what? Rayo was able scoring the first goal through good counter attack. There's no doubt that the main weakness of barcelona is just using the parking bus strategy,
Rayo has been also making some golden chances but it was not lucky enough. That's sad griezmann may leave from atletico madrid if mu will be really buying him from there.
I hope atletico will able to surpass barcelona and stay at the third place below girona and real madrid at this moment. Atletico madrid is quite stronger than previous season.

[Slow death]

Time after time, I see more people they say Ancelotti should leave Real Madrid and join Brazil because we are expecting to see Xabi Alonso start working in Real Madrid when Ancelotti leaves this team, but Ancelotti said he is very happy to see the offer from Brazil team but he is waiting for Real Madrid to extend his contract.


 

At this time, Coach Ancelotti is in his second term of service to Real. Coach Ancelotti has yet to be asked to extend his contract. When there is a talented coach like Ancelotti, why does Real need to find another coach? I know that the Real president is a very smart person, so it will not be easy to lose coach Ancelotti.
Ancelotti has never led the national team. The position of coach of his home country's national team, Italy, currently belongs to Luciano Spalletti. Indeed, he wants to experience the feeling of being a coach at this giant arena, lifting the world championship trophy with the team. The right to decide whether to stay or go is in Ancelotti's hands. But he should think because Brazil may be absent from the 2026 World Cup, although it is difficult for Brazil to miss.

I know that in the Brazilian national team there are some players who currently play for Real Madrid and that Ancelote knows them, but the Brazilian national team is a very problematic team with serious lack of discipline in the players, I have read many reports from players on the team from Brazil throwing parties after the games, and what shocked me the most was that they were parties even though they knew the team lost. So I was wondering what they were celebrating when they lost? I confess that I could not find a rational explanation for such behavior. In my opinion, Ancelotti shouldn't waste time in accepting the position of coach of Brazil, because it would destroy his reputation, that team is a lost cause


Honestly, I have a lot of difficulty understanding what's going on in Xavi's head when he puts that initial 11:



It seems to me that his intention with this is not to win the game, he has already seen the result of changing the team a lot and it was not a good result, the team in attack is much more effective when it plays with the already happy, raphinha, lewandowiski and İlkay Gündoğan. I don't understand why he keeps putting these 3 players on the bench and only leaves Lewandowiski on the field to play with Ferran Torres and Yamal. I don't know what he intends with these experiments that have already proven to be a serious mistake. In any case, this draw sounds like a big defeat, Real Madrid have many injured players, but I still believe they will do better than Barcelona, which has few injured players.

I'm starting to see that Girona can take advantage of Barcelona's bad phase and perhaps also Real Madrid's bad phase and with that Girona will be very far away from these two great teams, if Real Madrid loses and Girona wins then this scenario I describe It would start to become reality and it would be very shocking to see Girona becoming La Liga champion, something that at the moment is not an impossible mission, although it is something unbelievable at the moment. Atlético Madrid won, I don't talk much about this team because I don't see any big changes, I don't see them fighting for the title, so I don't comment much about Atlético Madrid.

[arimamib]

Atletico madrid also managed to get 3 point in today match where Atletico madrid were able to win this match with a narrow score which made them move up to 3rd place in the standing. The competition in the top 4 is getting more interesting, but for 5th place, Bilbao has such a gap in points with barcelona that makes barcelona not too worried about the pressure put on by the team below them.

Winning by one goal is not winning  by luck but many people always call it winning by luck, but seriously, atletico Madrid won today. I did not see it as lucky because I believe they can defend the goals because they are good to do It in fact, that is the atletico Madrid pattern of play in their football. I have known before  Atletico Madrid does not always score goals, but just recently, they started scoring more goals. From the statistics and performances of the match, it was clear that Atletico Madrid won the game comfortably because Atletico  was team that controing the pitch throughout the game, and it was even one attempt on goals Mallorca got.

Atletico Madrid won this match comfortably, a well-deserved one. They controlled the pitch throughout the game and only allowed Mallorca one attempt on goal. Atm has recently started scoring more goals, but they are still known for their strong defense. This was a typical Atletico performance.

They dominated this game by showing their real character in entire game. Their defense was solid as always, and they have been a threat going forward. Their attacking style is much better which is encouraging to see that they're scoring more goals lately, as that was one of their weaknesses in the past. Overall, it was a a good game by Atlético Madrid.

[X-ray]

Time after time, I see more people they say Ancelotti should leave Real Madrid and join Brazil because we are expecting to see Xabi Alonso start working in Real Madrid when Ancelotti leaves this team, but Ancelotti said he is very happy to see the offer from Brazil team but he is waiting for Real Madrid to extend his contract.


 

At this time, Coach Ancelotti is in his second term of service to Real. Coach Ancelotti has yet to be asked to extend his contract. When there is a talented coach like Ancelotti, why does Real need to find another coach? I know that the Real president is a very smart person, so it will not be easy to lose coach Ancelotti.
Ancelotti has never led the national team. The position of coach of his home country's national team, Italy, currently belongs to Luciano Spalletti. Indeed, he wants to experience the feeling of being a coach at this giant arena, lifting the world championship trophy with the team. The right to decide whether to stay or go is in Ancelotti's hands. But he should think because Brazil may be absent from the 2026 World Cup, although it is difficult for Brazil to miss.

I know that in the Brazilian national team there are some players who currently play for Real Madrid and that Ancelote knows them, but the Brazilian national team is a very problematic team with serious lack of discipline in the players, I have read many reports from players on the team from Brazil throwing parties after the games, and what shocked me the most was that they were parties even though they knew the team lost. So I was wondering what they were celebrating when they lost? I confess that I could not find a rational explanation for such behavior. In my opinion, Ancelotti shouldn't waste time in accepting the position of coach of Brazil, because it would destroy his reputation, that team is a lost cause


Honestly, I have a lot of difficulty understanding what's going on in Xavi's head when he puts that initial 11:

It seems to me that his intention with this is not to win the game, he has already seen the result of changing the team a lot and it was not a good result, the team in attack is much more effective when it plays with the already happy, raphinha, lewandowiski and İlkay Gündoğan. I don't understand why he keeps putting these 3 players on the bench and only leaves Lewandowiski on the field to play with Ferran Torres and Yamal. I don't know what he intends with these experiments that have already proven to be a serious mistake. In any case, this draw sounds like a big defeat, Real Madrid have many injured players, but I still believe they will do better than Barcelona, which has few injured players.

I'm starting to see that Girona can take advantage of Barcelona's bad phase and perhaps also Real Madrid's bad phase and with that Girona will be very far away from these two great teams, if Real Madrid loses and Girona wins then this scenario I describe It would start to become reality and it would be very shocking to see Girona becoming La Liga champion, something that at the moment is not an impossible mission, although it is something unbelievable at the moment. Atlético Madrid won, I don't talk much about this team because I don't see any big changes, I don't see them fighting for the title, so I don't comment much about Atlético Madrid.

Xavi has been rotating its club. It seems like that he knows that the current squad has no capability to play 433. The only problem if the game style of barcelona. It's very easy to predict barcelona will be using tictac strategy.
IF you were watching the match then you do know that how barcelona is always having slow transformation. So many times rayo was threatening barcelona through its counter attack. Xavi's strategy is old.
Xavi needs to try something new. People have been heavily complaining regarding the monoton strategy used by xavi but xavi need try to listen it.

Xavi deserves to get lots of critics toward his strategy. It can be easily predicted by its opponent. no doubt that if barcelona must hve tried so hard to get draw against rayo. The own goal has been saving barcelona from the lose.
This proves that barcelona is not as strong as what people have been talking about.

[pusaka]

Barcelona draw 1-1 with rayo vallecano and were forced to share the points. Unai Lopez's goal gave Rayo a first-half lead. Barcelona were relieved in the 82nd minute by an own goal from Florian Lejeune when he tried to block Lewandowski's shot. With 31 points from 14 matches, they are sitting at the fourth position in the points table. Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid moved to third in the La Liga standings thanks to Griezmann's only goal at home. Atletico Madrid are level with Barcelona on 31 points but still have a game to play.

They are still lucky because they can still get 1 point from this match after one of the players from Rayo Vallecano accidentally committed an own goal, making the score 1-1. I think this is a fair result for these two teams, yes although Barcelona controlled the game more, but in terms of the opportunities they created it was not much different. Rayo Vallecano can still provide resistance amid the pressure they receive, even they can create goals and excel first in the first half. It took until 82 minutes of the match for Barcelona to equalize, and that too through an opponent's own goal.

[EFS]

Barcelona draw 1-1 with rayo vallecano and were forced to share the points.

This may hurt Barca today but in the long run I think that's acceptable. If we list games Barca may lose points before the season starts, Rayo away game could be one of them. Real also draw with Rayo, that was even at home.
Rayo always found a way to beat Barca. This time it was a lucky long shot. There was a clear penalty that refs missed. Barca should find a way to score first. When they concede first it's hard to make a comeback. They put too much effort to equalize the game.

Now Barca is heading to the thoughest period. They have to win next three games, there is no excuse. Girona and Atletico are direct opponents, Valencia is a though away game. If they pass this though period good they will have a breather in La Liga until March.

[Oneandpure]

They are still lucky because they can still get 1 point from this match after one of the players from Rayo Vallecano accidentally committed an own goal, making the score 1-1. I think this is a fair result for these two teams, yes although Barcelona controlled the game more, but in terms of the opportunities they created it was not much different. Rayo Vallecano can still provide resistance amid the pressure they receive, even they can create goals and excel first in the first half. It took until 82 minutes of the match for Barcelona to equalize, and that too through an opponent's own goal.

Right, its fair result for both team although Barcelona dominance with ball possession but they less creativities for creating attempt and scoring goals. I watched last night and Barcelona dominance ball controlling but they have weakness with finishing until one own goal help them from losing three points. Not lucky with Rayo Vallecano have solid defense but they have conceded own goals on the last minutes match, almost secure three points but loss focus on last minutes and more defense make them not have any attempt scoring more goals again.

However get one point from Barcelona is good result for Rayo Vallecano and help bit with their current standing position, Barcelona will left many points from Girona and Real Madrid if both team get winning result today exactly for Girona will existing on the top standing with 6 points left from Barcelona if can beat Athletic Bilbao.

[klidex]

Barcelona draw 1-1 with rayo vallecano and were forced to share the points. Unai Lopez's goal gave Rayo a first-half lead. Barcelona were relieved in the 82nd minute by an own goal from Florian Lejeune when he tried to block Lewandowski's shot. With 31 points from 14 matches, they are sitting at the fourth position in the points table. Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid moved to third in the La Liga standings thanks to Griezmann's only goal at home. Atletico Madrid are level with Barcelona on 31 points but still have a game to play.

They are still lucky because they can still get 1 point from this match after one of the players from Rayo Vallecano accidentally committed an own goal, making the score 1-1. I think this is a fair result for these two teams, yes although Barcelona controlled the game more, but in terms of the opportunities they created it was not much different. Rayo Vallecano can still provide resistance amid the pressure they receive, even they can create goals and excel first in the first half. It took until 82 minutes of the match for Barcelona to equalize, and that too through an opponent's own goal.

I don't think it's fair for Rayo. This match should have been a victory for Rayo at home, but due to the player making a mistake with an own goal, Rayo ended up only getting a draw, to be honest, I'm happy because Barcelona didn't accept defeat in that match and almost lost points full but in the end Barcelona was satisfied with having 1 point thanks to the draw.

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid overtook Barcelona, which was previously in 3rd place, now Atletico Madrid has the same points as Barcelona, the only difference is the goal difference. In my opinion, this season, it looks like Barcelona is finding it difficult to put itself in the top position with its current condition, now Barcelona has experienced a decline in performance different from last season.

[Mame89]

They are still lucky because they can still get 1 point from this match after one of the players from Rayo Vallecano accidentally committed an own goal, making the score 1-1. I think this is a fair result for these two teams, yes although Barcelona controlled the game more, but in terms of the opportunities they created it was not much different. Rayo Vallecano can still provide resistance amid the pressure they receive, even they can create goals and excel first in the first half. It took until 82 minutes of the match for Barcelona to equalize, and that too through an opponent's own goal.

I agree with you. In this match, it could be said that Barcelona was lucky to still get a draw, this is because Rayo played very disciplined even though they scored an own goal, but overall Rayo Vallecano appeared strong in this match. Rayo Vallecano this season always surprises teams like Barcelona and Real Madrid because Rayo managed to steal one point against two La Liga giants.

Xavi had to pay a heavy price for this draw because he lost so many points that Barcelona ended up in fourth place, all due to the coach's own mistakes in failing to utilize all of his star players.

[Richbased]

Barcelona draw 1-1 with rayo vallecano and were forced to share the points.

This may hurt Barca today but in the long run I think that's acceptable. If we list games Barca may lose points before the season starts, Rayo away game could be one of them. Real also draw with Rayo, that was even at home.
Rayo always found a way to beat Barca. This time it was a lucky long shot. There was a clear penalty that refs missed. Barca should find a way to score first. When they concede first it's hard to make a comeback. They put too much effort to equalize the game.

Barcelona even tried to earn a draw in this match rather than losing although I've already known that Rayo Vallecano isn't really that easy to penetrate and if not for the own goal, they would have defeated Barcelona

Now Barca is heading to the thoughest period. They have to win next three games, there is no excuse. Girona and Atletico are direct opponents, Valencia is a though away game. If they pass this though period good they will have a breather in La Liga until March.

I think despite the draw, Barcelona is still in a comfortable position in the league table as they remain in fourth position with 31 points, 3 points behind the league leaders Girona. Even if Girona win Athletico Bilbao the difference will be 6 points which isn't that much considering the fact that Girona will still face Barcelona and Barcelona might win them just as Real Madrid beat Girona in their last meeting. So instead of Barcelona losing to Rayo vallecano, the draw was better as the both club shared a point in the game.