THE CRISIS LASTED a week. Barcelona were coming off an unprecedented run of two consecutive draws when they faced Osasuna on Saturday night. You had the feeling a hammering was in store.
The away side duly played the sacrificial lambs to the Camp Nou slaughter. Messi helped himself to three, Cesc Fabregas scored another beauty and the champions gorged on eight goals in total.
Incredibly, there have been some whispers about weakness in the European champions’ squad. A side with the power A.C Milan might be capable of punishing a central defensive partnership of Javier Mascherano and Sergio Busquets, but against Osasuna, Barca could have played their groundsman at centre-half.
Instead, they had captain Carles Puyol. His efforts offer the muddy foundation on which the glorious Barcelona mansion has been built.
The Catalans lost six games last season, and Puyol was missing for all six. Once he and Gerard Pique are re-united, that hint of frailty will vanish.
Real Madrid visited Levante last night, where they were expected to complete the formality of a win. Unfortunately, no-one told the minnows, who shocked Jose Mourinho’s men 1-0.
The Portuguese had been in a cheeky mood during Friday’s press conference. Responding to Pep Guardiola’s claim that it would be “normal” for Barcelona not to win anything this year, José went one better in dampening Madrid expectations, claiming his first priority was to avoid relegation.
By those standards, loss to relegation rivals Levante looks like a major setback.
Real started with Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench and the playmaker looked in irritable mood during the first half as Real spurned a number of chances. The game turned five minutes before half-time when German midfielder Sami Khedira received his second bookable offence and was sent-off for a push on Sergio Ballesteros.
The whole affair, building on a spectacular dive by Angel di Maria, was nothing short of comical.
Ronaldo emerged after the break, but for once, he was unable to bail Real out. Kone rifled home the winner in the 68th minute. It could prove a costly result for Real, even in this early stage of the season.
If a draw is a crisis in Catalonia, what’s a loss in Madrid?
Tapas
A €35m transfer fee can weigh heavily on a striker: just ask Andy Carroll. Rademel Falcao seems an altogether different beast, however. The former Porto man fired home a hat-trick during Atlético Madrid’s 4-0 trouncing of Racing Santander yesterday.
Atleti deserve credit for their bright and brash start to the season, particularly given the recent sale of their best player, Sergio Agüero.
In other news, Valencia and Roberto Soldado continued their fine start to the season with a 1-0 win away at Sporting Gijon, and money-bags Málaga had to rely on a messy Martin DeMichelis strike to take three points against Mallorca.
