It wasn't supposed to be like this. The 'two-horse race' began in predictable fashion as both of the favourites galloped out of the blocks; Real Madrid raced to 6-0 win at Zaragoza, while Barcelona stormed to victory in a 5-0 success over Villarreal.
Since then, however, it has looked more like a handicap, with Spain's big two hitting unexpected obstacles along the course, their stealthy stride reduced to a tentative trot. And the top two trainers, Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho, really should have seen this coming.
After their impressive starts, Barca and Madrid hit problems on the first furlong. The Catalans were pegged back after going 2-0 up at Real Sociedad, having been two up after 12 minutes, and following a return to form in the stunning 8-0 win over Osasuna, Guardiola's side drew again at Valencia on Wednesday night. On both occasions, the champions started with a three-man defence away from home.
It's a system which has brought 13 goals without reply at Camp Nou, but has been exposed as a treacherous tactic on the road, especially when your defenders aren't actually defenders; Sergio Busquets was shown up against Real Sociedad, while Javier Mascherano was uncomfortable and overworked in Valencia. Both are central midfielders.
Bumpy ride | Both Madrid and Barca are struggling on the road
Barca, of course, have struggled defensively in the absence of both captain Carles Puyol and his central defensive partner Gerard Pique. Puyol is on his way back from a long-term injury and a knee operation early in the summer, and was absent as the season started. Pique, meanwhile, suffered a muscle strain in training on August 23 and was expected to be out for three weeks. The former Manchester United man was on the bench in San Sebastian, but hasn't been seen since, although he could return this weekend. He and Puyol have been badly missed.
Pique isn't the only casualty. Ibrahim Afellay ruptured his cruciate ligament in training this week and will be out for the rest of the season, while Alexis Sanchez pulled his hamstring in the 2-2 draw in the Basque Country and Andres Iniesta went off injured as Barca laboured to an identical result at home to AC Milan in the Champions League and is still sidelined. Bad luck? Perhaps. But also poor preparation; Barca are paying the price for a pre-season period in which mostly youngsters were used, partly due to the precarious physical condition of their defenders.
Guardiola brought in Cesc Fabregas in the summer and all appeared rosy as the Catalans claimed the Spanish Supercopa and the Uefa Super Cup, but the lack of proper preparation has seen players pushed to the limits and injuries are an inevitable consequence. A back-up defender, meanwhile, would have cost only a few million - indeed, their former centre-back Alberto Botia was available at a cut-price €2.5m from Sporting Gijon and could have slotted in perfectly - and failure to sign one smacked of misplaced confidence, even arrogance.
Since then, however, it has looked more like a handicap, with Spain's big two hitting unexpected obstacles along the course, their stealthy stride reduced to a tentative trot. And the top two trainers, Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho, really should have seen this coming.
After their impressive starts, Barca and Madrid hit problems on the first furlong. The Catalans were pegged back after going 2-0 up at Real Sociedad, having been two up after 12 minutes, and following a return to form in the stunning 8-0 win over Osasuna, Guardiola's side drew again at Valencia on Wednesday night. On both occasions, the champions started with a three-man defence away from home.
It's a system which has brought 13 goals without reply at Camp Nou, but has been exposed as a treacherous tactic on the road, especially when your defenders aren't actually defenders; Sergio Busquets was shown up against Real Sociedad, while Javier Mascherano was uncomfortable and overworked in Valencia. Both are central midfielders.
Bumpy ride | Both Madrid and Barca are struggling on the road
Barca, of course, have struggled defensively in the absence of both captain Carles Puyol and his central defensive partner Gerard Pique. Puyol is on his way back from a long-term injury and a knee operation early in the summer, and was absent as the season started. Pique, meanwhile, suffered a muscle strain in training on August 23 and was expected to be out for three weeks. The former Manchester United man was on the bench in San Sebastian, but hasn't been seen since, although he could return this weekend. He and Puyol have been badly missed.
Pique isn't the only casualty. Ibrahim Afellay ruptured his cruciate ligament in training this week and will be out for the rest of the season, while Alexis Sanchez pulled his hamstring in the 2-2 draw in the Basque Country and Andres Iniesta went off injured as Barca laboured to an identical result at home to AC Milan in the Champions League and is still sidelined. Bad luck? Perhaps. But also poor preparation; Barca are paying the price for a pre-season period in which mostly youngsters were used, partly due to the precarious physical condition of their defenders.
Guardiola brought in Cesc Fabregas in the summer and all appeared rosy as the Catalans claimed the Spanish Supercopa and the Uefa Super Cup, but the lack of proper preparation has seen players pushed to the limits and injuries are an inevitable consequence. A back-up defender, meanwhile, would have cost only a few million - indeed, their former centre-back Alberto Botia was available at a cut-price €2.5m from Sporting Gijon and could have slotted in perfectly - and failure to sign one smacked of misplaced confidence, even arrogance.
“I have reviewed the game against Valencia and if our opponents cause us problems it's because they are good, not necessarily because we make mistakes.”
- Pep Guardiola
Madrid have been guilty of arrogance, too. Coach Jose Mourinho has been unfortunate in that summer signing Nuri Sahin has been sidelined through injury ever since joining from Borussia Dortmund, but failure to bring in a top-class centre-forward, the Portuguese' main priority in the transfer window, is costing the capital club. In the dour 1-0 defeat at Levante and again in the disappointing draw at Racing Santander on Wednesday, Madrid were crying out for a presence up front. Both Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain are talented strikers and good goalscorers, but they are not the right players to lead the line in tough, physical battles at intimidating away grounds, nor or they likely to provide a spark of brilliance on their own, as a player like Sergio Aguero - a summer target for Madrid - can. Indeed, in such situations, Emmanuel Adebayor would have been very useful, and the Togolese forward was practically begging to return to Madrid all summer. Instead, he has scored three goals in two games for Tottenham, holding up the ball superbly for the north London outfit.
Madrid are also far too dependent on Cristiano Ronaldo. When the Portuguese scores, Real invariably win. The former Manchester United forward has netted in 40 league games for the Spanish side - and 39 of those have ended in victory, while the other was a draw. Ronaldo was injured and looked off the pace as he came on as a substitute in the second half against Levante and failed to shine again in Santander. Such is his individualism that when he is brilliant, so are Madrid. But when he isn't, nor are they.
It is hard to see how the prospective signing of Brazil's enigmatic forward Neymar will aid these difficulties, but Mourinho may have bigger problems to deal with, anyway. The Portuguese publicly blamed midfielder Sami Khedira for his dismissal against Levante which left Madrid with 10 men for the last 52 minutes. Khedira is a popular player within the Madrid dressing room and his team-mates were reportedly very unhappy he had been singled out by the coach. Talk of a player revolt may be exaggerated, but Mourinho's man-management is again under the spotlight. The Portuguese alienated winger Pedro Leon last term, allegedly fell out with Iker Casillas in the summer amid reports he was going to choose a new captain and had several spats with Benzema, publicly criticising the Frenchman.
“This is not a crisis, just a negative situation. If you are complacent you can get stuck in a complacent mindset. It is very easy to motivate players after poor results.”
Mourinho needs a fully-fit Ronaldo, but above all he needs his entire squad to be motivated, all pushing in the same direction, following the club's worst start to a league campaign in seven seasons, while Barca must hope they avoid further injuries going forward and Guardiola would do well to field a more solid system away from home, too.
Both teams will be put to the test on Saturday night, with Barca at home to a revitalised Atletico Madrid and Real in action against Rayo Vallecano in a capital clash at the Santiago Bernabeu.
It's time for the two trainers to react. A blinkered approach will only lead to further falls in the coming weeks and months, so while it's far too early to talk of Valencia as a possible outsider in the much-publicised 'two-horse' title race, there are plenty of awkward obstacles yet to be overcome for Spain's big two. And the home straight is still a very long way away.
- Jose Mourinho
Mourinho needs a fully-fit Ronaldo, but above all he needs his entire squad to be motivated, all pushing in the same direction, following the club's worst start to a league campaign in seven seasons, while Barca must hope they avoid further injuries going forward and Guardiola would do well to field a more solid system away from home, too.
Both teams will be put to the test on Saturday night, with Barca at home to a revitalised Atletico Madrid and Real in action against Rayo Vallecano in a capital clash at the Santiago Bernabeu.
It's time for the two trainers to react. A blinkered approach will only lead to further falls in the coming weeks and months, so while it's far too early to talk of Valencia as a possible outsider in the much-publicised 'two-horse' title race, there are plenty of awkward obstacles yet to be overcome for Spain's big two. And the home straight is still a very long way away.
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