A clinical Cesc Fabregas strike rescued a point for champions Barcelona in a 2-2 draw away to top of the table Valencia on Wednesday.
After the first weekend of fixtures there had been complaints that La Liga was already a two-horse race, as both Barca and Real Madrid won by large margins.
However, since then it has not gone their way and Valencia lead the standings with 10 points.
Photo: Reuters
Indeed, Real dropped further points on Wednesday as they followed up their shock defeat to Levante last weekend by being held 0-0 by modest Racing Santander.
Valencia went ahead after just 11 minutes, when Eric Abidal put a Jeremy Mathieu cross into his own net, but just two minutes later Pedro Rodriguez equalized after a neat interchange between Fabregas and Lionel Messi.
Valencia enjoyed plenty of possession in the middle of the pitch and they went ahead again as Pablo Hernandez put away a Mathieu cross.
It was not until the final stages of the match that Barca asserted themselves and it was once again the Messi and Fabregas combination, which has worked so well this season, that made the difference.
The Argentinian found the former Arsenal man, who placed the ball past the ’keeper.
In injury time Valencia were reduced to 10 men as defender Jordi Alba was given a straight red card for a comment he made to the referee.
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said that he had never considered the title race would be a two-club affair.
“People not directly involved in the sport perhaps said that the league was between two teams but the coaches and players would never say that,” Guardiola said. “Valencia showed here that they are a strong team and can go out and win games.”
Real coach Jose Mourinho rang the changes after the defeat by Levante, but despite that it was another ineffective performance.
Cristiano Ronaldo had a header well saved by keeper Tono Rodriguez before the break and in the second half the introduction of Angel Di Maria did make some difference.
The draw leaves Real Madrid on seven points, three adrift of Valencia.
Even the normally unflappable Mourinho admitted he was worried by their form.
“This was a different match to that against Levante as here it felt as though there was only one side looking to win the game,” Mourinho said. “It is a worrying situation as we have now lost five points from two games away from home.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, Atletico Madrid recorded their second successive 4-0 win as they beat pointless Sporting Gijon, with Colombian striker Falcao scoring a double, following on from his hat-trick at the weekend.
A second half strike from Santi Cazorla gave Qatar-owned Malaga victory over Athletic Bilbao — their third successive win — and Levante’s good form continued with a 2-1 win away at Rayo Vallecano.
Real Betis, was scheduled to face Zaragoza yesterday.
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