BARCELONA SLIP-UP DISPLAYS CRACKS IN THE PAVEMENT

Barcelona lost 2-3 at Camp Nou to Valencia Saturday afternoon dropping three crucial points which blows La Liga wide open for both Madrid title challengers, Atletico and Real. Defensive errors cost Barca dearly despite getting off to a decent start when Lionel Messi assisted Alexis Sanchez for the opener. Dani Parejo equalised just before half-time and Pablo Piatti gave them the lead just minutes after the break. Messi put away a penalty on 53 minutes to draw level but "Paco" Alcacer drove the knife in with Valencia's winner just six minutes afterwards.

Valencia CF players celebrating at the end of their La Liga victory versus FC Barcelona at the Camp Nou on the 1st of February, 2014

A crushing blow for the Catalans who must now be very careful not to see their season derail in the coming weeks. Atletico and Real are in action this evening, both with the opportunity to put serious pressure on Barca provided they can do their part and pick up wins against Real Sociedad at home and Athletic Bilbao away respectively. What's even more worrying is the form of Manchester City who they face in the Champions League on February 19th. The Premier League leaders are on sensational form, scoring freely and likely to beat the goal record set by Carlo Ancelotti's Chelsea in the 2009/10 season. With Barcelona's defensive problems, an embarrassment similar to Bayern Munich 7-0 aggregate semi-final win last season is not completely unthinkable. They must have fingers crossed hoping Sergio Aguero will not recover from his hamstring problem in time.

It was only during the week that rumours spread of "Tata" Martino getting a contract extension as Barcelona's manager. It is hard to rate Martino so far in that he obviously has world class players at his disposal but the team's playing style has changed after the fantasy football which Pep Guardiola first introduced and Tito Vilanova continued last season. Tiki-taka appears to be on the way out and Tata seems to be getting more out of pacy wingers Sanchez and Pedro rather than getting the best out of their traditional midfield dynamic duo of Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta. The decline of that midfield pair should concern Spain as they prepare to defend their World Cup next summer. Barca are resorting to playing long balls more often too. Never has Victor Valdez been seen to lump long passes out of his penalty area the way he has this term. They have improved on attacking set pieces in fairness, Gerard Pique's recent few goals have demonstrated that but overall, it can't be said that their philosophy is as attractive this season. With a new club president, many challenges lie ahead - the next month or so could define Tata's time at the club.

D. Ray Morton, 2nd February 2014