Barcelona’s record run of 59 consecutive games at the top of Spain’s La Liga ended this weekend as the Blaugrana lost 3-2 at home to Valencia on Saturday. The next day, Atletico Madridrose to the top of the table with a 4-0 trouncing of Real Sociedad.
Barca took a seventh-minute lead through Alexis Sanchez’s bungled shot, but was sent reeling byDani Parejo’s equalizer just before halftime. Early in the second half, Pablo Piatti headed the visitor into the lead only for Lionel Messi toequalize from the spot a few minutes later. Paco Alcacer’s shock go-ahead goal just before the hour-mark proved to be the game-winner.
After the game, Barca coachGerardo Martino, said his team needs to be more clinical. “We should have been two or three up after half an hour,” he said. “The last 10 minutes of the first halfand all of the second, things were different. We lost our shape and it really showed.”
Defender DaniAlves, meanwhile, hit out at the Blaugrana faithful for generating a poor atmosphere. “We feel like we’re playing away from home,” he told Marca. “Butlosing makes you stronger. We have a great team that has proven itself beyond all doubt…[Saturday’s loss] wasn’t a complacency issue – if we had controlled the situation better and beenless predictable, maybe we’d have scored more goals”, he said.