A first loss for Barcelona in the 2009/2010 season then. There’s really not too much to say about it in a Spanish context, so I shall do the obvious thing and compare Atletico de Madrid with Aston Villa. Oh yes, I went there.

Inconsistent, unable to string decent performances together and still in with a shot at Europe, Villa played out of their skin at the end of last year to defeat a Manchester United side lacking in real defenders. Sound familiar? Replace Manchester United with Barcelona and you get the idea. Are Fergie’s men struggling now?

Barcelona won’t be going undefeated in 2010, but at the very least they have proven to be a more consistent side than rivals Real Madrid. An off-key Madrid can often get beaten or have to settle for a draw, but Barça are by far the better side at taking the initiative in a game. And after the loss they are still two points ahead in the title fight. As Pep Guardiola said, they were always going to lose at some point, but the fact that it had to come with almost the entire back line missing - and even then by just one goal - isn’t likely to see teams relishing a visit to the Nou Camp any time soon.

One thing that the Azulgrana should watch out for, though, is that high offside line. Ludicrously high, in fact. Although Pep has probably rectified that already...