And Carlos Puyol accelerated towards the six yard box, and players all around him dispersed, and there was nothing but space, grass, a six yard line and Carlos Puyol, and then the ball arrived, and Carlos Puyol flew through the air and met the ball and powered it into the net.

The cameras cut to Jose Mourinho and Mourinho’s face betrayed him: “here we go again”.  Mourinho could spend all his time, all his club’s money, but still could not stop Barcelona. Here they were being undone from a corner kick! And not even a good corner kick.  It was a fine piece of action, a thrilling finish, but you might expect the second best club side in the world to be able to deal with a corner kick onto the edge of the six yard box.

When Messi chipped the ball through for Eric Abidal (!) to run on and score the winner, Mourinho must have realised that the Real-Barca battle is not there to be won.  He will, of course, be content that the Real-Barca-everyoneelse war in La Liga is going rather well.  But any triumph in the league will be tempered by the knowledge that his team is not the best team, whatever the league table might try to say. 

Cristiano Ronaldo’s jet boots still work and early on he accelerated beyond Alves on the corner of the area and speared a shot across Pinto to make it 1-0. Pinto should have saved the shot, but credit to Ronaldo for making something from nothing. 

But Barca don’t seem to mind going behind, even against Real.  On they worked. Sanchez (really growing into the Barca shirt now) hit the bar with a looping header. Iniesta (still in tip top form) went close a couple of times, teasing and prodding away on the left flank to mesmerising effect.  He missed a fine opening as half-time approached, slicing wide left-footed when everyone watching had surely already thought “1-1″.  At the other end Benzema had hit the outside of the post.

No matter.  If the first half was a good contest the second faded away, Barca controlling the ball and the game absolutely. Puyol scored just after half-time and from then on it was a matter of when and not if.  We had a few niggly challenges, Pepe (what a nasty piece of work he is) in the middle of much of it (stamping on Messi’s hand, for instance). But we know that these tactics don’t work, and Barca just kept playing their way to another 70/30 possession triumph.

Comfortable. Again: Real may very well win the league (although this is far from certain), but Barca are the kings of Spain.

A breathless encounter at the Nou Camp, reported accordingly.

6th and 7th minute, a Betis forward put through: Valdes saves; a near post header from a corner: Valdes saves.

Then a hair before the 10th minute Fabregas strikes a post having been found by Sanchez’s clever pass. The rebound could have gone anywhere but bounced straight back at Xavi – presumably his excellence includes reading balls’ minds.

THEN a thriller, Iniesta, Sanchez, Messi, one touch each, middle, left, middle, bang, bang, bang. 2-0 in 12 minutes.

THEN Messi sprints clear and just gets caught up as he reaches the area.

AND THEN Iniesta tries a 40 yard volley that almost works.

Wow. Not even 20 minutes in.

But…

An incisive Betis break. A throughball, Valdes out, the attack slowed. The ball back to the edge of the area, back into the six yard box, in! Ruben Castro with the final touch. Delicious play, fine goal.

Then – second half now – an even better one. Another quick break, square along the area. Roque Santa Cruz, one touch to control, another to blur a shot beyond Valdes’ left hand. Phenomenal: 2-2.

Barca push on.  Iniesta’s fantastic turn, fouled, penalty… no! Yellow card, for diving!

Messi surges, brought down by Mario, yellow, so red!

Then Sanchez is through, jinks out, shoots low, scores!  Great strike that the ‘keeper should’ve saved.

Now a penalty to Barca, a soft and unfortunate handball. Messi blasts home.

What a game.

I remember when Cesc Fabregas was still an Arsenal player. Why would he go, people asked. Where would he play? Barcelona’s midfield is full!

The move doesn’t seem to be working out too badly, does it? Today he scored his 14th and 15th goals of the season, a neat side-foot in the inside left channel and a chip that brought Eric Cantona to mind (both from Xavi passes). The latter was special, the ball not quite settling and the goalkeeper advancing: Fabregas didn’t have time or space, but managed to get the ball up and down in time to drop inside the post. Lovely skill.

Osasuna weren’t really in it, a typical Barca victim’s 25% match possession and not much goal action (a first minute free-kick could have shifted the game’s direction slightly, though). But at least they managed to avoid the 8-0 drubbing ‘experienced’ in September.

Barca brought on Lionel Messi on the hour and he added two more, the first a header from a Fabregas cross, the second a neat curler a la Norman Whiteside in the FA Cup Final.

Wow. The narrative here was straightforward: prior to the game Real Madrid were three points ahead of Barcelona with a game in hand, so a win here would effectively put nine points between the sides. That sort of a gap wouldn’t do, so Barca had to get something out of the match.

Karim Benzema scored before the first minute was out. Chaos in the area as a Valdes clearance went straight to a white shirt. The ball was returned to the goal mouth where Benzema found himself unmarked and onside. He flipped the ball over Valdes on the volley and the crowd went mad.

Tricky. Real pressed Barca like wild things and for a long time the visitors could not find their groove. That nine point gap loomed large. The men in white looked big, strong, dominant. Barcelona were messy, ruffled.

Alexis Sanchez hasn’t convinced me this season but justified his selection by producing a fine equaliser. Messi surged, slipped Sanchez through, and the latter’s finish was reminiscent of something Ian Rush might’ve come up with, slotted hard and low past Casillas’ right hand.

Game on.

The second half felt different. Barcelona held their nerve and Madrid dropped back a little. The passes started to flow, triangles, ping, ping, ping. But it was not great football that produced the go-ahead goal: Xavi struck an opportunist volley that hit Marcelo and wrong-footed Casillas, piddling in off the post. The crowd’s jaws dropped. That wasn’t in the script.

Neither was Cristiano Ronaldo’s headed miss. Alonso swung a free-kick across, Ronaldo was all alone and couldn’t miss but somehow did, planting his header the wrong side of the far post.

Barcelona broke straight down the right flank. Alves swung the ball across, Fabregas crashed in at the far post, 3-1. Another fine Fabregas header. He’s in fine goalscoring form (although his all-round contribution to this game was disappointing) and must be enjoying life.

The remainder of the game was all about Madrid pressure and Barca counter attacks. Nobody could find another goal and now the two teams share the league’s lead, with Barcelona having played a game more. We know this was an important win – the points issue was serious – but beyond that the victory said “hang on a moment, we’re not slowing down just yet; this league isn’t going to be won in December.”

And the thing you need to know is this:

Pinto, Fontas, Bartra, Maxwell, Montoya, J Dos Santos, Thiago, Sergi Roberto, Pedro, Rafinha, Cuenca

This because Barca had already qualified and Real Madrid await at the weekend.

So why not, particularly when that team can do this.  It was just like any other Barcelona game, proving that a philosophy need not rely on its most famous practitioners. True, better teams would not have folded against such an XI, but this is still the Champions League. Credit where it’s due: Barcelona’s alternates kept the ball for 75% of the game and outshot their opponents 22-2.  The first choice XI could scarcely have expected to top those numbers (by much, at any rate).

Sergi Roberto scored first, placing home right-footed from the edge of an area. Martin Montoya scored on the hour to make it two (lifting over the keeper at full speed), then elder statesman Pedro (24) added two more, the first a near post finish that required quick feet and reflexes, the second a confident penalty as time wound down.

The final league table will doubtlessly obscure Levante’s thrilling start to the year, which is a shame because for a time they were really onto something. But today made it four defeats in five games: the fun is well and truly over.

Barca were in fine form, though:

Cesc Fabregas – surely he’ll have to start for Spain in Euro 2012 if tight defences are to be broken down – scored the first following a delicious flick from Iniesta (who is, to borrow a phrase, on fire at present), then a second with a header that any centre-forward would be proud of (Xavi provided the assist with a fizzing free-kick).

Isaac Cuenca, who keeps getting involved in good things, added a third with a steady, placed finish across the goal.

Messi made it four following a nice Alves pass down the inside right channel, and Alexis Sanchez finished the job with a deflected shot that dropped in pleasantly off the bar.

Next.

Barca’s third goal perhaps summed up their season so far: Pique strode forward, slipped the ball through to Dani Alves, who squared for David Villa to tuck into the empty net.  In a nutshell we saw much of what Barca have been missing: Pique’s driving, intelligent runs from the back, Alves’ raiding fearlessly on the right, and Villa’s lack of anything like his previous form. Barcelona have more than enough fire-power to overcome these issues, but the differences between a really good team and a great one are in the details, those miniscule extra degrees of excellence. If these three are back and at their best then suddenly we’re looking at an even better team.

A fair bit of pre-match bluster about Rayo Vallacano’s attacking bravery, and sure enough they had a good go. Over the 90 minutes Barca managed 12 shots to Rayo’s 10, but if you weight that for possession (~60/40 to Barca) Rayo were getting off a shot every 4 minutes of possession, Barca every 5.

Does that mean anything? Not really I suppose: we know that Barca are the opposite of direct, but nevertheless, it does underscore how important possession of the football is in tilting matches in your favour. The more you have the ball the fewer opportunities your opponents get.

Not that this really mattered tonight. Barcelona were comfortably stronger and a 4-0 win is just about par for the course on these occasions. It was nice for Alexis Sanchez to score twice though, as his start in a Barca shirt has been plagued by injury and (to a lesser degree) uncertain form.

His first was somewhat Villa-esque: down the inside left channel he shifted the ball onto his right foot and curled it cruelly around the goalkeeper, almost in slow motion.  It was a devil of a finish.

His second was a curiosity. Xavi dummied in the midfield and continued his run. Messi slid the ball through to him and then something bizarre happened: the ball, moving towards goal, hit some part of his feet and bounced into the path of Sanchez, who scored again. Now, I had this down as a fluke, but of every player in world football, who is least likely to get his legs in a tangle? Could it have been one of the great pieces of improvisation?  Probably not, but it’s a thought.

The third we’ve talked about, the forth was pure Messi brilliance, screaming around the back of the defence using angles not available to normal players. Excellent.

This game was brought forward because Barcelona have to contend with the World Club Cup in December, which is all well and good but perhaps an unwelcome distraction: Real Madrid will not be giving away much this season, so all of these things count.

After beating Milan we get this. For a long time it felt like one of those ‘it’ll come’ games, but ‘it’ never did. Worse still, Getafe ruined everything by scoring themselves, a neat Valera header from a corner. Oh…

The strange thing was that Barca really didn’t conjure up many chances. Sanchez might have had a couple in the first half: shooting wide from the edge of the box with the Moya off his line, then denied with a first-time shot on the run, a decent save.  In the desperate last stages Messi hit the post and scored from an offside position but it didn’t feel like a siege, not like it should have.

The problem is that Real Madrid are now six points clear. It’s early in the season, and Madrid have perhaps had the easier start, but losing at Getafe is hard to fathom. The treadmill that top sides stumble along can be depressing, with game after game after game. Rotation is a must but for once the Barca squad feels a little thin, at least when considering the second tier of talent behind the major stars: it was a poor goal to concede, but the bigger issue was the lack of chances at the other end, with Messi contained, Villa off colour and Iniesta badly missed. Sanchez seems still to be finding his feet (or role) and Thiago Alcantra does not convince me yet.

It is wrong to overreact to single defeats, but the margins at the top of La Liga are thin. This defeat could prove costly.

A contest of equals at last.  Or nearly, anyway: Barca still prevailed, making up for the disappointment of those ridiculous dropped points against Milan at the Nou Camp.

Really enjoyable game, this. Both teams came to play, and the timing of the goals gave us a nice up and down match. Barcelona scored first following a nice move from the right-hand corner flag. Then, via Messi’s left boot, over to the left-hand side of the area, from where Abidal drove across and van Bommel nudged into his own net under pressure from Xavi.

Milan hit straight back, Seedorf taking down a long ball then stabbing it around Puyol almost in one movement, Ibrahimovic proving similarly slick in swiping it past Valdes on the run with a deft first-time shot. Lovely.

In between these goals both Messi and Robinho had missed from inside the six yard box.

Messi put Barcelona back in front, a penalty that seemed reasonable enough as Aquilani pulled down Xavi (spending a lot of time in the box tonight).

Messi’s first kick was outrageous, stopping too long in the run up before rolling into the corner where Abbiati wasn’t. You can’t do that these days and he was rightly carded. No messing with the re-take: bang into the corner.

David Villa could have made it safe but didn’t, then Kevin Prince Boateng equalised with a sizzling turn and strike. The ball had dropped to Milan players on the corners of the Barcelona box several times during the game, but subsequent shots had been erratic. This time Boateng’s spin took the entire defence out of play and his finish at Valdes’ near post was emphatic.

On the hour Xavi won it, Messi’s through ball sending the maestro through again: he finished calmly.

There were no more goals (Sanchez should have added another) and a fine, somehow invigorating win was completed. Barca did this with Puyol at right-back and Mascherano and (effectively) Busquets at centre-back, which would be noteworthy (away to Milan, employing two midfielders and an out of position centre-back in the back four!) were it not becoming more and more typical. They shouldn’t get away with it but they do. Perhaps we need to rethink the whole concept of positions: is Mascherano a midfielder anymore? He has always been a defender. The same applies to Busquets. Perhaps they are best just considered as fully functional Barcelona footballers, which is about as high a praise as might be given to a footballer in 2011.