Real Madrid left it late to come from behind and defeat Levante on Saturday evening; Barcelona reacted immediately and used the second-half to pull away from Real Valladolid after falling a goal behind, emerging 4-1 victors at the Camp Nou last night. Alexis Sanchez grabbed a brace, set up Neymar for his second La Liga goal of the season and Xavi added his second of the campaign as Barcelona extended their 100% win record to eight matches -- leaving them just one shy of equalling the record set by Real Madrid in the 1968-69 season.
Given that Barcelona should be beating Osasuna in a fortnight's time, it's possible that the Blaugrana will beat Real's long-standing record in El Clasico -- and who would bet against it? While Real Madrid stumble from match to match, Barcelona are cruising to emphatic victory after emphatic victory. World record signing Gareth Bale is sidelined through injury, while Barca's summer signing Neymar has registered five assists in domestic action -- in short, Real Madrid are a team of individuals, while Barcelona under Gerardo Martino are a well-oiled machine. Maybe we shouldn't get carried away, but certainly Barca will enter that match as favourites.
While there were a few testing moments in last night's game, Barcelona did eventually reach their best -- and with a better referee, they could have extended their lead further still, as Neymar was brought down not once, not twice, but three times in the Valladolid penalty area.