Barcelona were the victims of the shock of the season so far in La Liga on Wednesday, as bottom side Leganes gave La Blaugrana the first defeat of their campaign.
Philippe Coutinho's excellent volley had given the visitors a first-half lead at Estadio Municipal de Butarque. But then two goals in the space of just over a minute from Nabil El Zhar and Oscar Rodriguez after the break consigned Ernesto Valverde's side to a first reverse since May 13.
It took Valverde's men until the 37th and penultimate La Liga matchday last season to taste defeat in a 5-4 thriller at Levante. In contrast, Wednesday's dismal result came in just the sixth league outing of the campaign.
It was a first-ever win over the Catalan giants for Leganes, who had recorded only a solitary point across their first five games of 2018-19.
When the final whistle goes and you’ve beaten Barcelona#ButarqueParty#TSFPAtTheGames pic.twitter.com/oSctsQsmea
— The Spanish Football Podcast (@tsf_podcast) September 26, 2018
Adding further concern for Barca is the disastrous result coming just one game after they failed to beat mid-table Girona at Camp Nou. Meaning that, for the first time since March and April 2016, they have recorded just a single point from back-to-back games.
Barcelona's second 45 minutes was uninspired at best, and their collapse was as shocking as it was dramatic. Slack marking allowed El Zhar to head home before Gerard Pique inadvertently passed to on-loan Real Madrid man Oscar, who finished assuredly.
Oscar's parent club will have the opportunity to leapfrog its archrival at the top of La Liga if it avoids defeat against Sevilla later on Wednesday.
