The pressure is on Jose Mourinho to prove to the Spanish football world that he is indeed the "Special One." Spanish media have already written off Real Madrid's title chances after a 1-0 loss at Osasuna left the club trailing two-time defending champion Barcelona by seven points in the standings.
"Seven Points - Too Much" sports daily AS splashed across its front page, while Marca said it was time to focus on the two other trophies still available in the Copa del Rey and the Champions League. Barcelona-based daily El Mundo Deportivo was succinct: "League KO." Mourinho, the self-anointed "Special One," was hired by Madrid to snap two-plus seasons without silverware. The Portuguese coach led Inter Milan to a treble last season but has come up against a Barcelona team that just equaled a league record with its 15th straight win. Madrid went into Sunday's match against Osasuna at the Reyna Navarra Stadium stating it needed to win all of its remaining games to keep up the pressure on Barcelona. But even new signing Emmanuel Adebayor couldn't make that happen. "It's our second league loss, and it leaves us in a much more difficult position in respect to the standings," said Mourinho, a former Barcelona assistant coach who is in his debut season with Madrid. Barcelona is on course to set records in most domestic categories if it continues on its current run, which included a club record 28-game unbeaten run in all competitions until a loss to Real Betis in an already lopsided domestic cup series win. "This year we can win the treble," Barcelona defender Eric Abidal said Monday, "but the journey will be very long and we'll have to work hard to the very end." A victory against Atletico Madrid on Saturday would see Barcelona set a record of 16 straight league wins to topple Real Madrid's mark from 1960-61, which it tied with Saturday's 3-0 win at Hercules. The club's 10th straight road victory leaves it closing in on another record for consecutive away wins to start a season. Barcelona is also poised to break season points total - it set the current total of 99 last season - victories, goals scored and fewest conceded. It has outscored opponents 67-11 with 17 games to play as it sets its sights on Madrid's record of 107 scored in 1989-90.
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Barcelona's 5-0 win over Madrid earlier this season was Mourinho's most lopsided loss in a career that includes two Champions League titles and league titles in Portugal, England and Italy. At this same juncture of last season under former coach Manuel Pellegrini, Madrid trailed Barcelona by five points. "A league cannot be over at the halfway point for a club like Madrid," director general Jorge Valdano said. "The result is really tough, but not definitive." Even if Mourinho is able to avenge that loss and snap a record five-game losing run against its biggest rival, Madrid now needs Barcelona to slip up to give it a chance. Barcelona has dropped only five points all season. "There's still 17 games left to play," Madrid captain Iker Casillas said. Barcelona could even stand in the way of the other two cups. Madrid and Barcelona are both poised to reach the Copa del Rey final, which would be played three days after its second "clasico" match of the season at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on April 17. In the Champions League, if Madrid gets past Lyon and Barcelona beats Arsenal, the pair could be drawn in the quarterfinals, possibly setting up an unprecedented four head-to-head matches in two weeks.
Updated Jan 31, 2011 5:50 PM ET Jose Mourinho could not fault Real Madrid as they lost to Osasuna - but admits it makes their pursuit of Barcelona "much more difficult". A second-half strike from Javier Camunas earned 17th-place Osasuna the spoils in a hard-fought came at the Reyno de Navarra stadium and consigned Madrid to only a second league defeat of the season.
The defeat means Mourinho's men are now seven points adrift of in-form Barca - who have won 15 successive matches in La Liga - at the top of the table, and was a major blow to the capital club's hopes of winning a first league title since 2008. Mourinho said after the game: "My players have done their jobs with dignity and I have nothing to reproach them for, they fought to the end. We lost three points that we didn't deserve to lose. "Osasuna are a tough team and the crowd was fantastic. I don't think many teams win here. We had opportunities to score in both halves, but we haven't done it. And if the opponents score first it is very difficult. Congratulations to Osasuna." The Portuguese added: "This is our second defeat in La Liga and we are in a much more difficult situation with respect to first place. "I always tell my teams that I don't like to gift games to the opposition, by not playing, not fighting or because we were relaxed...that wasn't the case. We lost against a team who gave it everything, and who had a week to prepare for the match." Madrid, who were held to a 1-1 draw by then-bottom club Almeria in their previous away game, do not have long to dwell on their defeat as they have an important match on Wednesday when they host Sevilla in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final. Madrid lead 1-0 from last week's first leg as they look to win the cup for the first time since 1993. Mourinho said: "Tomorrow is another day. We will be thinking about the game on Wednesday." Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso, who started the match on the bench as he was struggling with illness, added: "With this defeat the distance to Barcelona has grown, but there's a long way to go and we need to continue fighting until the end. "We know that it won't be easy, but we need to look ahead and continue with the good work we have been doing. We cannot give up. "We need to look ahead and think first about the cup game against Sevilla and then the next league game (at home to Real Sociedad)."
Updated Jan 31, 2011 5:14 PM ET SANTANDER, Spain (AP)
Racing Santander drew 1-1 with Valencia in its first game under the ownership of Indian tycoon Ahsan Ali Syed on Monday in the Spanish league. Racing forward Ariel Nahuelpan scored the 33rd-minute opener, heading home after a poor clearance by Valencia midfielder Tino Costa. Costa made up for his mistake in the 78th, controlling a corner and firing in a left-footed blast from the edge of the area to equalize. The result ended fourth-place Valencia's run of five straight wins, while Racing is now three points out of the drop zone. Valencia defender David Navarro, teammate Ricardo Costa and Santander midfielder Mehdi Lacen were all sent off in the second half.