Spanish champions, Barcelona, suffered a second consecutive defeat in the league on Saturday at Real Sociedad.
The Anoeta curse continued as Barca failed to win again for the fifth consecutive time away at La Real.
The Catalans were beaten 2-1 at home by Real Madrid in El Clasico, and less than one week after, Luis Enrique’s side lost again.
Mikel Oiarzabal gave the hosts the lead in the fifth minute, and Barca couldn’t find a way back into the game.
This follows an uninspiring performance in the Champions League in which they needed an extra man advantage to beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 who they face in the return fixture on Wednesday.
The recent defeat leaves Barca with a three point lead over second place Atletico, while Real are a point further back in third.
All three teams have played 32 games, with six games left in the season.
But Barcelona’s downturn in form has coincided with Lionel Messi’s worst slump since 2011.
May 2011 was the last time Messi went four straight games without scoring or assisting for the five-time European champions.
Meaning the FIFA World Player of the Year has now stayed six hours (362 minutes) without a goal or assist for Barcelona.
Messi has looked weary since returning from the recent international break and was guilty of drifting inside for much of the night.
His impact was needed out on the wing, but he appeared physically unable to provide the spark that his team-mates sought in the absence of the suspended Luis Suarez. And over on the other side, Neymar was equally disappointing.
In this fixture last season, Luis Enrique left Messi on the bench after a heated argument in training in the build-up to the game. There was no such animosity this time around, but the result was identical: an early goal for the Basques and a hard-fought 1-0 win.
“There is no margin for error,” Enrique said after the game.
And in reference to the draw at Villarreal and the defeats against Madrid and Real Sociedad in the last three Liga games, he added: “We haven’t been at our best level these past few weeks. But we have to pick ourselves up for the Champions League and the game against Valencia at Camp Nou.”
It’s also worth noting that Messi had seven shots against Sociedad – his highest tally in a La Liga game this season.
The Argentina skipper is still the third highest scorer in the league with 22 goals, while Cristiano Ronaldo tops the charts with 29 goals.
As to the assist charts, Messi is joint third with Gareth Bale and Koke on 10 assists. Ronaldo and Neymar have 11, while Luis Suarez is the assist king with 13.
