Real Madrid will also lose games and draw some because this is how it used to be every season, so I don't think these two points that Barcelona lost will cause them any problems because they have only played three of the 38 La Liga games.
Well, Real Madrid had a brilliant display against their opponents, Mallorca during the weekend. Let's just assume they were able to utilize all the chances they had, it would have been a different story -- cause the goals count as well, don't forget!
It's a good start for them this season, they failed to maintain their consistency during the middle of the league in the previous season, finishing the league without the trophy. Xabi Alonso is just trying to adapt to the league -- trust me, if Hansi tries anything funny, they might be a serious overtaking this season.
This is the beginning of a good season indeed, seeing Xabi Alonso who is still adapting but is able to reconcile and manage the position of every player in Real Madrid is very good, however we know that within the internal issues of conflict about the position and tasks of certain players, so there is a little friction between players, but I am quite sure that Xabi Alonso is able to control it.
Hansi might have to be more careful with Xabi Alonso, because although Hansi is far more bright but Xabi Alonso is completely different, he has the best experience in the past season when carrying Leverkusen in the spotlight of the world, it is a good capital, especially with the players in Real Madrid, about the chances of being greater.
The season has just started. There is still a long journey ahead. The teams will play 31 more matches. So the 2-point gap is not a big gap. Madrid is a strong team. But it is unlikely that they will win all the matches consecutively. Madrid is likely to lose points in the upcoming matches as well. However, if Barcelona wants to win the title, their performance definitely needs to improve. With such irregular performance, Barcelona will not be able to maintain the top spot in the table. We did not see the expected good performance from Barcelona in the match against Espanyol either.
The tight competition among several teams in the standings is something we will commonly encounter at the beginning of the season. We will see some teams starting to become consistent and inconsistent by mid-season. Sometimes, we even see at the end of the season, teams that were initially consistent with good results eventually experience a decline in performance.
Madrid is indeed preparing for this season. They do not want to lose to Barcelona again. As for Barcelona, they need to improve their performance, not just in the defense line, but coordination in the attacking line, and finishing is also important. Last season, they performed better.
Last season Barcelona was the winner in La Liga, of course they were the best, and only had a difference of 4 points from Real Madird, of course in tight competition to the end, this rival has always been a big threat in La Liga, consistency is very important to get victory, because after all one step is wrong it will be difficult to pursue, competition is always strong in La Liga, there is no time to relax.