Barcelona`s hopes of retaining their Primera Division title suffered a crushing blow as they slumped to a 3-0 defeat against mid-table Mallorca. The win was the island club's first in seven games, and its first ever in the Nou Camp.

Barca coach Louis Van Gaal was unable to count on his captain Pep Guardiola, who picked up a knock in last week`s thrashing of Valencia. But at least the Dutch supremo was able to take some consolation from the fact that Spain's international left-back Sergi Barjuan, who had been out injured for two months, was finally fit enough to take a place on the bench.

Yet even without the inspirational Guardiola, it was business as usual in the Nou Camp as Barca took the initiative from the whistle.

But the unthinkable happened after 15 minutes when Diego Tristan picked out Samuel Eto'o, and the ex-Real Madrid striker coolly beat Ruud Hesp to stun the Catalan giants.

Although Barca controlled much of the possession throughout the remainder of the half, Tristan and Eto'o always looked as though they could double the visitors lead at any time.

The only bad news for Mallorca coach Fernando Vasquez going into the break was the nasty-looking injury suffered by the ex-Barca defender Miguel Angel Nadal, which could keep him out for some time.

Two goals in two amazing minutes in the second-half secured the shock victory for the visitors. The first was scored by Eto'o in the 73rd minute, and seconds later Luis Carreras slotted the ball past Hesp to bring out the white handkerchiefs of protest in the Nou Camp.

The only bad thing about Mallorca in this game was the amount of yellow cards they were shown, 5 in total.

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