Barcelona's trip to Levante in the fifth round of the Spanish league turned into something far more than another slick attacking display from the Catalans. It became a brutal physical examination. The hosts piled on the duels and the collisions, refusing to back down even after Barcelona raced into a two-goal lead in the first half.
Levante never found the goal to close the gap. What they did find was intensity. For the first time this season Barcelona were made to suffer, roughed up by challenge after challenge that left several of their players calling for the medical staff.
Gerard Martín was at the centre of the most contentious moment of the night. Battling Levante forward Víctor García for the ball, he took an elbow to the face as García tried to get up and win possession.
Nothing suggested malice, but the contact was ferocious. Martín crashed to the turf with blood pouring from his face, forcing Barcelona's medical team on to stem the bleeding and patch him up.
Referee Jon Ander González, officiating his first match at this level, waved play on. He gave nothing against García despite the force of the challenge and the state of the Barcelona defender, a call that left plenty scratching their heads.
The drama didn't stop there. Barcelona thought they had a penalty later on after a challenge on Pedri, only for the flag to go up. An offside earlier in the move wiped out the spot-kick before it could be given.
As the minutes ticked by, the physical edge only sharpened. Challenges and collisions kept coming, and with the referee content to let most of it go, Barcelona found themselves grinding through spells of mounting pressure.
Down a man they went. With Martín off the pitch receiving treatment and trying to stop the bleeding, Barcelona played with 10 for a spell before he returned once patched up.
At half-time, Hansi Flick made the call. He wouldn't risk Martín for the second half, especially after a yellow card in a later incident, so he swapped him out during the break to spare the defender any more punishment.
Martín's exit didn't spell the end of Barcelona's physical woes. Xavi Espart was next, taking a heavy blow to the stomach that left him doubled over gasping for air before he trudged off temporarily for treatment.
The night at Levante exposed a different edge to Barcelona's flying start. A side used to bossing games with the ball and in attack ran into opponents who cranked up the duels and the physical pressure, and holding on to control got harder even with the scoreboard in their favour.