Villarreal vs. Real Madrid: Blancos Fading Under Intense Pressure from Barcelona

Just when it seemed like Real Madrid was going to run away with the La Liga title, two straight draws have given El Clasico rival Barcelona all the momentum. The clubs still have a clash at Camp Nou left before season's end.

Madrid's latest setback came against Villarreal on Wednesday. Cristiano Ronaldo gave the Blancos a 1-0 lead, but Marcos Senna tied it with less than 10 minutes remaining. Frustrations then began to boil over for the leaders.

Sergio Ramos and Mesut Ozil were both shown red cards, while manager Jose Mourinho was dismissed as well. Madrid clearly lost focus after the tying goal, letting emotion get in the way of a possible late game-winner.

The draw, paired with a Barca victory against Granada, dropped Madrid's lead to six points with 10 games remaining. Wednesday's late eruption proves they are starting to feel the heat.

Barcelona has won the last three La Liga titles and weren't about to hand over the trophy without a fight. Lionel Messi and Co. have been on a tear lately, and if there's any team in the world who can chase down Madrid despite such a large deficit, it's Barca.

They know every passing win puts even more pressure on Madrid, and so far, their rivals haven't handled it well. That just gives even more confidence to the world's top squad.

Madrid must earn all three points at home against Real Sociedad on Saturday. They are running out of time to right the ship before the aforementioned El Clasico game. If they enter that game with as little confidence as they have right now, Barca will destroy them.

Mourinho needs to stress to his players that they still hold a sizable advantage and control their own fate in the league. Even if they lose to Barcelona, winning every other game would guarantee them a championship.

In other words, they shouldn't be in panic mode quite yet. The Blancos have too much talent on their roster for a slump to last much longer. They just have to start taking care of business like they did over the first 26 games and forget about the last two.

The onus is on Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema to start producing more offensive chances. They were virtually unstoppable at points throughout the season, but they aren't converting their opportunities right now.

If the trio can bounce back, Madrid will be just fine. Should they continue to struggle, Barcelona will fly past their rivals into the lead. Either way, it's going to be an exciting finish.