One of the showcase matches of European football was played on Monday night at the Nou Camp between two of world football’s greatest rivals – Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Ten out of the 23 players nominated for the coveted Ballon d’Or award were taking part to add further attraction, but the fixture was to provide one of the most dominant performance in recent history from one side, and a far from attractive one from another.
It was seen as an opportunity for Real to show why they were top of La Liga having not lost a competitive match this season prior to the match. Sitting one point ahead of their rivals in the standings and having fallen only three points short last season, showed reasonable grounds for comparison between the two sides.
Yet the only thing drawn from this contest was that Barcelona is undoubtedly the greatest side of this era since the treble winning Manchester United class of 1999.
Jose Mourinho, regarded by many as one of the world’s best managers, was outwitted by Pep Guardiola and in turn had no answer to a rampant Barcelona led by World player of the year Lionel Messi.
The Argentine didn’t get his name on the score sheet but more than contributed as the Catalan giants inflicted a worst defeat ever on Mourinho.
In contrast, Guardiola has now won his past five Classicos and he even managed to shrug off a shove from Cristiano Ronaldo – who once again failed to perform on the big stage and continues to live in the shadow of Messi.
The writing was on the wall as early as the 18th minute after first Xavi and then Pedro gave Barcelona a 2-0 lead. It was the first time that they had gone two goals ahead in a Classico since Gary Linekar netted a hat-trick in a 3-2 win back in 1987.
A dominant performance illustrated by a remarkable possession count of 72 per cent after half an hour looked to have bewildered the usually cool figure of Mourinho. His Portuguese counterpart Ronaldo soon made his frustrations known also – picking up a yellow ticket for an unnecessary push on Guardiola which left the Barcelona players seething.
The pain worsened in the second half for Madrid as Lionel Messi was at it once again, slipping in David Villa for a brace with two magnificent assists before substitute Jeffren rounded off the remarkable 5-0 win. It was the first time Barcelona had beaten their great rivals by such a margin since a victory by the same scoreline in 1994.
Sergio Ramos further disgraced Los Merengues after picking up a second yellow card for a combination of chopping down Messi and pushing Carles Puyol in the face, one of seven for the Real out of a dozen for the match.
Three red cards in two games has shown a ill-disciplined side to their game, though Ramos’ in added time may not have been as “tactical” as his dismissal in the midweek Champions League match was.
So once again Madrid failed to prove once again that they are the Real deal and the Galacticos era now seems long gone, while Mourinho had a far from happy homecoming where he formerly worked as a translator.
For Barcelona, the superstar team in Spain is without doubt theirs, but how much better can it get?
It remains to be seen, but making a lot of world class footballers in white shirts look average enforces their supremacy on both La Liga and world football.
Rob McLean
Roar Guru
Shucks.
Marcus
Guest
Mate, top read. great description of the classico. i've been lucky enough to go to one and the atmosphere is truly amazing. highly recommend it
Nick
Guest
Not to mention the fact that he is a fantastic team player Rob. Where as players like Ronaldo are so up themselves and caught in amongst it all, Messi just lets his football do the talking. He seems very humble. Good summation indeed. Would win my vote in a national poem competition i reckon ;)
Rob McLean
Roar Guru
I am no football expert and have only started watching the game again in the past five years after a gap of a decade or so (not football on the tv here in the country in the past) but I have become a big fan of Messi. What I love about him is he doesn't look like your average football player. He looks a bit shambling, with his long but not overly stylish hair style. He's open faced and looks like an innocent among a bunch of men and primadonnas. Almost a player of the old school, someone who's happy to be who he is and is there to play the game and not worry about anything else. With the ball, he's divine - an assassin who sneaks in to the box stealthily to steal the cherries, or at least provide the ladder for someone else to do it. Sometimes he even looks bewildered by his own ability. A fantastic player. I hope this summation of how I see Messi is somewhere close to the mark.
betamax
Roar Guru
Paddy, please tell me your joking.
Chameleon
Guest
Paddy, not only do you have no idea about football, your comment about la liga is just plain lunacy. xavi, messi, iniesta, puyol, pedro, villa, busquests, alves, valdes, krkic have you ever seen any of them play before?
Ben
Guest
I recall Cristiano Ronaldo dominating the EPL over the span of three seasons, hasn't really done the same in Spain. I do enjoy the EPL more however as it is faster and more exciting, however watching the technical, attacking football that Barcelona play is really something else, they are just that good and for football purists probably the better league.
paddy
Guest
la liga is over rated. none of those players would cut it in the epl. shown already before and will continue to do so
tommy_doleman
Roar Pro
It was incredible Fussball, I don't catch as much La Liga as I should really, mainly because ESPN broadcast it and I'm not really a fan of their Americanised coverage (if that's a word - might need to include a Z). I Watch a lot of the other leagues, but when I do get to see Spanish sides in Europe it's usually special to watch. Watching this match though in particular was sensational and you're right, seeing members of the Spanish team kicking each other was a bit odd. I'd like to see what Fozzie has to say about it on TWG!
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Well done, Tommy - that was an excellent description of some of the game's highlights and the theatre that is El Classico. It was probably one of the best displays of football I have ever witnessed - Barca were absolutely breathtaking, although I'm sure Murinho will be holding an inquiry into the gaping holes that were left in the Real defence. Also, it was amazing to see so many players, who are team-mates in the Spanish national team, really getting stuck into each other.
Bill
Guest
Very nice piece Tommy - it's always hard to compare teams of different generations but this team takes some beating without doubt
Tristan Rayner
Editor
Nice report tommy - blistering stuff from Barca and of course Messi who conducts the orchestra masterclass. Ronaldo continues to smash little teams but is unable to perform against the biggest in the most important matches. Bit like Rooney, at least in the World Cup.
Brendo51
Guest
Messi clearly the best player in the world, what a display from him and the rest of this fantastic team
collin
Guest
this was an absolute slaughtering!!!!!! how good was messi's pass for the 2nd goal
MVDave
Guest
What an atmosphere with a 100,000 crowd all supporting the same team who then win 5-0 against their greastest rivals...memo to me-must get to an El Clasico in the near future.