R Madrid 4 Barcelona 1

It was Real Madrid's 50th win in this fixture and they have never had it easier as they ran out 4-1 winners against their arch rivals.

The night didn't exactly start off in the best fashion for Barcelona as they were asked to stick to Spanish League tradition and clap the new champions, their oldest rivals, on to the pitch.

Both sides were pretty much at full strength with the odd exception that saw Thierry Henry step in for Samuel Eto'o and Marcelo line up for Madrid in place of Fabio Cannavaro.

The champions dictated the pace of the game right from the get go with the deadlock being broken inside the opening 15 minutes. Guti and Sneijder had already tested Victor Valdes before derby veteran and Madrid captain Raul slotted home from just outside the area. Although it had certainly been coming there was some debate over the goal due to a clear foul on the edge of the box on Rafael Marquez by Guti.

The goal clearly shook Barcelona who didn't seem to have an answer so it came as no surprise when former Chelsea winger Arjen Robben extended Madrid's lead. Sergio Ramos was given a free kick on the edge of the box (although the replays clearly show a dive from the defender) which was floated in by Guti and met by the head of the Dutch star. Without a Barcelona defender in sight, he cooly nodded past Valdes to make it 2-0.

Frank Rijkaard made a rather strange substitution a few minutes later, bringing on Mexican youngster Giovani dos Santos for Eidur Gudjohnsen in midfield although it had little effect on the game as Madrid continued to pile on the pressure.

The Barcelona coach was then forced into another change at half time as Marquez made way for Sylvinho, yet the side from the capital continued to come forward and test Valdes with efforts from Diarra and Marcelo.

After a superb stop to deny Marcelo a certain open net, the substitute Sylvinho was then forced to withdraw and be replaced by his compatriot Edmilson.

Moments later and it was 3-0 to the Whites. Gonzalo Higuain had only been on the field for 53 seconds when he rounded Carles Puyol and calmly slotted past Valdes and into the net. The ex-RIver Plate forward simply cannot stop scoring right now after netting in his last 3 sub appearences, including scoring the title winning goal over Osasuna at the weekend.

As Madrid continued to torment Barca with one touch football and silky skills, they were gifted the chance to make it 4-0 from the spot. A wayward cross come shot by Robinho appeared to strike the hand of Puyol and the referee seemed only to happy to award the penalty. Although not quite as quick as Higuain, Ruud van Nistelrooy stepped up to lash the ball home having only been on the field for 2 minutes himself.

Lionel Messi appeared to be one of the only Barcelona players showing any pride as he was twice denied by the magnificent Iker Casillas in the Madrid goal. There was however time for Henry to score arguably the goal of the night as he slotted home in typical fashion from the edge of the area, curling his effort past the Spanish number one.

Madrid rolled the ball through the midfield for the last few minutes which saw Xavi sent off for speaking out of turn to the referee.

Real Madrid were again victorious over their bitter rivals and could not hide their delight. In stark contrast there were some pretty unhappy faces on the field at the final whistle as the Barcelona players walked off, so dont be suprised to see Pep Guardiola sat in the dugout come this weekend.....