Real rips Barcelona apart

It was a 'real' humiliation for Barcelona, gifting the 50th home win for Real Madrid in the El Clasico. The Catalans were out-classed by the Whites in every aspects of the game, Real Madrid assuring that they are the real Campeones of the night.

Real Madrid 4 - 1 Barcelona

Real Madrid - Raúl[12'], Robben[20'], Higuain[52'], Nistelrooy[78']

Barcelona - Henry [86']

Man of The Match: Guti

Venue: Santiago Bernabeu [80,400]

Referee: Alfonso Perez Burrull

Squads:

Real Madrid: Casillas, Ramos, Pepe, Heinze, Marcelo, Gago, Guti [Robinho-71'], Diarra, Robben [Higuain-60'], Sneijder, Raul [Nistelrooy-75'].

Barcelona: Valdes, Zambrotta, Puyol, Marquez[Sylvinho-46',Edmilson-59'], Abidal, Gudjohnsen[Giovani-23'], Xavi, Toure, Henry, Bojan, Messi.

The night at the Bernabeu was a trip to hell for Frank Rijkaard and his men. They did not play like a team and never caused any threat to Real Madrid. It was a dismal performance from the Catalans, one that they would want to forget forever. The Santiago Bernabeu was packed, the fans cheering for their club and what a treat of commanding football they watched! Bernd Schuster and his men played like champions and Barcelona was ripped apart.

Guti - The Architect

Jose Maria Guti has been a revelation this season, leading the build-up and being the master-mind behind Real Madrid's attack. Raul, who started the renaissance for Real Madrid this season, was the first to strike, early in the 12th minute, a strong left footed drive into the bottom right-hand corner of the goal. Real Madrid looked really strong in the build-up and the mid-fielders enjoyed passing the ball very well. Guti was exceptional, though he was half-fit, passing the ball with pin-point accuracy and quickly building the attack. His aggression made way to the first goal, clipping Marquez and flicking the ball onto the incoming Raul who did the rest. Eight minutes later, an unmarked Arjen Robben headed the second goal in off a Guti free-kick. Barcelona defence should take all the blame of the goal, they were very poor in marking. Guti was the master-craftsman of this goal as well , a beautifully flighted free-kick into the box, Ramos and Pepe waiting in the far post could have scored if Robben missed it.

The substitues - Higuain, Robinho n Nistelrooy

Gonzalo Higuain had been in exception form this season for Real Madrid, scoring goals coming off the bench and is hailed as the Super-sub. He did not disappoint the Los Blancos fans when he came on as a substitute in the 60th minute, scoring just fifty seconds into the pitch. It was a great play by Real Madrid which led Diarra moving into the right wing and playing a low cross into the box from the by-line. Higuain controlled the ball well and thanks to his superb composure, he cleanly put it over Valdes into the net. The fourth goal was a result of the combination of two of the other substitutes - Robinho and van Nistelrooy. The Brazilian forward waded through the Barca defence and played a ball into the box which Carlos Puyol handled and the referee pointed to the spot immediately. The Dutchman, Nistelrooy, who had not scored since February cooly scored sending Valdes to the other direction. It was his 50th goal for Real Madrid in 78 matches.

Barca goal and Messi's play

There was a lot of pressure on the young Argentine's shoulders, a repeat of the hat-trick performance last season was needed again to give Barca any respect. But he was closely marked and was a lone fighter upfront, getting no support from his fellow team-mates. He won some free-kicks in the first half and showed some moments of brilliance, though he had a couple of great chances created all by himself late into the second period. The Europe's number one goalkeeper parried those away, had it been any other custodian it could have been 2 goals to Messi. Thierry Henry was the one who tried to get some respect by scoring the only goal for Barca, a brilliant finish from the Frenchman who is certainly going out of the club at the end of the season.

Other Chances

Guti had the first pop at the goal in the eighth minute followed by Sneijder who always looks to score in every opportunity, Valdes denied both . The Malian international and tough defensive midfielder Diarra looked more attacking and had two good tries at the goal, Valdes saving one and the other cleared off the line by Xavi. Marcelo Viera tried his luck by cutting in from the left flank and firing a shot, well blocked by Valdes. The brilliant Guti stormed into the box later in the second half receiving the pass from Gago and had he been a little selfish he could have scored, however he passed onto the incoming Marcelo who was brilliantly defended by Sylvinho.

Controversial Decisions

The Referee certainly did give advantage for the home team which they deserved because of the brilliant football they showcased. The first goal was a result of a great flick by Guti, but a closer inspection of the video shows that he had clipped Marquez's legs, and it could have been a foul against Real Madrid. The second goal for the Whites came from a free-kick, which was a wrongly awarded one. Ramos won the kick and Toure was given the yellow card for blocking him, though it seemed like Ramos jumping onto Toure. The referee could be blamed on these occassions but Barca should take the blame for not playing good football and not showing enough composure on the field. Xavi was given the second yellow card for dissent on the referee in the dying minutes of the game.

The cards that Barca got was a shame and Rijkaard looked disheartened in the sideline. Nothing went in the way he thought, even the strange first-half substitution of the experienced Gudjohnsen to bring in the pacey youngster Giovani, changing into the classical 4-2-4 formation. It did not help them and they lost all the control in the mid-field.