Brilliant Barca thrash Real
Barcelona produced a dazzling display of attacking football to hammer Real Madrid 5-0 and move top of the Primera Liga table.
The first El Clasico of the season, held over from the weekend due to the Catalan elections, saw Jose Mourinho return to the Camp Nou where he once worked as a translator and assistant coach.
The Portuguese tactician did not receive the warmest of receptions prior to Monday's match and by the final whistle he had suffered complete humiliation as Real slumped to their first defeat of his tenure.
Mourinho was appointed to help bring a period of Barcelona dominance to an end and re-establish Real as the best team not only in Spain but also Europe.
But the gulf appeared wider than ever as Barca ran riot courtesy of first-half goals from Xavi and Pedro, a double from David Villa after the interval and a late Jeffren strike, while Sergio Ramos saw red for Real.
SublimeThe first 20 minutes were simply irresistible from Barca, even though they were given an early injury scare when goalkeeper Victor Valdes went down clutching his shoulder and required treatment.
A sublime piece of skill from Lionel Messi almost resulted in the deadlock being broken after six minutes but his audacious, curling chip from a tight angle on the edge of the area struck the post and was cleared to safety.
Barca did not have to wait long to take the lead as Xavi coolly finished past Iker Casillas on 10 minutes after initially miscontrolling a precise pass from fellow midfielder Andres Iniesta.
It was 2-0 just eight minutes later as Villa got the better of Ramos inside the penalty area and delivered a low cross for Pedro to turn home from close range.
Real had set out to absorb any pressure and attack on the break, content to let Barca enjoy the majority of possession, but after falling two goals down there seemed to be no change in approach.
Angel di Maria drew a fine save out of Valdes with a deflected effort but Barca continued to boss proceedings emphatically, while the contrast between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo could not have been more stark.
Apart from one decent free-kick that drifted narrowly wide Ronaldo offered very little and his frustration at being starved of service was evident when he pushed Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola in an effort to get the ball after it had gone out for a throw-in and was rewarded with a yellow card.
Messi, meanwhile, was at his magnificent best, skipping away from challenges with ease and threatening to add to Barca's lead with a couple of long-range strikes.
The Argentine superstar followed Ronaldo into the book, though, when it was adjudged by the referee that he had dived on the stroke of half-time after a clash with Ricardo Carvalho, who had raised his arms and appeared to catch Messi unintentionally.
StunningAnother Messi run at the start of the second half almost created a third goal for Barca, but Villa's shot was well kept out by Casillas.
Xavi also hit the side-netting after a breathtaking passage of play again heavily involving Messi, before Villa struck twice in the space of three minutes to put the outcome beyond any doubt.
Both goals were stunning in their simplicity as Villa latched onto incisive Messi passes and finished with aplomb, first sweeping a shot past Casillas on 55 minutes and then cheekily poking one through the goalkeeper's legs.
With more than half an hour remaining it was a case of damage limitation for Real and Mourinho, who made a defensive substitution with the introduction of Alvaro Arbeloa.
Barca were playing so well that nothing looked impossible, with holding midfielder Sergio Busquets almost scoring from the halfway line with a shot that had Casillas scrambling back before just dropping over the bar.
Leniency was then shown to Carvalho when the former Chelsea centre-back deliberately handballed to prevent a goalscoring opportunity but only received a yellow card.
The hosts took their foot off the gas in the closing stages but could still find a cutting edge when required and substitute Jeffren got in on the act with a fifth goal from Bojan's cross.
Real never came close to scoring a consolation and their misery was compounded just before the final whistle as Ramos was sent off amid a mass melee.
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