The special ones

RARELY has El Clasico had so many chants of “Ole” ringing out quite so loud or proud as last night. Barcelona supporters lustily sang the praises of their side who gave a masterclass – and a right royal hiding – to their arch-rivals.

We came expecting feats of football and we were not disappointed – unless of course you wear the white of Madrid, and even then it would take the stubbornness of a mule to deny that Mourinho’s men were outclassed in every department.

Individually, tactically, technically and as a team, Barcelona were on another planet last night as they ripped Real Madrid to shreds with a display of controlled, attacking football that few can equal, and fewer still can live with.

Remember how Pep Guardiola’s men made Arsenal look like schoolboys for 45 minutes at the Emirates, in the Champions League last season? Well last night they kept it up for the full 90, and how sweet it must have been against Real, previously unbeaten and top of La Liga before this encounter.

It was not just the scoreline that hurt Mourinho and his men, but the manner of defeat, as they came off second best in every department.

From the opening minute, when Cristiano Ronaldo was unceremoniously dumped on the turf without penalty, it was not their night.

Instead it belonged to the spellbinding Catalans, who ran rings around their opponents. At 4-0 up inside an hour, they proceeded to toy with Madrid, like a matador with a dying bull. Mourinho’s men had little in response but raging aggression, which went some way to explaining yellow cards in double figures and a red for Sergio Ramos in the closing stages where the underlying ill-feeling simmered all night and occasionally boiled over.

But it was the beauty rather than the beast that we will remember. The way Xavi, Iniesta and especially Lionel Messi showed how football should be played was a joy to behold. Messi, in particular, was night-on unplayable. The way he skipped past challenges, with even Mourinho’s enforcers unable to leave their mark, reminded one of the classic comment of former Liverpool skipper Tommy Smith when he first encountered another slight Argentinian genius, Ossie Ardiles. “It was like trying to tackle dust,” said the Anfield enforcer, who knew when he had been beaten.

And so it was with Messi against Madrid. Remarkably the game was five minutes old before he touched the ball, but within seconds of his first kick, he curled a lovely little shot against the far post with Iker Casillas beaten all ends up.

Barcelona took control from the word go, with Messi and Co making the most of Mourinho’s tactics, which were bold but flawed. The Portuguese coach, who has never won at the Nou Camp, went for broke with a front three of Ronaldo, Di Maria and Benzema supported by Mesut Ozil, but it backfired badly as Real Madrid were exposed in midfield. Xabi Alonso and Khedira were simply overrun as the boys from Barca weaved their increasingly intricate and effective patterns around them.

It was no surprise that they took the lead in the 10th minute, when Iniesta’s through ball hit the back of Xavi’s legs but bounced up for the little Spaniard to flick past Casillas.

Within seven minutes it was 2-0, as David Villa cut in from the left and drove in a low cross that Pedro converted from close range. Pedro could have scored more before Villa made it 4-0 with two goals in two minutes early in the second half, both times running on to Messi’s precision passes to finish like an assassin. The first time he took one touch before smashing the ball past Casillas, while two minutes later he simply had to flick the ball with the outside of his boot through the legs of Spain ‘s goalkeeper.

It was time to start celebrating, and the training ground moves started. Barcelona put so many passes together that it began to look cruel, as they toyed with their beaten opponents. Villa went looking for a hat-trick in his first El Classico, but in vain, while Messi tried to add the goal that would have completed his masterclass.

But in the dying moments, as tempers flared, there was one more goal to come as Bojan crossed for fellow substitute Jeffren to clip the ball past Casillas, completing the humiliation, with disgraceful scenes in the final seconds as Ramos was sent off for scything down Messi.

It was an inglorious end to a glorious night for Barcelona, who moved two points clear at the top of La Liga – but more importantly proved once again they are the best team in the world when they play like this.

BARCELONA: Valdes, Dani Alves, Puyol, Pique, Abidal, Xavi (Keita 86), Busquets, Iniesta, Pedro (Jeffren 87), Messi, Villa (Bojan 76).

REAL MADRID: Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Carvalho, Marcelo (Arbeloa 60), Khedira, Alonso, Di Maria, Ozil (Lassana Diarra 46), Ronaldo, Benzema.

Ref: Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez