The first match of this season between Barcelona and Real Madrid ended not as predicted - in front of 98 thousand spectators, the Catalans humiliated their opponents with an impressive 5-0 result. With this result, "Barca" defeated their fiercest rival for the sixth time in history, after a long 16-year break.
Pep Guardiola's players dominated from the first to the last minute, not allowing the opponents to create practically any real scoring opportunities.
At the beginning of the match, Messi hit the crossbar, but in the 10th minute "Barca" broke through when Xavi scored after Andres Iniesta's shot deflected off Iker Casillas from a few meters away.
In the 18th minute, the Real players failed to find their footing and after a pass from David Villa, Pedro directed the ball into the net to double the lead.
Later on, the Madrid players equalized the game a bit, with no shortage of fierce competition and controversial episodes - C.Ronaldo pushed the ball boy holding the ball towards Barcelona coach Guardiola and got into conflict with the defending opponents, and shortly after Messi was warned after a contact with Ricardo Carvalho and dramatically fell after receiving a small hit, although unconvincingly.
After the break, Mourinho brought in defensive midfielder Lassana Diarra, who replaced the more attacking Mesut Ozil, but this change did not stabilize the visitors' game, as they continued to look lost.
Not surprisingly, in the 55th minute, the sharp passes tore apart the Real defense, and David Villa scored the third goal for his team from a comfortable position.
As if that wasn't enough, another quick Barcelona attack ended with another precise shot by Villa, once again beating the helpless Casillas.
The hosts did not reduce the pressure, and the Madrid players nervously chased the ball, precisely passing it to the opponents.
The final blow to Mourinho's team came after a substitution, when Jeffren, who appeared on the field, "closed" the pass from Bojan Krkic from the right wing.
Just before the final whistle, there was controversy when Sergio Ramos received a red card for a foul on his fellow Spain national team player Carles Puyol. But this episode did not spoil the mood for Barcelona - the country's champions celebrated an impressive victory and surpassed Real in the standings.
Barcelona 5 - 0 Real Madrid
10' [1 - 0] Xavi
18' [2 - 0] Pedro
55' [3 - 0] D.Villa
58' [4 - 0] D.Villa
90' [5 - 0] Jeffren
90' S.Ramos (Real) sent off from the field
Statistics:
Shots: 15-5
Shots on goal: 6-2
Passes: 684-331
Pass completion rate: 89%-74%
Ball possession: 67%-33%
Corners: 12-16
Episodes and goals:
- C.Ronaldo pushes Guardiola:
- S.Ramos' red card: