Madrid : Argentine soccer legend Lionel Messi’s magical touch put Barcelona atop the La Liga table with a 5-0 humiliation on arch rivals Real Madrid, who experienced the first defeat of the season at Nou Camp on Monday night.
After Messi’s effort got stuck on the post, Xavi Alonso put Barca into the lead with a lob as the ball deflected onto his path. Barca were soon two goals ahead when Pedro poked in a David Villa cross.
Messi’s two passes set up Villa for the third and fourth goals, with Jeffran’s goal rubbing salt into Real’s wounds, before Real Madrid’s right back Sergio Ramos was sent off in the last minutes.
In stoppage time Bojan’s cross was converted by Jeffren before Ramos’s dismissal
Ramos’s stoppage-time dismissal – for a tackle on Messi – was the final ignominy for Real and coach Jose Mourinho, who suffered his heaviest defeat as the team’s boss.
The game was billed as a contest between the world’s two greatest players – Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo was in Messi’s shadow at the Nou Camp.
After Barca’s fourth goal the Nou Camp were treated to an exhibition of football that must have bordered on the humiliation for their rivals as Pep Guardiola’s side barely allowed Real to touch the ball, with Sergi Busquets almost scoring from the half-way line at one point.
Real coach Mourinho attempted to bolster his side’s midfield for the second half by bringing in Lassana Diarra for Mesut Ozil, but that did not help the side.
The win ensured Barcelona leapfrogged their rivals at the top of the table as the Catalan side went two points clear.
Since succeeding Frank Rijkaard as Barcelona coach, Guardiola has won all five El Clasico encounters, though for his Real counterpart Mourinho it was a humbling return to the club where he once worked as a translator.