Barcelona needed just a point to retain the title and they duly obliged to become the first side to win three consecutive league titles since 1993 when Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona ’Dream Team’ won the third of their four straight league crowns.

Mali midfielder Seydo Keita headed in a 27th minute opener for Barcelona only for Ecuadorian striker Felipe Caicedo to equalise on 40 minutes, but it didn’t matter as a draw gave the Catalan side the title.

“It’s always a nice feeling to win the title and the fans really deserve this,” said midfielder Xavi.

“I imagine we’re going to celebrate this title win with them tonight in the streets of Barcelona.” Barcelona stand six points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid and they lift the title courtesy of their superior head to head record over their rivals.

Coach Pep Guardiola has won the league title in each of his three seasons in charge and can now concentrate on going for the double with the Champions League final against Manchester United at Wembley Stadium on May 28.

“Winning the title is always difficult and this one was tough just like the others were before,” said Guardiola. “Now we can enjoy this win.” Real Madrid’s 4-0 win over Getafe at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday meant Barcelona had to finish the title job themselves.

Guardiola vowed not to rest his stars and was true to his word as the likes of Lionel Messi, David Villa and Xavi started although Andres Iniesta began on the bench.

French international Eric Abidal also started at left back in his first league start since mid-March having successfully undergone surgery on a liver tumour.

Levante sounded an early warning with Valdo firing just wide but the visitors drew first blood through Keita on 27 minutes.

Xavi picked out Keita as he made a late run into the box and he produced a terrific header.

Barcelona had one hand on the trophy but got complacent with Spanish international Gerard Pique making a schoolboy defensive mistake to confuse goalkeeper Victor Valdes and Caicedo was on hand to equalise.

Messi went close with a free-kick before the interval but at the break the title was in their hands despite a below-par display.

The champions came out with more urgency in the second half and Dutch winger Ibrahim Afellay saw a fierce shot whistle wide.

Messi then took centre stage on 57 minutes with a neat turn and dribble past three men with his quick feet but his shot crashed against the left hand post to safety.

The Ballon D’Or holder then went on another mazy run but his shot crept wide as Barcelona waited for a goal to ease their nerves.

Both teams appeared happy with the draw, with Levante moving four points above the relegation zone, as the game petered out and Barcelona popped the champagne corks.

In other matches, Valencia missed the chance to seal third spot in the league following a 2-2 draw at Espanyol.

Ernesto Galan scored a 76th minute equaliser for Espanyol to salvage a point and leave Valencia, five points ahead of fourth-placed Villarreal, needing a point from their remaining two games to clinch third and the automatic Champions League berth.

Villarreal drew 0-0 with relegated Almeria on Wednesday and have guaranteed fourth spot and a place in the Champions League qualifying rounds.

Down at the bottom promoted Hercules, one of only two teams to beat Barcelona in the league this season, were relegated following a 2-2 home draw against Real Mallorca on Wednesday.

Hercules led 2-0 but two goals in four minutes late in the second half sees them six points adrift of safety and Getafe’s superior head to head record means they join Almeria in being relegated from the Spanish top-flight Elsewhere Real Zaragoza stay third from bottom, one point from safety, after a painful 2-1 defeat at Real Sociedad.

Source + Pic: timeslive.co.za

Real Madrid were dumped out of the Champions League by their bitter rivals Barcelona last night after an aggregate score of 3 – 1, but both games were overshadowed by the behaviour of fans, players and club officials.

Boss Mourinho was sent off in the first leg for disputing a red card and is also in trouble for later comments.

“To talk like that has been harmful for Real Madrid,” Calderon told BBC Sport.

A bad-tempered first-leg match erupted at half-time when there was a fracas on the touchline as the players were leaving the field, which resulted in Real reserve-keeper Pinto being shown a red card.

Real were later reduced to 10 men soon after the interval when Pepe was sent off for a high tackle on Dani Alves.

Mourinho was subsequently dismissed himself after being seen to sarcastically mouth “well done” to the fourth official.

“I don’t know if it’s the friendship of [Spanish football federation president Angel Maria] Villar at Uefa, where he is vice-president.”

His comments and the behaviour of both clubs led to Uefa charging the Spanish rivals.

Barcelona also said they would report Mourinho to Uefa over his comments, with the Catalan club saying: “We want to stand firm when the war of words passes certain limits and we believe Mr Mourinho crossed this line yesterday.”

Both cases will be heard by the Uefa Control and Disciplinary Body on 6 May.

Tuesday’s second leg, which Barcelona drew 1-1 to progress 3-1 on aggregate, did also not pass without incident.

This time however, Mourinho was not involved.

Madrid’s players vented their anger at the referees, after Gonzalo Higuain had a goal disallowed, and the club could now face further charges.

Real winger Cristiano Ronaldo said: “Next year they might as well give the cup directly to Barcelona.”

“The team is sad, but we knew it was an uphill battle,” Ronaldo said on the Real Madrid website.

“The name of the match is Mission Impossible IV. Once again it was the referee that didn’t allow us to dictate the outcome. We knew we could beat Barca, but the referee didn’t let us.

“Higuain’s goal was good. Pique pushed me and I landed on Mascherano. He didn’t used to fall to the ground in England, but he’s picked up the bad habit of doing it here like everyone else.”

Casillas added: “It has happened again – just like it always does.

“We feel tricked by the officials.”

And midfielder Xabi Alonso complained: “Many bad decisions were made against us and we are not happy about that.

“We think we did a good job but we feel decisions really went against us.”

But Calderon has blasted the behaviour of Real’s players and manager.

“Big clubs should not blame the referee for their mistakes or their defeats,” said Calderon.

“We invested £400m in the last two years to be a very important and strong team so if you lose you cannot blame injuries, bad luck, referees or nothing. If you lose you have to congratulate the rival and that is all.

“What he [Mourinho] did in terms of talking about Uefa and referees is not acceptable at all.”

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Last night saw the 3rd installment to the four part mini-series that began on the 16th April this year and it more than held up it’s promise of entertainment.

The first crowd lifting chance came from the Catalans in the 10th minute when a regaining of possession in the visitors half saw some pace changing pass and run play by Lionel Messi and Xavi to David Villa on the far right of who proceeded with a strong run along the big box to end with an immensely close, but off target shot just past the far post. This was soon followed by another cheeky run by a tightly marked Messi who broke off and cut an elegant through ball to Xavi whose low but on target shot, was denied by Iker Casillas. For most of the first half the ball possession was dominated by a comfortable Barcelona, with chances created by Real Madrid, but broken down confidently by the visitors.

A classy run of football became distastefully tainted early in the first half when a simultaneous shirt tug by Mesut Ozil on Danny Alves and an unnecessary, off the ball body check by Alvaro Arbeloa (who was stationary) on a somewhat exaggerating Pedro, caused the first of many confrontations between the two sides as well as referee Wolfgang Stark. The theatrics seemed to keep then smirking Jose Mourinho amused, while Arbeloa was cautioned with a yellow card.

Barcelona continued their confident control of the game, but saw a number of well-constructed runs broken down on the last pass. Real Madrid showed a strong determination when they were able to gain possession, but were also broken down before creating any substantial opportunities. The second bout of group conflict came after Marcelo tried to screen Sergio Busquets. A nudge backward by the Madrid defender resulted in a groin contact on Busquets who subsequently and quite confusingly fell to the floor holding his face, while players from both sides exchanged heated words.

Real Madrid’s closest chance in the first half came at the brink of halftime when Cristiano Ronaldo delivered a shot on goal from a considerable distance outside the box after some hasty defending by Barcelona. The powerful shot was deflected off the chest of goalkeeper Victor Valdes before he could hold onto it , and fell into the path of off-side Ozil who followed up with another shot only to be denied by Valdes’s well timed horizontal footwork.

Halftime presented a messy bust-up between players, club staff and security at the entrance to the tunnel, which saw substitute Jose Manuel Pinto shown an embarrassing red card.

Barcelona entered the second half with an equal display of flare, while Real were left chasing harder and more aggressively to try and gain some control of what was proving to be a one-sided game. Real Madrid’s physical approach backfired when a studs-up tackle by Pepe on Alves earned him a straight red card, much to the vocal disgust of Mourinho, who was then sent off and escorted by UEFA stewards to the stands for his sarcastic remarks and actions toward the match officials. The game slowly started unraveling with a series of frustrated and negligent challenges from both sides. It was in the 76^th minute that 10-man Madrid suffered a blow when substitute Ibrahim Afellay outran Marcelo on the right line to square a precise, low cross to Messi in the 6-yard box who neatly placed it between the legs of goalkeeper Casillas to go up 1-0.

11 Minutes later Messi sped into one of his trademark runs through the Madrid defence and with his right foot placed a perfectly timed shot towards the far post to double their away goal advantage.

The animosity wasn’t reserved to the 90 minutes on the pitch alone, as a ‘disgusted’ Mourinho voiced a number of accusations and remarks in a bizarre post match interview:

“If I say what I think my career ends today.”

“Sometimes I am a little bit disgusted to live in this world, but this is the world we live in.”

“Congratulations to a fantastic football team,”

“But congratulations for all they have as well, it must be difficult to get all this power. Where does this power come from?”

He then made reference to Barcelona’s semi-final victory over Chelsea in 2009, the Inter Milan semi-final last season and now the “Scandal of the Bernabeu”, suggesting that sides who’ve faced the Catalan’s previously were issued unfair red cards.

“This thing happens in each semi-final,”

“I am here just to ask this question and I hope to get the answer one day.”

“I respect him (Barca coach Pep Guardiola) a great deal as a coach and a person… but I would like to see him win a Champions League without scandals.”

In 3 weeks the Spanish football’s biggest rivals have played their second league game (1-1 draw), the Copa Del Rey (Won by Real Madrid and dropped under a bus by Sergio Ramos who is also suspended for their next meeting) and a messy first leg of the Champions League semi-final. One can’t help but be aware of the escalating cautions and suspensions of players from the two sides over the 3 games played since the 16th of April. It would seem that when historical rivalry of such proportion is revisited too often, too soon…abrasive exchanges are unavoidable.

The final installment of the “El Clásico Show” commences on May the 3rd for the second leg of the Champions League semi-final at the Nou Camp in Barcelona. There will be little doubt of it being a dramatic and emotional conclusion to a very exciting and intense display of football by the Spanish giants.

Pic: soccernet.espn.go.com

The first 90 minutes at the Mestalla had ended goalless, with Madrid on top in the opening period and Barca better after the break.

But despite the Catalans’ superior possession in extra-time, Mourinho’s men looked dangerous on the break and after Ronaldo had angled a low shot just wide, the Portuguese beat Jose Manuel Pinto with a brilliant header following Angel di Maria’s pinpoint cross.

Pinto started in goal instead of Victor Valdes, as he had done all the way through the competition.

Meanwhile, Barca captain Carles Puyol was deemed unfit to start following his injury in Saturday night’s 1-1 draw at Madrid in the Primera Division, so Javier Mascherano slotted in alongside Gerard Pique in the centre of defence.

Mourinho restored Mesut Ozil to his side after the Germany playmaker began Saturday’s draw on the bench.

In this, the second of four Clasico meetings, with a two-legged semi-final to come in the Champions League starting next week, the Portuguese kept faith with Pepe in a three-man midfield shield alongside Sami Khedira and Xabi Alonso.

And it worked early on as Madrid pushed back Barcelona, appearing to surprise the Catalans with their dynamic start to the game.

Ronaldo, playing up front as Mourinho opted to leave three strikers – Gonzalo Higuain, Karim Benzema and Emmanuel Adebayor – on the bench, came close to giving his side the lead after 12 minutes when he beat Pinto from close range but saw Mascherano hack the ball off the line.

Madrid full-back Alvaro Arbeloa was lucky to get away with a clear stamp on David Villa later in the half as things began to turn ugly.

The defender escaped without a caution, but both Pepe and Pedro found their way into the referee’s book before the interval as the two teams continued to compete close to the edge.

But in football terms, Madrid had the edge.

Pinto saved well from Ronaldo 10 minutes before the interval, but the stand-in keeper was badly-positioned just before the break and was lucky to see Pepe’s header rebound off the post.

But Barca began the second half on the front foot, stepping up a gear following a disappointing opening 45 minutes.

Pedro fired just wide, Lionel Messi blasted over the bar and the Argentina forward was almost set up by Dani Alves as the Catalans found their rhythm.

And they thought they had gone ahead after 68 minutes when Villa, who had not scored for 10 games, latched onto a Messi through-ball after the Argentinian had brilliantly beaten three Madrid players, and slotted a low shot past Iker Casillas, but the assistant’s flag was up and the Spain striker’s effort was correctly ruled out.

Nevertheless, Barca were dominant now and that looked ominous for Madrid.

Casillas made two fine saves within a minute to deny Messi and then Pedro, while the Argentinian was stopped in his tracks as he looked to waltz through the Madrid defence.

But Madrid weathered the storm and the score remained goalless after 90 minutes.

The first period of extra-time was dominated by Barca, but the best chance fell to Ronaldo, who raced clear down the right flank and charged into the area, only to drive a low angled shot just wide of the target.

But the Catalans failed to heed the warning and five minutes later, they were behind.

Marcelo played a one-two with Di Maria, who then sent a deep, inviting cross into the area searching for Ronaldo, who rose majestically to power home a header at the far post.

Ronaldo should have wrapped it up two minutes before the end, but selfishly kept the ball in the area and his shot was eventually blocked.

But Madrid held on to seal a famous win and end a spell of almost three years without a trophy.

The only sour note for Mourinho’s men was Di Maria’s late dismissal after

picking up a second yellow card for a foul on Messi.

Source + Pic: football365.com

Barcelona dominated the match with their slick passing game which stunted anything Arsenal tried to create, and two goals from Lionel Messi and one from Xavi won the game for the Catalans with Sergio Busquets scoring an own goal for Arsenal’s consolation. However it was the controversial sending off of Robin van Persie that helped swing the game in Barcelona’s favour after the Gunners’ fortuitous equaliser.

Arsenal were given a huge boost before kick off as both Van Persie and Cesc Fabregas were declared fit and named in the starting line-up. The Dutchman had been substituted in the League Cup final with a knee problem and Fabregas injured his hamstring against Stoke City a month ago, but both men recovered quicker than expected.

Arsene Wenger made three changes from the side who won the first leg at the Emirates with Bacary Sagna, Tomas Rosicky and Abou Diaby coming in for Theo Walcott, Alex Song and Emmanuel Eboue.

Barcelona lined up without usual centre-backs Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique due to injury and suspension respectively, so Eric Abidal was partnered with Sergio Busquets in defence with Javier Mascherano taking Busquets’ place in central midfield. The Catalans only other change from the first leg saw Adriano come in for Maxwell at left full back.

The match began, as expected, with Barcelona controlling possession and Arsenal looking to break on the counter attack, and the first chance fell to the hosts in the fourth minute. Pedro made a good run in behind the Arsenal defence, he was found with a lofted pass from Xavi but Koscielny recovered well to deny the chance and concede a corner.

Arsenal survived a scare in the 13th minute after a mistake by Johan Djourou allowed Mascherano to release Messi one-on-one with Kosicelny, but the defender muscled the Argentine off the ball superbly. However, he slipped as he attempted to clear the ball but a wonderful sliding interception from Jack Wilshere stopped David Villa getting a shot on target.

With Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola permanently positioned in his technical area, marshalling his troops, the hosts were dominating possession but finding it difficult to break through the last line of the Arsenal defence.

They did test Wojciech Szczesny in the 16th minute from a long range Dani Alves free kick but the Polish keeper was able to gather the ball, but it would prove to be his last involvement in the game, as he was substituted straight away with a finger injury and replaced by Manuel Almunia.

Arsenal’s normally neat and confident passing game was nowhere to be seen as the pressure of chasing the ball seemed to affect them building up their own periods of possession. And Barcelona nearly made their constant pressure pay in the 28th minute, only for a strong tackle from Djourou to deny Messi inside the penalty area after another trademark run. The loose ball fell to Pedro but his left foot shot from the edge of the area sailed over Almunia’s goal.

Five minutes later Barcelona tested Almunia for the first time since his introduction. Xavi released Villa who had found some space between Sagna and Djourou. The Spanish international took the ball to edge of the penalty area, and despite pressure from Djourou, was able to get his shot away but it lacked power and Almunia saved easily.

And the hosts continued to be apply the pressure, and were extremely unlucky not to be awarded a  penalty after Diaby appeared to bring down Messi on the edge of the penalty area. But the referee turned down the Argentine’s appeals, and seconds later a neat passing move saw Villa release Adriano inside the penalty area on the overlap but his fierce left foot drive smashed against the post and rebounded away.

After so much possession and so much domination Barcelona finished the half the much stronger side, with Messi again going close to opening the lead. Andres Iniesta raced away from inside his own half as Arsenal pushed on for the first time in the match. The Spaniard found Messi, who jinked past Clichy but his shot was straight at Almunia who clutched onto the ball gratefully.

Nonetheless, Barca broke the deadlock a minute later after a terrible mistake from Fabregas on the edge of his penalty area. The Arsenal captain attempted to back heel a ball to Wilshere, but it fell to Iniesta, who found Messi with a delightful pass, and what followed was pure magic. Messi controlled the pass, and lifted the ball over the advancing Almunia, before firing a volley into the back of the net to give the hosts the lead at the break.

The second half started as the first had ended, with Barcelona dominant in possession but there were more forays into the hosts’ half from Arsenal to give them hope of getting back into the tie.

And in the 53rd minute they were handed a lifeline, thanks to a mistake from stand-in centre half Busquets. Samir Nasri battled hard down the Arsenal left wing to earn his side a corner, and from the resulting set-piece, Diaby was unable to reach the cross but the ball struck Busquets and the ball flew past Victor Valdes in the Barcelona goal.

A minute later Arsenal were lucky not to go behind again as Villa was released inside the penalty area, but Almunia stayed up and made a good save, before his defenders cleared the ball to safety.

Arsenal’s task was made much harder three minutes after their goal as Van Persie was controversially dismissed for a second bookable offence.

The Dutchman looked to get on the end of a ball over the Barcelona defence but he mistimed his run and was flagged offside. However, the striker controlled the ball and fired a shot wide of goal which referee Massimo Busacca deemed to be kicking the ball away to waste time, and he issued a second yellow card and a subsequent red.

Despite the protests of van Persie and his team-mates that the striker had not heard the whistle, due to the crowd noise, the Dutchman had to make his way to the dressing room and leave his team to withstand more pressure with 10 men.

With Arsenal a man short the Barcelona charge really began, and Villa had two excellent chances to put his side back in front but was denied by Almunia again. Villa’s first chance came when Xavi released him inside the penalty area but as he was about to release his shot, Almunia made a good save. Minutes later Messi released the striker inside the penalty area but again Almunia saved, this time with his body, and Sagna cleared the ball to safety.

However in the 69th minute Barcelona did get themselves back in front through their inspirational captain Xavi. The build-up to the goal was beautiful as the Catalans sliced through the middle of the Arsenal defence as Iniesta glided past two challenges before finding Villa, he rolled the ball first time into Xavi and he calmly fired past Almunia.

And just two minutes later Barcelona extended their lead further after Koscielny brought down Pedro inside the penalty area. Pedro received a pass from Xavi and touched the ball away from the Arsenal defender before being tripped; Messi stepped up to take the spot kick and calmly fired the ball into the bottom corner of the net, with nonchalant ease.

With a lead on aggregate secured, Barcelona began to keep even more possession and chances continued to be created, with two clear opportunities for substitute Ibrahim Afellay.

With seven minutes to play the Dutchman was released by Adriano down the left. He held off the challenge of Djourou but his right foot shot sailed wide of goal. Two minutes later another passing move saw Messi release the young Dutch winger, but this time he was denied by a good save by Almunia.

But it would be the Gunners who were presented with a final chance to win the tie. With three minutes left to play, Wilshere and substitute Nicklas Bendtner broke away from the Barcelona defence before the Englishman cut the ball back for his team-mate.

But the Dane was unable to play the ball away from the backtracking Mascherano, who slid expertly to snatch the ball, as Arsenal’s Champions League died, one again, in the Nou Camp.

Source: goal.com

Pic: football365.com

Two goals in the final 12 minutes from Robin van Persie and substitute Andrey Arshavin clinched a dramatic victory for the English Premier League side after Barcelona had taken the lead through a first-half David Villa strike.

The result means Arsenal — thrashed 6-3 on aggregate by Barcelona in last year’s quarterfinals — will carry a narrow lead into Camp Nou when the two sides meet in the second leg on March 8.

“It was one of the special nights because I feel we needed to be a special team,” said Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.

“It’s open. We will go (to Camp Nou) and play our game again because you cannot just defend against this team. Our confidence will grow.”

Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola said his team had been caught out by the speed of Arsenal’s counter-attacking.

“It was a fantastic game (with) many, many chances for both teams,” Guardiola said. “We created more chances than last year.

“It’s a pity, but we knew they’re a very, very good team. On the counter-attack they’re dangerous. But we have the second leg.”

The thrilling finale capped a superb encounter at the Emirates as arguably the two most stylish sides in Europea laid on a feast of attacking football.

Arsenal started brightly and tested Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes after only five minutes, when a jinking run from Theo Walcott saw the ball transferred to Cesc Fabregas on the edge of the area.

The Spanish maestro flicked an exquisite pass to van Persie, whose angled half-volley from close range forced a good save from Valdes.

The threat of Lionel Messi was never far away however, and the Argentinian star drew a desperate challenge from behind from Alex Song after only seven minutes that earned the Cameroonian a booking.

Arsenal were given a huge let-off on 15 minutes when Messi was sent racing clear after an immaculate pass from Villa.

Messi committed Wojciech Szczesny with a magical feint and beat the Arsenal keeper with a delicate dink but the effort rolled just wide of the post.

Arsenal continued to live dangerously, and Andres Iniesta just failed to find Villa with another penetrative pass along the deck.

After numerous ominous warning signs for Arsenal, the opening goal duly arrived on 26 minutes.

Another eye-of-the-needle pass from Messi sent Villa racing clear and the Spanish World Cup star drilled a low shot beneath Szczesny.

Arsenal’s players appealed for offside as boos rang out around the Emirates, but Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli remained unmoved.

With Barcelona dominating possession, Arsenal’s most promising moments of the half came on the counter-attack, where Walcott’s pace regularly unnerved the visitors’ defence.

The England international was at the heart of a lightning break on 29 minutes that ended with van Persie slicing his shot wide.

Arsenal breathed another sigh of relief on 38 minutes when Messi had the ball in the net, only to be adjudged fractionally offside.

A frenetic start to the second half saw both sides struggle to create clear chances, although Arsenal were grateful when Laurent Koscielny –magnificent throughout — just managed to knock Pedro Rodriguez off-balance as he went clear on goal on 57 minutes.

Arsenal continued to probe for openings on the break however, and a sweeping move ended in a booking for Gerard Pique, who tripped Samir Nasri.

The booking rules the Barca centre-back out of the second leg.

Just when it seemed Arsenal’s labours were to be in vain, van Persie conjured a goal out of nothing on 78 minutes.

Gael Clichy flicked a ball over the top and van Persie went clear wide on the left. Nothing seemed on but the Dutchman spotted daylight between Valdes and the Barcelona goalkeeper’s near post and thundered home a rasping low shot.

With Barcelona suddenly rocking, Arsenal pressed home their advantage, and seven minutes from time their persistence paid off.

Another counter-attack saw Nasri burst clear down the right. The Frenchman checked and weighed his options before picking out Arshavin, who had replaced Song, and the diminutive Russian swept in a majestic winner.

Source + Pic: supersport.co.za

Spanish World Cup winners Xavi and Pedro Rodriguez put Barcelona into a two-goal lead after just 17 minutes and David Villa marked his first Clasico with a brace inside two minutes (54 min, 56) before Jeffren added a late fifth as Mourinho stomached an unforgettable first defeat in charge of Real.

“It was an important win by a big margin and it puts us top two points above Real in the table which is what we wanted,” said Villa. “However, it is only November and there are lots of games left and we have to keep on winning.”

For Barcelona it was a fifth successive Clasico win over their arch rivals as coach Pep Guardiola maintained his 100 percent record in the fixture and exacted revenge over Mourinho, whose Inter Milan side defeated Barcelona in last season’s Champions League semifinals.

Real went into the game unbeaten and hoping for a first win at Camp Nou since December 2007.

However, Barcelona gave old boy Mourinho, who used to work for the Catalan club as a translator under Bobby Robson, a night to forget with an emphatic win, one of the heaviest defeats in his glittering career, that evoked memories of the 6-2 drubbing of Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in May 2009.

“One team played to their potential and one didn’t,” said Mourinho. “It was a defeat that we fully deserved but I don’t think you can say it reflected the difference between the two sides.

“The championship isn’t over today. We are two points behind the leaders but there are lots of games left to play. We have to show character, train hard and get back to winning. I wish we were playing tomorrow.”

It was a huge psychological win for Barca in the title race and the omens are good with the winner of the first Clasico going on to be crowned champions in the last six seasons.

Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain was a last-minute withdrawal for Real due to injury so French international Karim Benzema was handed a chance to shine on the biggest stage.

Guardiola said Real were the best counter-attacking team in the world but said Barcelona would attack and they were good to their word.

In the fifth minute Messi surprised everyone by curling a beautiful left-footed chip onto the post with Iker Casillas well beaten.

It was a warning that Real didn’t heed and on nine minutes the hosts took the lead through Xavi.

Andres Iniesta fed a pass into the penalty area with Marcelo failing to intercept the pass and Xavi took advantage of a fortunate piece of control to prod calmly past Casillas to the delight of the home fans.

Real had the best defence in the league beforehand and this was only the seventh goal they had conceded under Mourinho.

The visitors responded with Angel di Maria forcing Victor Valdes to tip over a fierce shot but Barcelona were looking dangerous and struck again on 17 minutes through Pedro.

Villa went past Sergio Ramos by the touchline and Casillas could only fingertip his cross into the path of the inrushing Pedro who fired home.

Cristiano Ronaldo, top-scorer in the league with 14 goals, then took centre stage with his pass almost reaching Benzema only for Eric Abidal to avert the danger.

On the half hour mark Ronaldo started a melee when he pushed Barca coach Guardiola for holding the ball, earning him a yellow card, and then whistled a fine free-kick past the post of Victor Valdes.

Real brought off the ineffective Mesut Ozil at half-time with Lass Diarra replacing him but it was more of the same as Barcelona dominated.

Villa went close with his goal-bound shot blocked but on 54 minutes Messi fed the Spanish World Cup winner, who took the pass brilliantly in his stride before firing past Casillas.

Real complained that Villa was offside but the goal stood and two minutes later the 40-million-euro signing from Valencia struck again with his eighth league goal of the season.

A defence-splitting pass from Messi released Villa, who beat Casillas again and left Real 4-0 down before the hour mark.

Substitute Jeffren Suarez netted a fifth late on and Sergio Ramos was sent off in the final minute for a terrible foul on Messi and then shoving Carles Puyol as tempers boiled over.

Source + Pic: supersport.co.za

The Argentine, like last season, treated Europe’s blue riband club competition as his personal playground, scoring two classy goals before missing a penalty as Barca recovered from an early shock to thrash visiting Panathinaikos 5-1 in Group D.

Inter took the lead but then had to come from behind to draw 2-2 at Dutch debutants Twente Enschede in Group A with the Italians losing forward Goran Pandev to a knee injury.

A much-changed Manchester United could find no way past obdurate Scottish visitors Rangers in Group C, drawing 0-0 in a game overshadowed by a serious ankle injury to Antonio Valencia.

The impish Messi bagged eight goals in the competition last season and judging by his display at the Nou Camp against an overwhelmed Greek side he will be aiming for double figures again, as Barca set about trying to reclaim the trophy.

Messi would have celebrated a hat-trick but for the second-half penalty save and he also rattled the goal frame before halftime as he resumed normal service after failing to hit the target at the World Cup finals.

David Villa, Pedro and Dani Alves also found the net for the irresistible Catalans who emphatically made up for their shock defeat by promoted Hercules in La Liga at the weekend.

“He is the best player in the world by some distance from the rest,” said Barca coach Pep Guardiola. “It hurts him to miss and he has this amateur spirit of always wanting to play.

Inter forward Diego Milito was not far behind fellow Argentine Messi in the Champions League goal charts last season but scored at the wrong end as they began the defence of their crown under new manager Rafael Benitez in jittery fashion.

Milito’s own goal briefly left Inter 2-1 behind at Twente after Wesley Sneijder had given the Italians an early lead.

Samuel Eto’o spared his blushes with an equaliser but Inter had to settle for a point after a goalless second half.

“In the first half we deserved nothing. We opened the scoring but after that we faced serious problems,” former Liverpool coach Benitez, who faces a colossal task filling the shoes of Jose Mourinho, told reporters.

The other game in Group A also ended 2-2, Tottenham Hotspur wasting a two-goal lead against Bundesliga side Werder Bremen on their first appearance in the European Cup since 1962.

Manchester United struggled to find insipration in their goalless draw with Rangers and Valencia’s misfortune capped a poor night for manager Alex Ferguson, whose decision to make 10 changes to the side that drew with Everton on Saturday misfired.

Wayne Rooney did return after being left out at the weekend as he deals with marital problems but the England striker, like his team mates, huffed and puffed against the massed ranks of Rangers’ eight-man defence without making a serious dent.

Winger Valencia fell to the turf after a seemingly innocuous tackle in the 63rd minute and manager Alex Ferguson told Sky Sports he feared the Ecuadorean had broken his ankle.

Turkish side Bursaspor were given a baptism of fire against Valencia, losing 4-0 at home in Group C’s other game.

In Group B, Benfica and Olympique Lyon started with victories, neither of them particularly convincing.

Benfica beat Israel’s Hapoel Tel Aviv 2-0 and last year’s semifinalists Lyon chiselled out a 1-0 win over Schalke 04, who played the second half with 10 men after central defender Benedikt Hoewedes was harshly sent off before hte break.

Russian champions Rubin Kazan, who stunned Barcelona last season and will face them again later in Group D, were beaten 1-0 at Denmark’s FC Copenhagen.

Wednesday marks Mourinho’s Champions League bow with his new team Real Madrid hosting Martin Jol’s Ajax Amsterdam while last season’s runners-up Bayern Munich host AS Roma as the opening games in the competition continue with matches in groups E-H.

Source: supersport.co.za

Pic: sport24.co.za

After a board meeting at Valencia in the morning, their president Manuel Llorente said they had accepted Barca’s offer for the striker who scored 21 league goals last season to finish his fifth consecutive campaign as the club’s top scorer.

“We have sold David Villa to Barcelona for 40 million euros,” he told a news conference at the Mestalla.

On the international stage, Villa is Spain’s second highest scorer with 36 goals from 55 matches, eight short of Raul’s record, and he will be spearheading Spain’s World Cup campaign in South Africa next month.

Barcelona confirmed the deal in a statement on their website (www.fcbarcelona.com), saying the 28-year-old would sign a four-year contract with an option for one more year.

The player, who Barca said ‘guaranteed goals’, will travel to Barcelona on Thursday and will take a medical before being presented on Friday at 1130 GMT.

At Barcelona he will join a formidable forward line that already includes La Liga’s leading marksman Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pedro and Bojan Krkic.

France striker Thierry Henry spent most of last season on the bench and is expected to move on.

Valencia have been forced into the sale by the precarious nature of their finances. They are burdened with debts of around 500 million euros ($620.8 million), they have a half-built new stadium, and have yet to sell their current one, the Mestalla.

“The board’s principle objective is to make sure we have economic viability for the future,” Llorente added. “We are obliged to take responsible decisions. Considering our situation it is responsible to sell this player.

“As everyone knows we could have done this deal last year but we thought at that moment it was best to keep our squad together to try and get into the Champions League.

“We have achieved that aim and finished third in the league, and he has contributed a lot towards this. We think it is good sale and necessary for the economic situation of the club.”

Source + Pic: supersport.co.za

After losing last week’s semi-final first leg in Milan 3-1, Barca’s hopes of meeting Bayern Munich in Madrid on May 22 were lifted when Inter defender Thiago Motta clashed with Sergio Busquets in the 28th minute and was sent off.

The home fans filled the vast Nou Camp arena with noise and Barca dominated possession but struggled to create clear chances.

A superbly-taken goal from stand-in striker Gerard Pique in the 84th minute gave Barca a 1-0 win on the night but it was not enough to stop Jose Mourinho’s men reaching the final.

Source: sport24.co.za