After a lengthy break, a new season has begun. Considering Real Madrid had four players sent off in five match-ups last season, one could imagine that José would have attempted enforcing some sort of discipline amongst his squad as they embark on a refreshed race with the Catalans for Silverware. One may even believe that he might possibly attempt some level of self-control. If so, you were horribly mistaken.

Wednesday night’s 3-2 defeat to Barcelona saw Marcelo take a walk at the closing stages of the game after a reckless tackle on Cesc Fabregas, not long after being booked for an unnecessary challenge on Lionel Messi. A royal rumble ensued, in which a somewhat nutty Mourinho walked into the then loose scrum and poked his middle finger into the eye of a rather surprised Tito Vilanova.

When questioned after the match regarding the incident, he replied, “Pito Vilanova? I don’t know who this Pito is.”

Indeed, he remains the chosen one: chosen as Doos of the Week!

Nichol Hoekstra

@theKaptiv

Pic: whoateallthepies.tv

Fans had barely finished digesting their first beers when Andreas Iniesta eased on to a video game-styled through ball from Lionel Messi to chip it past Iker Cassilas to put them up 1-0.  Five minutes later and it was level peg at 1-1 as Christiano Ronaldo–who had already threatened the Barco goal earlier on–deflected a pass-shot from Karim Benzema off of his shin, despite much offside protest by the Barca defence.

Madrid continued to hammer the Barca defence with a convincing run of attacks, but were kept frustrated by a solid performance from Victor Valdes, who denied both Ronaldo and Mesut Özil from grabbing a lead for the visitors. Messi then stepped up the pace as he slotted a tidy chip past Cassilas from a Gerard Pique back heal at the close of the 1^st half. A rather average Madrid defence can be held accountable.

The second half unfolded with the ref mimicking a black jack dealer, as cards were shown in abundance. Xavi and Khedira had already been cautioned in the first half followed by Mascherano, Ronaldo, Marcelo, Pepe, Ramos, Coentrão and Valdes respectively.

In the 81^st minute, a very scrappy ping-pong game in the Barca box from a Madrid corner saw Karim Benzema slot sneak a cheeky riverdance tap-in past Valdes to make it 2-2.

The return of the prodigal son was nearly tainted by the equalizer, but Cesc Fabregas made a welcomed return as his involvement in a passing three way in the 88^th minute saw Messi nail a sliding cracker home from Adriano’s cross.

History repeated itself as another sideline scuffle erupted after an unnecessary lunge on Fabregas by Marcelo. Jose Mourinho also got involved, giving Barca’s assistant coach, Tito Vilanova, what seemed like a pinched-tug on his eyebrow. Marcelo was shown a red card amongst the chaos, followed by both Özil and David Villa for subsequently escalating the bust-up with a “slap-a-thon”.

Madrid are showing signs of strong improvement and many were convinced they had it in the bag, as all teams have performance fluctuations and even Barcelona should be no exception. Yet, somehow, they continue to exclude themselves from this theory and as long as the likes of Messi, Xavi and Iniesta show no signs of fatigue, it’s going to be a very long and frustrating season for the rest of the La Liga Primera división.

Nichol Hoekstra

@theKaptiv

pic: soccernet.com

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

Spurs were unable to produce the miracle required to overcome Real as they exited the competition with a quarter-final second leg defeat thanks to Heurelho Gomes’ second-half clanger.

Gomes has been a pillar of the club’s domestic and European campaigns this year, but his failure to hang on to Cristiano Ronaldo‘s routine 30-yard drive ensured that any chance Spurs had of coming back from the four-goal deficit they accrued in the Bernabeu were over in the 50th minute.

Spurs threw everything they had at their highly-decorated opponents in the first half and had two convincing penalty appeals turned down.

Gareth Bale, Aaron Lennon and Roman Pavlyuchenko all excelled, but their efforts were not enough to give Spurs fans one more memorable night to add to their collection this year and Madrid and Jose Mourinho will now get the chance to prove they are Europe’s best as they take on Barcelona in the last four.

The defeat brought to and end a dream debut season in the Champions League in which Tottenham have won the hearts of many a neutral thanks to the enterprising football which had seen them tear apart Inter Milan and brush past their neighbours AC Milan to make the last eight.

Rarely has a team making their first appearance in the Champions League had such a successful bow, and should they qualify for next year’s tournament, they will be confident of mixing it with Europe’s giants again.

There will, however, be a nagging thought at the back of Harry Redknapp’s mind that his team could have had the better of the nine-time champions had it not been for Peter Crouch’s reckless first-leg dismissal and Gomes’ error in tonight’s second leg.

Footage of Bale’s hat-trick in the club’s 4-3 defeat against Inter Milan greeted their supporters as they took their seats looking for their team to give them another historic European night.

The three goals the Welshman fired in at the San Siro would not be enough to even take this tie to extra-time though after last week’s 4-0 hammering at the Bernabeu.

Mourinho warned that his team had come to London to score and they looked as if they meant business early on, with Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil and first leg hero Emmanuel Adebayor all probing the Tottenham backline.

Spurs looked equally intent on breaking the deadlock though and Bale thought he should have had a penalty in the fourth minute as he skipped by Xabi Alonso and fell to the ground. Referee Nicola Rizzoli waved play on and replays suggested he was right to do so.

Four minutes later and Alonso clipped Luka Modric in the box. The Italian referee once again denied the home side a spot-kick despite the claim looking to be legitimate.

The pace of Bale and Lennon caused Madrid problems, with Sergio Ramos and Marcelo both found floundering in the early exchanges.

The home crowd urged their side on, but Ronaldo reminded them of the threat he posed as he danced past his marker before firing wide after 20 minutes.

At the other end, Rafael van der Vaart executed a brilliant turn to unleash Lennon down the right. His pass found Pavlyuchenko but he blazed over to waste a great opportunity to break the deadlock.

The Russian made amends by gaining an inch on Raul Albiol moments later only to be tripped by the defender in the box. The referee waved play on and Spurs were denied yet another spot-kick, much to the home fans’ anger.

Tottenham thought they had the goal they craved just before half-time but Modric was correctly ruled offside after he had headed back to Bale, who smashed home into the net.

The tie was effectively over in the fifth minute of the second half when Gomes let Ronaldo’s 30-yard drive slip through his fingers. The Brazilian swivelled and tried to claw the ball away before it crossed the line but the damage had already been done. Any slim hopes Spurs harboured of salvaging the tie were gone.

Redknapp brought Jermain Defoe on for Lennon and he almost scored within moments of taking the pitch, drawing a good diving save from Iker Casillas.

The fierce atmosphere that had been prevalent before the opener had disappeared after Gomes’ error, but the keeper did well to keep out Kaka in the 65th minute after the Brazilian had come on for Ronaldo.

The chants of “we’re gonna win 6-1″ showed the Tottenham fans still had faith and they almost equalised when Defoe’s strike was blocked by Casillas from just two yards out.

Sandro collapsed inside the Madrid box under pressure from Alvaro Arbeloa as Spurs’ bid for an equaliser continued but with substitutes Karim Benzema and Kaka in full flight down the other end, the hosts were in danger of slipping further behind.

Marcelo almost made it 2-0 when his audacious chip landed on top of Gomes’ goal as the clock ticked towards 90 minutes.

Van der Vaart attempted to curl a 20-yard strike in against his old club with five minutes left, but Casillas watched his effort sail over the bar.

Bale then drifted past his marker to lay off to Defoe in injury time but a block denied Spurs the equaliser they were searching so desperately for.

Source + Pic: football365.com

Former Arsenal man Emmanuel Adebayor took his tally against Spurs to nine in nine matches by heading home either side of half-time to rock the visitors, who had been reduced to 10 men after Peter Crouch’s 15th minute dismissal for two bookings.

Harry Redknapp’s miserable night was completed by second-half strikes from Cristiano Ronaldo and Angel Di Maria, meaning that Tottenham will have to overhaul Real and stop Jose Mourinho’s chances of picking up his third winner’s medal.

Gareth Bale offered brief glimpses of hope for Spurs, but their numerical advantage, and a top-drawer performance from Real’s attack, meant they never really looked like grabbing an away goal that would have given them a fighting chance of staying in the quarter-final tie.

Before kick off, the 3,000 plus Tottenham fans filed into the Bernabeu hoping that they would witness another epic night in what has been a remarkable debut season in the competition.

They were lifted by good news from the treatment room about Bale and William Gallas, who were both passed fit despite injury worries.

Tottenham were dealt a blow before a ball had been kicked though when Aaron Lennon was replaced by Jermaine Jenas in the starting XI after falling ill in the warm-up.

The visitors came out of the blocks at a blistering pace, with Ronaldo dancing past the away defence before powering a fierce shot wide.

Just four minutes and one second had elapsed before Real opened the scoring.

Adebayor got in front of Jenas and slipped a header past Gomes. Luka Modric was at the far post but he could not the ball squirming in and Adebayor had the opener against the bitter rivals of his former employers.

A late challenge from Crouch on Sergio Ramos deep in Real’s half earned him a booking soon after.

Adebayor, buoyed by his early strike, constantly probed the Spurs back four, looking for a quick second while Mesut Ozil and Ronaldo looked dangerous.

Real’s cause was helped when Crouch was given his marching orders 15 minutes in for a second booking after a late and needless challenge on Marcelo, again deep inside the hosts’ half.

Rafael Van der Vaart was pushed up front, but he looked isolated and frustrated, earning a booking for petulantly kicking the ball away as Real prepared to take a free-kick.

It looked like only a matter of time before Real doubled their advantage as Tottenham came under intense pressure.

Ronaldo sneaked in behind the back four and fired a volley at Gomes and the brilliant Marcelo was giving Vedran Corluka a torrid time at right-back.

Bale was unleashed for the first time 28 minutes in, bursting down the left but he had three markers on him instantly.

Spurs had a golden chance to draw level just before the half hour when Bale found Van der Vaart in the box with a flat throw but he was denied by a block from Ricardo Carvalho.

Another glimmer of hope came Spurs’ way a minute later when Michael Dawson released Bale down the flank but he drove into the side-netting.

Spurs started to look more comfortable on the ball, but Real still looked far more dangerous.

Marcelo fizzed a cross to the back post which Ramos headed just out of Adebayor’s reach at the back post.

Modric threaded Bale down the left once more and he looked to have beaten Pepe but the Portuguese player slid in, clipping the Welshman’s feet and earning a booking.

Real were adamant they should have had a penalty five minutes before the break when Dawson charged down a volley with his arms raised but the referee waved play on.

Redknapp injected some pace into his attack by replacing Van der Vaart with Jermain Defoe at half-time. The striker looked lively, but Real’s ascendancy was shown when Adebayor grabbed his second after angling a header past Gomes from Marcelo’s cross to make it 2-0.

Only a brilliant tip-over from Gomes prevented Adebayor from netting his third as the hosts laid siege to the away goal.

Gomes was made to pay for punching at a cross when the ball found its way to Di Maria unleashed a beautiful 20-yard curler past the Brazilian for the hosts’ third after 72 minutes.

Defoe saw yellow for a high foot on Ramos before Adebayor received a standing ovation when he was replaced by Gonzalo Higuain with 15 minutes left.

Real’s strength in depth was shown minutes later when £56million forward Kaka came on for Di Maria towards the end while Corluka limped off to be replaced by Sebastien Bassong.

Mourinho barked orders to his players, urging to find a fourth and Ramos came close to obliging with a drive that whistled just wide.

The killer blow came three minutes from the end though when Ronaldo got the goal his performance deserved, rifling a 20-yard volley past Gomes from Kaka’s cross.

Real Madrid Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Carvalho, Marcelo,Di Maria (Kaka 77), Alonso, Ozil, Khedira (Diarra 61),Adebayor (Higuain 74), Ronaldo.

Subs Not Used: Adan, Granero, Arbeloa, Garay.

Booked: Adebayor, Pepe.

Goals: Adebayor 5, 57, Di Maria 72, Ronaldo 87.

Tottenham Gomes, Corluka (Bassong 80), Gallas, Dawson,Assou-Ekotto, Jenas, Sandro, Modric, Bale,Van der Vaart (Defoe 46), Crouch.

Source + Pic: football365.com

Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Huddlestone, Lennon, Pavlyuchenko,

Kranjcar.

Sent Off: Crouch (15).

Booked: Crouch, Van der Vaart, Defoe.

Att: 80,000

Ref: Felix Brych (Germany).

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

He did however produce a moment of magic by ‘back’ passing the ball to Xabi Alonso. Check this out:

Source: goal.com

Portugal have dismissed Carlos Queiroz, who led the team to the World Cup, after he received a six-month ban for his aggressive attitude towards anti-doping officials.

Having drawn 4-4 with Cyprus in their opening qualifier and then lost 1-0 to Norway, the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) is now hoping that Mourinho will take charge of the qualifiers against Denmark and Iceland in October to get their campaign back on track.

Record says FPF president Gilberto Madail has flown to Madrid, along with former president Joao Rodrigues, to speak to Mourinho’s agent, Jorge Mendes, about the prospect of an agreement.

It is unclear whether Mourinho will attend the meeting, and Madail has acknowledged that “negotiations will be difficult”, with Real Madrid unlikely to welcome the prospect of their manager taking on any other duties.

SIC, though, says Madail has several suggestions for possible roles and that Mourinho may simply assist another coach for the games.

Former Sporting boss Paulo Bento has been widely tipped to become the new permanent Portugal boss, although he has now played down the suggestions.

“I want to make clear that I did not sign any contract nor have I been contacted by someone from the federation,” he said on TVI 24. “I spent the day at home and have not signed anything.”

Source: espn.soccernet.go.com