BARCELONA: Jose Mourinho had a nightmare first Clasico as champion Barcelona crushed his Real Madrid side 5-0 at Camp Nou Monday to go two points clear of its bitter rival at the top of the Spanish first division. Spanish World Cup winner 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. For Barcelona it was a fifth successive Clasico win over its arch-rival 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 a night to forget with an emphatic win that evoked memories of the 6-2 drubbing of Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in May 2009. 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. 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 defense 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 was 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 then took center stage with his pass almost reaching Benzema only for an Eric Abidal toe 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. 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 defense-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. – Agence France
