Despite Supercopa defeat it would be foolish to discount this Real Madrid side:

What could have been a brilliant match where both sides could have held their heads up high after the shame of last season was marred by a dangerous Marcello tackle on Fabregas, causing not only Marcello to see red but a mass brawl with Villa and Ozil being sent off from the subs bench. Mourinho also got involved seemingly poking assistant coach Vilanova in the eye and blowing a kiss in the direction of the Barca bench and receiving a hard a slap on the back in return.

Whether this was a loss of self control or a tactic to keep the media focusing on his behaviour and not the fact that Real had lost to their bitter rivals yet again is debatable. Barca keeper Valdes also got involved, who no matter how far from his goal the trouble is always seems to arrive in time for the brawl. The normally placid David Villa appeared to punch Ozil in the face to no sanction from the referee and possible explanation to Ozil’s subsequent reaction.

Such scenes have no place at a football match, and cast a shadow over what would have otherwise been a great couple of games. The football Barca play and the reputation they have acquired for being ‘more than just a club’ has masked their actions outside of the football they play, with the pursuit of Fabregas being unsporting at best, and their actions in the Champions League last season being just as bad, if not worse than Real Madrid. Busquets was never properly sanctioned for his comment to Marcello, and if UEFA seriously believe he said ‘Mucho Moro’ as oppose to ‘mono’ then they are in cloud cuckoo land. The diving and tackling also leaves much to be desired, with Xavi having plenty to say after the game about Marcello’s tackle, but little to say about his own highly dangerous tackle on Coentrao which was lucky to only get a yellow card.

The next Classico is scheduled for the 11^th December at the Bernabeu, and no one will want a repeat of the brawls we have become so accustomed to in these games. When you take away the ending of the game, and look at the football, it is clear that Barca and Real are the best footballing sides in the world, and Barca are at the very peak of their powers. However, Real are much improved from last season – memories of the 5-1 and the defensive Champions League ties confirm this, and more than held their own over two legs, being unlucky not to have at the very least extra time. No club has ever retained the Champions League, and whilst most would agree if any team can it is this Barcelona one, it would be foolish to discount Real Madrid and Mourinho in any capacity.

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