Another Real clasico loss. Another tactic failure by Jose Mourinho. Another brilliant performance by Barcelona. Another point of controversy. Johan Cruijff had said that scoring early is the worst thing Madrid could do to Barca because that is like a slap to the face to them. Barcelona will realize that they're losing and they will pick themselves up and start the intricate passing. And that's the exact same thing that happened here.

Madrid have not beaten Barca at home since 2008. Their record against Barca with Mourinho is 1-3-5, and they probable won't win the second leg unless a miracle happens. But Mourinho has brought change to Real Madrid. He has turned them into a team to be feared like they were when the likes of Figo and Zidane were with them. And he has also tried countless different tactics against Barcelona, but has only succeeded in winning once.

Real Madrid : Of all the places to pick up his form, El Clasico is the best for Cristiano Ronaldo. He scored a goal (which I think that Valdes would have saved), and made smart moves when he had the ball, even if he was partly invisible in the second half. Madrid's defense was very well set up and coordinated. Their defenders did well, but they were quite dirty as well. Pepe stomped on Lionel Messi's hand after Messi had been fouled by Callejon, and surprisingly, the referee "didn't see it". Ricardo Carvalho was lucky not to get a red card after he hacked at Messi, but he didn't hit him too hard so I guess he got lee-way on that one. I saw Coentrao push Messi's head towards the ground at one point, but Messi didn't get hurt, so it's fine (not really). And I also saw an embarrassing scene when Pepe dived to the ground when Fabregas "hit him". I personally think that a player wit the quality that Pepe has should not be doing this. It ruins his reputation and it ruins Madrid's. I'm sure if this keeps up, Guardiola will want to say something about it, and I wouldn't be surprised if he does. Nevertheless, Madrid did well, but sometimes, a good performance just won't cut it for a win against Barcelona.

Barcelona : They weren't playing like themselves in the first half. No intricate passing, wasting chances, not hungry for the ball, but everything changed in the second half. Like Cruijff said, the goal from Ronaldo woke them up. They did fabulous, and Puyol's goal off the corner was fantastic. If you watch the replay, you're going to think that Pique is going to get it, and if you pause it at the moment when the ball passes over Pique's head, you'll notice that Puyol is already diving for the header even though Pique is at least five yards in front of him, which I personally think is "bloody brilliant".  After that Barcelona were in full control. And as for the second goal, even better than the first. Lionel chips the ball over all the defenders right to Eric Abidal, who tiptoed his way to Iker Casillas's net. He chests the ball down and tucks the ball into the bottom corner with such delicacy and precision, you would think that he is a world class striker.

I apologize if the review isn't sufficient enough but I tried my best to cover everything in a positive manner.

Two thumbs up for you mate :)

great review

It's an OK review. Don't you think you are being harsh on Madrid and too kind to Barcelona? "Tactical failure"? I think his tactics were pretty good, just because his team didn't win doesn't mean his tactics failed completely. And you totally ignored that Madrid had many decent chances too, the closest one being when Benzema's header came off the post.
Yes what Pepe did was despicable but Guardiola can say  nothing about it as his own players have done such things in the past.
PS: Miracles happen.

lol blood red, once again you make excuses and justifications. In other posts you call barca cheaters/divers and real madrid saints. Now you say its okay for them to be that just cause barca has done it in the past....

Other then that what a great game. Di Maria and kaka wouldve been great contributers to this game. Also why the fuck does gardiola play busquets.. i hate busquets and think there is so much more talent and personality... in barca then busquets. He better play mascherano next leg. 

Even though I despise ronaldo, i'm glad he made that goal, after his own fans turning on him and questioning his form, he silenced them. Fans these days are so despicable... one second theyre all over a team or players, then the next instantly they hate them or switch to another team... 

@MessiDona LOL, I never called Real Madrid saints, I just said Guardiola can't complain about Pepe's incident because his own team players have done shameful things in the past. It's like having to look into your own backyard before pointing a finger at someone. There are no excuses nor justifications, I don't support either team.
And in fact, it was you who said that "Barca dive because Madrid play dirtier" remember? These were your words, not mine.
And just to be clear @Dynastian98, losing 5-0 is a huge tactical failure, losing 2-1 isn't. Madrid were good.

bloodred madrid only had 3 or 4 chances the closest one to being a goal was the post by benzema. barca in the other hand had at least 10 chances and 2 hit the post. mou went out to play barca like he always does. pressure 100% for as long as you can then roll over and let barca dominate when you cant keep up.

Thanks for the comments guys, and I'll try to do better next time

@bloodred1992 Dude, I'm a Real Madrid fan, but I respect Barcelona for what they are and what they represent. I don't think that I was being harsh on Madrid at all. Read some other reviews and look at the dirty crap they talk about MAdrid, and then you might think that I'm being lenient on Madrid

LOL! Mourinho tactics was to SURVIVE not to WIN against Barcelona 

@Bloodred " I think his tactics were pretty good, just because his team didn't win doesn't mean his tactics failed completely. "

PARKING THE PLANE AND  STILL LOSE (CONCEIDING 2 GOALS BOTH DEFENDER SCORING) IN THEIR OWN HOME.... IS THAT A SIGN OF TACTICAL FAILURE? REMEBER FIRST EL CLASICO MATCH THIS SEASON ..MADRID PRETTY SOLID FROM 1-30 min...AND PEP CHANGES HIS TACTIC AND LOOK AT WHAT HAPPEN 3-1