El Clasico. Barcelona v Real Madrid. One of the great match ups of the modern age. Supreme talent on both sides. 2 of the worlds top managers. 22 dedicated players. 1 questionable referee. 4 goals.

It had everything.

Barcelona were pounded from the outset, Pique’s mistake giving Higuain an early chance. Ronaldo battered on the door in the first half. Barcelona couldn’t get as much possession as they liked.

They say that a great team wins when it plays badly. Barcelona were hounded. Madrid were on top but spurned chances. Pedro popped up out of nowhere and suddenly Madrid were one down despite a solid first 40 minutes.

Barcelona could smell victory, already 2-1 up from the first leg, they knew they had a great advantage. Madrid were reeling from the surprise goal and WHAM. Dani Alves scored. Oh what a goal. The ball bobbled out towards him from a corner and he spanked it into the back of the net.

The second half saw Madrid’s come back. Who else but Ronaldo. He rounded Pinto with hilarious ease and slotted it to make it 2-1.

Barcelona concentrated. Well 10 of them did. Puyol was casual and slipped. Benzema was cheeky and finished with aplomb. With a blink of an eye. It was 2-2. This was game on.

The end of the game got scrappy. As it was destined to do. Yellow cards were handed out like sweets. The referee proved himself to be hilariously foolhardy with some decision. Sergio Ramos got a second yellow for, what replays showed to be, jumping in the air. The referee gave some other cards, fouls etc that made Mourinho want to pull his hair out, made the likes of Pepe apoplectic with rage and left the Barcelona fans smirking.

Overall it was great. The ref was poor. The game was scrappy. The goals weren’t all special. The match, however, was brilliant. If Spanish football could clean up its act, the Premiership would be in trouble.