Mourinho smashes tendency as reduced Real makes its point

José Mourinho said ahead of the second clásico of the season that he had specifically trained with a ten-man formation because his teams are always reduced by one when facing Barcelona. The Real Madrid coach has made railing against what he perceives as pro-Barcelona bias in La Liga his default stance in his debut season, accusing other teams of approaching matches against the champion with less than full vigor and referees of turning a blind eye to infractions committed by Pep Guardiola's side.

In this thorny issue though, the prickly Portuguese has a valid point. "I have to train with 10 men because it already happened to me with Chelsea and it happened with Inter," he said before the match. Sergio Ramos' dismissal in the return clásico came when Barça was 5-0 to the good and few could argue that it was unwarranted. In Europe though, red cards against Mourinho's teams have been more damaging.

While at Chelsea, Mourinho faced Barça several times and had Didier Drogba sent off in a last 16 match in 2005 - a 2-1 loss - and the following season Asier del Horno saw red in another 2-1 defeat at the same stage of the competition. In last year's semifinal, Mourinho's Inter Milan played an hour with ten men after Thiago Motta was dismissed but despite a 1-0 loss at Camp Nou Inter progressed after winning 3-1 in San Siro with a devastating display of counter-attacking that was replicated on Saturday as Real counterpunched against Barça's possession play at every opportunity.

Not once during a match against a Mourinho-coached side has Barça been reduced to ten men. In La Liga this season Guardiola's side has received two red cards to Real's six. "Eleven against 10- it's almost mission impossible against the best team in the world," Mourinho said after the game. "We will have to train with 10 men again [ahead of the King's Cup final]. I'm tired of playing with 10 men against Barcelona. I hope to have the opportunity to play against a Barcelona team with 11 men." Despite the statistics, Barcelona is no whiter on the field than Real: Sergio Busquets, in particular, should be dismissed sooner rather than later if only for the dismal quality of his play-acting.

"Alves should have been booked twice but the fourth official told me that he wasn't because he is a full-back," shrugged Mourinho. Despite Raúl Albiol's dismissal early in the second half, Real proved that it can hurt Barça on the counterattack, with 10 players or 11. It is in defense that gaps opened up when Real pushed forward and either side might have snatched victory in a frantic final phase.

In the end both sides had to content themselves with a 1-1 tie that has handed the league title to Barça but gives Real a much-needed shot in the arm after five consecutive defeats, two of them crushing, against its archrival. Perhaps on Wednesday Mourinho will have the chance to try his hand with a full deck of cards.