Rocky Barça survives Real assault

Soccer was back at the Bernabéu on Sunday night, and there were several novel elements to a rivalry that never dies down, even in the summer months. The first clásico of a new season ended 2-2 after an entertaining match with an even mix of errors by half-fit players and flashes of brilliance from stars such as Leo Messi and Mesut Özil, who shine even when the pre-season polishing is far from complete.

Unlike last season's bad-tempered series of matches between Real and Barcelona, which saw the former win the King's Cup while seeing the Liga title and the Champions League go the Catalans' way yet again, Sunday night's Supercup first leg was intense but rarely dirty. Even so, Madrid coach José Mourinho seems intent on extending his conspiracy theory, which holds that Barça wins as much as it does because it has referees in its pocket, not just a special blend of individual skills and a carefully honed philosophy of collective ball play.

After the Portuguese coach had paraded his now-familiar array of sarcastic and downright furious gestures for the TV camera trained on him throughout the entire match, it fell to his assistant, Aitor Karanka, to peddle the party line to the press. "There are things that don't change," he insinuated in Mourinhoesque code.

But apart from a good shout for a penalty for each side in the closing minutes, there was little to reproach referee Teixeira, who allowed the game to flow as much as Madrid's muscular approach allowed him to. What was different to previous meetings was that Real, evidently fitter and readier for the clash, had an almost even share of possession. The team's style was direct, but not harebrained, especially in the first half as Özil pulled the strings. Indeed, it was the German who snuck into the area on 13 minutes to neatly dispatch a clever pass by Karim Benzema.

Barcelona did not start with Xavi (who later substituted young Thiago) or Sergio Busquets, relinquishing its customary control over midfield. But, in the same way that Real has tended to rely on pure firepower rather than patient playmaking in recent years, coach Pep Guardiola has almost limitless attacking resources.

Improbably, Barça went into the interval 1-2 ahead after a wonder-strike by David Villa and a slightly fortuitous run of the ball for Messi, who finished clinically. On the right wing, meanwhile, Chilean newcomer Alexis Sánchez showed flashes of brilliance and hinted that he will blend in with Barcelona's passing game.

In the end, it was only fair that Xabi Alonso should level the score ahead of Wednesday's second leg. Real had nine shots on target (Barça just two) out of 20 attempts, including, perhaps, a couple too many from the over-exuberant Cristiano Ronaldo. But it's true that there some things that never change.

Guardiola was happy that his team was able to escape in one piece from the Bernabéu. "We were behind in our preparation and everything - we still are. Our minds dealt with the fatigue."