Barcelona: It took 10 attempts and three clubs for coach Jose Mourinho to finally guide a team to triumph at Barcelona's Camp Nou Stadium. Cristiano Ronaldo's 73rd-minute winner lifted Real Madrid to a 2-1 win over Barcelona on Saturday and seven points clear at the top of the Spanish standings with just four games to go.
Madrid's 19th straight league match without a loss left them poised to claim their first league title in four seasons and finally end Barcelona's domestic dominance.
Club president Florentino Perez hired Mourinho to end Barca's Spanish and European domination, and there was a sense after Saturday's result that a shift in the balance of power between the two world powerhouses could be imminent.
Real have to overturn a 2-1 deficit at home to Bayern Munich on Wednesday if they are to reach next month's Champions League final and if holders Barca can get past Chelsea, who beat them 1-0 in London this week, they will face a swaggering Real side filled with new confidence in another mouthwatering clasico.
Not with Chelsea nor with his Champions-League winning Inter Milan side did Mourinho succeed in leaving the Catalan capital a victory. The former Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan manager got his tactics spot on in Saturday's La Liga clash, however, comprehensively outwitting Pep Guardiola for only the second time in 10 meetings in all competitions since he arrived from Italy two years ago.
Guardiola's decision to start with inexperienced B-team winger Cristian Tello backfired and he waited too long before bringing Cesc Fabregas, Alexis Sanchez and Pedro off the bench.
Mourinho appeared to have learned a lesson from his former club Chelsea, who managed to contain a dominant Barca in much the same way in Wednesday's Champions League semi-final first leg at Stamford Bridge.
Madrid's win was their first at Barcelona since 2007 and gave Mourinho his first taste of victory here after five losses and four draws.
Known for his emphasis on defence, the 49-year-old Mourinho has turned Madrid into one of the most potent scoring sides in Europe. Madrid have scored 109 goals so far this season, breaking a Spanish league scoring record set by the club in the 1989-90 season by two scores.
Even so, the sometimes abrasive and almost always effective manager chose silence as the best way to toast his team's perfect night. Instead, assistant coach Aitor Karanka attended his 48th press conference in the past two seasons in Mourinho's place.
His Barcelona counterpart Pep Guardiola, however, was gracious in just his second loss in 15 games against Madrid. "I want to congratulate Madrid for the victory and for the league they are going to win," Guardiola said.
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