A defiant Jose Mourinho brushed off Real Madrid's crushing 5-0 defeat at arch rivals Barcelona, saying there were plenty of matches left in the season and the championship would still go down to the wire.
The flamboyant Portuguese, a former assistant coach at Barca who later managed Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan before being poached by Real, suffered his worst defeat in a league match at the hands of the La Liga champions but said it was "by no means a humiliation".
"It's easy to digest because it's a defeat in which there was no chance of winning," he told a news conference.
"One team played to their potential tonight and the other played very badly," he added. "The championship will be very close to the end. The result does not reflect the difference between the two teams. Obviously I am sad because nobody likes losing and least of all by that score.
"I hope it doesn't affect the players psychologically and I told them exactly that, that the championship does not end today and who knows we might be back at this stadium again this season (in the Champions League)."
Barcelona didn't just beat their bitter rivals, they embarrassed Real Madrid and coach Mourinho with a victory that moved the Catalan club into first place in the Spanish league.
The win was Barcelona's record fifth straight victory in the tie - dubbed 'el clasico' - and ended Real's 26-game unbeaten streak.
"For a first `Clasico' you couldn't ask for more," said David Villa, who scored twice off laser-like passes from Lionel Messi to break open the game early in the second half, to wild celebrations from the 98,255 fans at the Nou Camp.
Goals by Xavi Hernandez in the 10th minute and Pedro Rodriguez in the 18th, the latter capping a 22-pass build-up, put the defending Spanish champions 2-0 ahead, and Villa doubled the lead in the 54th and 57th minutes. Substitute Jeffren Suarez got the final goal in the 90th as Barcelona celebrated the 111th anniversary of its founding.
"We are proud because the world has seen us play the way we like to play," the Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said.
Benches cleared in the first half after Cristiano Ronaldo shoved Guardiola. Madrid defender Sergio Ramos was ejected in second-half injury time for a wild tackle on Messi.
"You have to have character. When you lose by five goals, you can't leave crying. You have to go and work harder," Mourinho, who had never coached a side that had lost by this large a margin, said. "You never want to lose by these numbers."
Madrid's frustration came to a boil in the 31st minute when both benches cleared after Ronaldo shoved Guardiola when the Barcelona coach didn't hand over the ball for a throw-in. Even the diminutive Andres Iniesta was in Ronaldo's face, and both the forward and Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes received yellow card.
"These things happen during the game," said Guardiola, who hasn't lost against Madrid in two-plus seasons.
Madrid got physical in a bid to slow the game and regain its composure, with Messi even drawing a yellow card in the 45th.
"They were better in all aspects," said Xabi Alonso, the only Madrid player to speak after the game. "What's clear is there's a lot of league left to play. Let's hope this defeat doesn't affect us, but time will tell."
Barcelona moved into first place with 34 points, two ahead of Madrid. The teams meet again in the Spanish capital on April 16 or 17.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
Key fixtures from January 5-7
Watford v Bristol City
Liverpool v Everton
Brighton v Crystal Palace
Bournemouth v AFC Fylde or Wigan
Coventry v Stoke City
Nottingham Forest v Arsenal
Manchester United v Derby
Forest Green or Exeter v West Brom
Tottenham v AFC Wimbledon
Fleetwood or Hereford v Leicester City
Manchester City v Burnley
Shrewsbury v West Ham United
Wolves v Swansea City
Newcastle United v Luton Town
Fulham v Southampton
Norwich City v Chelsea
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
THE DETAILS
Deadpool 2
Dir: David Leitch
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Justin Dennison, Zazie Beetz
Four stars
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
ICC T20 Rankings
1. India - 270 ranking points
2. England - 265 points
3. Pakistan - 261 points
4. South Africa - 253 points
5. Australia - 251 points
6. New Zealand - 250 points
7. West Indies - 240 points
8. Bangladesh - 233 points
9. Sri Lanka - 230 points
10. Afghanistan - 226 points
Results
Stage 4
1. Dylan Groenewegen (NED) Jumbo-Visma 04:16:13
2. Gaviria (COL) UAE Team Emirates
3. Pascal Ackermann (GER) Bora-Hansgrohe
4. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal
General Classification:
1. Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott 16:46:15
2. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:07
3. Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team 0:01:35
4. David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:40
5. Rafal Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe
In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
Profile box
Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
