Barca's play-acting ruins Messi's magic

Players like Pedro feigned injury throughout the game

Real Madrid 0-2 Barcelona

'El Clasico' is meant to be the greatest football game in the world. But this was far from the beautiful, free-flowing game the world longed to see.

This was a very poor, ugly match, illuminated by two moments of brilliance.

Both sides should take the blame.

Jose Mourinho's Real set out to frustrate Barca and their main objective was not to concede, but that is no excuse for the Catalans' whinging and cheating.

Pepe's sending off is just one example of that.

Pepe's red card came after the referee was put under extreme pressure from Barcelona players

He was late and may have caught Daniel Alves, but for the Brazilian to then go rolling around on the ground in apparent agony was a crime against football.

Alves is just one of a number of Barcelona players who will do seemingly anything to see an opponent sent off, and it was his play-acting which secured the red card which ruined the game.

Mourinho had just changed his tactics by bringing Emmanuel Adebayor on but referee Wolfgang Stark's decision to send Pepe off ended any chance Madrid had going forward.

Stark's job was hardly made easier by the wave of Barcelona players who surrounded him whenever a foul was given, demanding action be taken against Real players, and the frustrating thing is these players are so good they don't need to resort to such measures.

Pedro and Sergio Busquets are two other players who hit the deck at any opportunity, and players like this need to be dealt with to save the beautiful game. This cannot go on any longer as it is making a mockery of the sport.

The problem is not merely Barcelona's though. Marcelo, Cristiano Ronaldo and Angel di Maria of Real Madrid have all feigned injury and demanded cards during the season, and a real effort needs to be made to stamp this out.

Of course, UEFA will take no action.

If this was an all-English semi-final with such cheating, you'd never hear the end of it. Michel Platini would deliver a damning statement on the state of English football and probably call those concerned 'anti-football' or something along those lines.

But because this is Real Madrid and Barcelona, the mighty Real Madrid and Barcelona, it will probably all be brushed under the carpet.

At least a tinge of sympathy must be felt for Mourinho, who always seems to have a player harshly sent off against Barcelona.

Jose Mourinho was sent to the stands after sarcatically applauding the decision to send off Pepe

Of course, his statements about conspiracy theories relating to Barcelona's relationship with Unicef are utter nonsense (for football's sake you would like to think so), but it is hard to believe that there isn't some sort of conspiracy against him in the corridors of power.

Some may say he has had it coming, that his negative tactics deserve bad luck, but every team should be given a fair chance and referees just seem to want to handicap his sides against Barcelona whenever possible.

Barca are a fantastic footballing side. However, they spoil it for themselves with their constant antics.

Adebayor summed it up when he said: "Whenever you play against Barca, whenever you touch them they are on the floor crying like a baby.

"Everyone talks about Barcelona and their fair play but I think they are very far away from fair play.

"Their manager, fans and the players on their bench are always crying. Barcelona is a fantastic club, has fantastic players, but they have to stop that."

Barca are portrayed as the beautiful face of football. They are such a good team others have to play incredibly defensively to stand any chance against them.

But Barcelona are no better than them when they play-act. That is anti-football, even more so than spoiling tactics.

Lionel Messi's two goals were almost overshadowed by the nasty and vindictive nature of the game.

Lionel Messi's goals were the only rays of light on a dark night for football

His second goal, where he dribbled round several players before finishing past Iker Casillas, was simply sublime.

No-one could get near him and that goal underlined his status as the best player in the world.

His finish for the first, after some brilliant work from Ibrahim Afellay, was also fantastic as he knew exactly where the ball was going and timed his run perfectly.

You just run out of superlatives for Messi.

Many have ran out of them for 'beautiful' Barcelona, the 'best side ever'.

But in truth, for all the beauty they show with a football at their feet they are also ugly when it comes to everything else.

Their substitute goalkeeper, Pinto, sums up many of his team-mates.

Pinto started a huge brawl at half-time

Whenever there is a row to be had, he will be there. He was sent-off at half-time here for starting a brawl with Madrid's players, and he is as much to blame as anyone for the ugly scenes that followed.

And his team-mates certainly know a thing or two about pressurising referees.

It is no wonder so many players get harshly sent off against them, as every foul is met with imaginary card-waving, several rolls on the floor and the surrounding of the referee.

They are a joy to watch at times, but infuriating at others as they are so good they don't need to do it.

This tie is now dead as Madrid will simply not have enough of the ball to get anywhere near Barcelona.

Had it been 0-0, or if Madrid had held the advantage, they would have stood a great chance as there is nobody better than Mourinho at grinding out an unlikely result.

But a turnaround here would not just be unlikely, it would be a miracle.

They will march on to Wembley to play Manchester United, bringing with them their wonderful talent and disgusting cheating.

Taking away the latter, there is nothing not to be enjoyed.

But the way they act sometimes is a disgrace to football and a disgrace to Lionel Messi, who deserves only to be associated with the beautiful side of the game. Other than his performance, this was a dark night for football and a dark night for sportsmanship.

'El Clasico' is anything but beautiful at the moment; the only person who can bring it to life is Messi.

The fixture can only be described as Messi at the moment, in more ways than one.