Barcelona mounted a second half comeback to defeat Real Madrid 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu, extracting a measure of vengeance for their defeat in last year’s Copa del Rey Final at the hands of their eternal rivals.

The Catalans would give no quarter in their quarterfinal matchup against los blancos, recording a vital victory ahead of next Wednesday’s return leg fixture at the Camp Nou.

On Josep Guardiola’s 41^st birthday and Lionel Messi’s 300^th official game for the blaugrana, Barcelona responded in memorable fashion, staging a two goal second half comeback for their second victory in the Bernabeu in the last month.

With the victory, Guardiola has now accumulated an impressive record of nine wins, three draws and just one defeat in his thirteen games against Madrid, since taking over the reigns of Barcelona in 2008.

In addition, the Catalans have not been defeated in seven straight trips to the Bernabeu, making them the only team in history to sustain such a triumphant streak on the road against Madrid.

Much like the league match just a few weeks ago, Madrid started brightly, going ahead in the opening minutes through star-striker Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portuguese forward broke free on the left, as Karim Benzema released a perfectly weighted pass from deep in his own half.  Ronaldo did well to push the ball upfield, using his pace to drive past Pique and fire a mid-range strike on goal.  Substitute keeper Pinto, playing in place of regular Victor Valdes, misread the strike, attempting to make a kick save across his body, rather than use his hands, letting the ball roll directly through his legs and into the back of the net.

Mourinho’s decision to implement a defensive 4-3-3 formation was ideally meant for that exact situation, ahead in the match, at home, simply needing to stymie Barcelona’s search for an away goal.  A 1-0 victory was precisely what the Portuguese manager was looking for.

It was a dream start for Madrid, and then Barcelona woke up.

Recognizing Madrid’s three-man attack as a way of pressing the distribution of the ball from the back, Xavi and Busquets dropped deeper to assist the backline, helping to draw Pepe and Lass further up the field.  The aforementioned two shared rotational duties on Leo Messi, patrolling the Argentine as he roamed in the midfield, determined not to let him decide the game’s outcome.

But Barcelona were prepared for the approach and were able to successfully stretch the midfield, drawing their markers out of position, while opening space for Iniesta to work against Hamit Altintop on the left.

The Spain international took advantage of the matchup, cutting inside to force a fine save from Casillas in the 14^th minute.

Alexis Sanchez nearly leveled just one minute later, latching onto Cesc Fabregas’ chip between two defenders to head the ball past Casillas, but the shot rebounded off the inside of the upper post, rolling tantalizingly across to face of goal before being cleared to safety.

Messi scorched Carvalho minutes later, working his way in on the left only to see Casillas parry away his near-post strike for a corner kick.

Iniesta was guilty of missing a gilt-edged chance in the 29^th minute, as a series of quick passes allowed Alexis to square the ball for Iniesta from ten yards out, but the midfielder’s first touch was disappointing, forcing him out wide before missing the target from a tight angle.

Madrid would hang on until halftime, but it was Guardiola who made all the right changes during the break, as Barcelona equalized through captain Carles Puyol just three minutes into the restart.

Pique cleared space in the middle, allowing Xavi Hernandez to serve up Barcelona’s seventh corner of the game to an unmarked and streaking Puyol, who leveled the match with a diving header past Casillas for his first goal of the season.

Iniesta nearly gave Barca the lead after being slipped in on goal following brilliant combination play with Fabregas only to see his volley take a deflection off Sergio Ramos’s leg and rattle off the crossbar.

Four minutes later it was Madrid who sent one off the woodwork, as Benzema powerfully headed Altintop’s cross off the far-post and out of play.

Barcelona continued to dominate the lion’s share of possession, while finding unusual success with set-pieces.  Sergio Busquets headed over the bar from close range in the 67^th minute and was left grabbing his head in disbelief that he had wasted Xavi’s perfect delivery.

Seeing the match slip away, Mourinho opted to bring on Mesut Ozil and Jose Maria Callejon in search of a winner, but Madrid lacked an offensive rhythm and continued struggling to create legitimate chances.

The mark of a champion is the ability to respond in major moments, and as the Catalans grew in confidence and began dominating the match, Madrid lost their shape and began doling out the bruises.

Here referee Muniz Fernandez lost control of the match, refusing to sanction Madrid players for reckless challenges in an attempt to avoid controversial sending offs.

Sergio Ramos was omitted from the books in the 50^th minute for a kick into the back of Alexis Sanchez’s knee before Madrid’s resident thug, Pepe, committed the most egregious foul of the match, stomping on Messi’s hand, while the Argentine lay recovering on the ground.

After a series of comical dives, feigned injuries and face-grabbing foolishness by the Madrid defender, frustration took control, as Pepe stutter stepped towards Messi, who lay on his back after being brought down by Callejon, looked down and stomped on Leo’s hand.

Referee Muniz Fernandez, standing right next to the play, chose to ignore the image, letting Pepe escape without seeing red.  However, the Portuguese defender may still see a match sanction handed down by the Spanish review committee, as the image continues to inspire contempt and scathing criticism at an international level.

Coentrao took advantage of the permissive officiating minutes later by grabbing the back of Messi’s head and shoving it into the ground as Leo attempted to pick himself up after a foul.

Unfazed by the brutality of the match, Messi retained his poise and delivered the dagger blow in the 76^th minute, drawing the attention of five defenders outside the area before scooping a pass to a streaking Eric Abidal on the left, as the Frenchman chested down the ball and beat Casillas with a left-footed flick into the bottom right corner of the net.

The images on the television screen were iconic of the last four years of clasicos, as Messi ran to the corner flag, celebrating the goal with fervor, and the cameras panned out wide to a shot of Iker Casillas, shaking his head and looking disgusted at his defense.

It’s a scene seen far too often by the Madrid faithful, as an incisive pass from Messi handed Barcelona the victory.  For all their talent and Mourinho’s brilliance, Madrid simply have no answer for the Argentine wonder, as he continues to come through time and time again.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

The goal marks Eric Abidal’s second career goal with Barcelona, with his first goal also coming in a crucial moment of last year’s Copa del Rey elimination game against Atletico Bilbao.

Carvalho was lucky not to be given his marching orders in the final minutes of the match when he deliberately kicked Messi from behind as Leo set off on a one vs. one against the last defender.  Despite making no attempt to play the ball, the ref awarded only a yellow for the infraction.  Carvalho found himself fortunate yet again just moments later when shown amnesty by Muniz Fernandez after taking out Adriano on a counter with a late slide tackle.

As the final whistle blew and the madridista faithful trudged listlessly for the exits, Barcelona hung around to soak in the triumph, thanking their fans that made the trip to the Spanish capital.

Barcelona finished with 73% possession, ten shots on goal to Madrid’s five, and eight corners to two.

“We are very satisfied to be able to go to any stadium and always play our game,” said defender Gerard Pique after the match.  “Being born in Barcelona, growing up with the Barcelona-Madrid rivalry, it is very satisfying to be able to dominate them in the Bernabeu as we did tonight.”

Mourinho’s ultra defensive lineup was met with strong criticism by the Madrid press, questioning his decision to forfeit a creative midfield entirely by playing three defensive midfielders simultaneously.  To concede possession against Barcelona is a give in, but to renounce all initiative in attack and play for a 1-0 victory or scoreless draw shows the lack of faith the Madrid manager has in his squad’s ability to outscore Barcelona.

For all the acclaim Mourinho receives as a brilliant tactical strategist, he continues to struggle to come up with a solution for defeating Guardiola’s men.  Insistence in defensive fortitude and aggressive pressing are good strategies, but a lack of emotional control and personal responsibility remain Madrid’s greatest obstacle.  There is no accountability from the players for their mistakes because the manager encourages overly physical, destructive, rule-breaking challenges, citing conspiracy theories and referee intimidation as justification for his failures.

Since joining Real Madrid, Mourinho has just one victory in his nine meetings against Barcelona, giving him a mere 11.1% winning percentage, the worst among any manager in Real Madrid team history.

Not the type of numbers usually associated with someone dubbed “The Special One.”

Article written by Barcaloco contributor Anson Woodring.  Follow Anson on Twitter at @ansonwoodring.

Full match highlights:

Real Madrid VS Barcelona 1-2 18.01… by iNfRaS0NiC