Bernabeu Bites: Aftermath of Real Madrid/Barcelona 2nd leg

Welcome to Bernabeu Bites where every Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday we take you around the world of Real Madrid, La Liga and European Football in bite size form. So sit back, relax grab your red card and enjoy.

A great game, marred by a scrum at the end - but this is what happens when these two teams meet. Watching twitter explode at the end of the match, was a bit entertaining - especially from people that didn't watch the whole match but only heard the reports and seeing some footage of the scrum at the end. We know that tackle on Cesc Fabregas was completely uncalled for, and disgusting -it had all been building up all match and people playing off that Barcelona were a bunch of angels in all this shouldn't be commenting.

Anyways, enough of that - it was the most meaningless trophy of the season and los blancos have another one to play for coming up on August 24th with the Santiago Bernabeu Trophy up for grabs.

So lets start off with a video package of highlights from last nights second leg.

Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola had some choice words for the Special 1 post match.

"The images speak for themselves. There are things that should not happen in football (and this is one)."

"This could end badly if unchecked. I can do something with my players, and make sure that they behave their best, but I do not give lessons to anyone."

Responding to Mourinho’s claim that he did not know who he was quarreling with, Guardiola commented: "He has to know who he is. I know who Karanka (Mourinho’s assistant, Aitor) is. Tito is very important to our team."

Behave their best? How about the fact his players were just as chippy on the pitch. At some points during the match I was wondering if that was actually the Barcelona swim team.

Of course Mou is known for his post match rants, and this was no exception.

"Real Madrid gave a spectacular performance from the first to the last minute. We came here to play," said Mourinho, who worked as a coach and interpreter at Barcelona in the mid 90s. "What I'm about to say is not a criticism, I'm just stating a fact: there were no ballboys in the second half, which is something typical of small teams when experiencing difficulties.

"I'm not going to say we're happy because we didn't win the Spanish Super Cup, that would be hypocritical of me. But we intended to play like men and not fall on the ground at the slightest touch."

Emphasis is mine, all mine I say! Wait, what? And now that I think about it, he's right - there weren't any ballboy's in the second half and it delayed a few goal kicks and throw ins.

Skipper Iker Casillas nailed it on the head with this quote:

"Based on the chances created, the fairest thing would be a draw," the shot stopper said after the match.

The Madrid captain also played down Marcelo's challenge which sparked a brawl towards the end of the match, accusing Barcelona's players of trying to deceive the referee.

"In a match like this, there are many interests and of course a conflict can arise," Casillas noted.

"Marcelo committed a foul and they [Barcelona's players] threw themselves to the ground, like always."

Some of the headlines that have been coming out about Cesc Fabregas' return to Camp Nou have been laughable at best. He came in the 82nd minute, and played the most meaningless minutes of any player on either side. The only thing he got for his trouble was a nasty tackle that all but sparked a riot.

All I have to say is that ESPN's James Martin needs his head checked. Here's my evidence to the court.

There are plenty of other talking points. Karim Benzema continued to struggle with his finishing until he got a bit lucky and put the ball into the net in the 82nd minute on a corner kick that Adriano should have cleared.

Emphasis mine. Excuse me Mr. Martin, Benzema is struggling with his finishing? What team have you been watching during the pre-season anyways? Apparently it isn't Real Madrid. But hey when you work for the four letter network, I guess watching pre-season matches to make a INFORMED decision just isn't what you do. I could go on a Mou type rant about some of the payed soccer writers here in the states - but I don't have the time or will. It's just another facepalm moment from the American media machine.

On a happy note, our very own Cristiano Ronaldo will grace the cover of Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2012. If you have a PS3 or Xbox it will be available on the same day as FIFA12 which is Sept. 27th in North America. Now if you're like me and still have a PS2, we're going to have to wait until November.

Lassan Diarra still doesn't have a team, but Tottenham Hotspur front man Harry Redknapp as admitted that the teams chairman is trying to get a deal done for the defender.

I guess Mou is still looking for a speed up top, if this report has any merit of truth to it. It seems Real Madrid might be in the market for Dutch winger Ejero Elia who is currently playing in the Bundesliga for Hamburg.