Mourinho's Fleet Arrives at Midway

Barcelona and Real Madrid meet this evening for the ninth time in the last ten months. Real Madrid have won only one of the previous nine meetings, that in extra time at the Mestalla in the Copa del Rey Final last spring. Los Merengues are five points clear of their hated enemy in La Liga, which one would think would be cause for celebration among their fans. Instead, discontent is building because of Real's failure to beat Barca head-to-head. Real got two shots at the Blaugrana in recent weeks, both at home. In both matches, Real went ahead early and then lost as Barca's midfield asserted control over the matches. Most gallingly for Jose Mourinho and Real fans, they can't even throw up their hands and say "Barca have the best player in the world and he beat us." Leo Messi hasn't scored in either match, although he assisted on the equalizer in December and the winner last week. Mourinho's failure to beat Barca is now starting to become an issue....