El Clasico
Barcelona got off to the worst possible start - gifting a goal to their rivals in the opening seconds - as their goalkeeper made a schoolbot error by kicking the ball out straight to a Madrid player - from which the home team duly scored.
At 1-0 down in the magnificent Bernabeu stadium - with less than a minute down - Barca had a mountain to climb and - as strong favourites coming into the match - Madrid were in the driving seat.
But Barcelona stuck to their task - refusing to panic - playing their familiar short passing game - keeping the ball moving while dominating possession.
Slowly the tide turned until Messi - who was closely marked all night - released Alexis Sanchez and the little striker held off two Madrid defenders - before firing the ball low into the corner of the net.
1-1 and game on - as they say - yet from there on in Barcelona dominated the match while scoring two more goals - through Xavi and Fabregas.
The Catalans were now on top and missed a barrowload of chances through a mixture of poor finishing and good defending by the Madrillenos.
1-3 was the final score and in the end it was a comfortable victory - which wiped the smile off Jose Mourinho's face and put both sides on level points - neck and neck - in the race for the Spanish championship.
And as ever while there was the odd ugly moment on the pitch - there was no crowd trouble or alcohol fueled violence from the rival groups of supporters.
Which just goes to show that at its best - football can still be a beautiful game.
