FLASHBACK: Ten years ago Pep handed Mourinho his darkest day at Madrid

November 29 will forever be known as the day Pep Guardiola's Barcelona destroyed Real Madrid. Jose Mourinho and his players crashed back down to earth as they were picked apart and toppled from the summit of LaLiga.

It's sure to go down in history as one of the most memorable El Clasicos ever – just not if you're affiliated with Madrid.

In Mourinho's first season at the Bernabeu, it was his first real test in the hotseat, and one he failed spectacularly. From the first minute to the last, he was tactically outwitted by his opposite number and future nemesis Guardiola.

On the pitch, Barcelona out-fought, out-manoeuvred and out-played his team and delivered a startling reality check about who the real top dogs of Spain were. Madrid went into the game undefeated and leading the table before their trip to Catalonia.

The previous season Mourinho had downed Guardiola's men in the Champions League semi-finals thanks to a gritty defensive display with Inter Milan, but there couldn't have been a more contrasting performance here as he suffered the worst night of his career.

From the early stages, Barcelona were able to find holes in Madrid's backline, with the vibrant Messi finding space just outside the box and attempted an audacious lob from an angle which clattered against Iker Casillas' right-hand post.

Mourinho was hired by Madrid to help end Barcelona's reign of supremacy in the Spanish top-flight, but it became clear in the first half the magnitude of the job he faced. This was Guardiola's Barcelona in their prime, with the away side struggling to cope as they sprayed passes across the turf.

The warning signs were there before a goal even went in, but after just 10 minutes they turned their threats into substance as another scintillating move swept the visitors away. Messi was crucial as he played a one two before rolling it out to Andres Iniesta – who played a threaded through ball that picked out Xavi in the box.

The diminutive Spaniard was fortunate to see the ball bounce against his ankle and bounce over his head, allowing him to calmly loft the opener into the net.

The home side had no intention of letting up and got their second just eight minutes later. The architect was once again Messi – who collected Pedro's ball on the right flank before clipping an inch-perfect pass to David Villa on the right. He smashed the ball across the face of goal and Pedro was on hand to tap home.

The frustration from Madrid was plain to see, and while it was tipped as a battle between Ronaldo and Messi, the Portuguese star was nowhere to be seen – it was the Messi show. And having seen a free kick dip narrowly wide of the target, the former Manchester United star showed his anger by shoving Guardiola on the touchline while trying to get the ball back – earning a yellow card and kicking off the first of three melees.

It wasn't long before a second fight kicked off after Ricardo Carvalho elbowed Messi in the face – the kind of rough treatment the Argentine would become used to over the years during this derby. Madrid players earned a stunning seven yellow cards as they put the boot in to ill effect.

In a game of few chances for Madrid, aside from a decent effort from Angel di Maria that brought a save out of Victor Valdes, Barca were able to keep their cool and resist being dragged into a physical battle.

The third came just after half time as Messi grabbed his first assist of the game – driving inwards from the right and playing in Villa, who had the simple task of slotting home.

The pair linked up yet again four minutes later and it was engineered thanks to some mesmerising vision from their talisman. He began in his own half before skipping forwards, dancing around a few Madrid players near the centre-circle and pinging a ball across the ground that Villa was able to run on to from the left. He showed great awareness to stab it into the corner beyond Casillas.

Mourinho's misery was complete as youngster Jeffren got in on the act in stoppage time after Bojan's cross, but not before Sergio Ramos was given his marching orders after he and Lassana Diarra combined to clatter into Messi, sparking yet another mass brawl.

The ugly scenes at the end summed up Madrid's forgettable day, as Mourinho stormed down the tunnel. For Guardiola, it couldn't have gone better as his players churned out a performance of the ages.

The Special One called it his worst ever day in management, but stopped short of calling it 'a humiliation'.

'This is the first time I have ever been beaten 5-0,' he said after the game.

'It is a historically bad result for us. It is not a humiliation but I am very disappointed. It is sad for us. But it is not difficult for me to swallow. What's difficult to swallow is when you lose a game because you have hit the post or the referee has been bad.

'It is easy for me to take because it is fair. We played very, very badly and they were fantastic. We gifted them two goals that were bordering on the ridiculous. It is our own fault.'

And after laying into his stars, you would have expected them to receive a rollicking back in the dressing room. According to substitute goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek, there was nothing of the sort. In fact, he claimed what he witnessed was a masterclass in sports psychology.

'Some of us were crying, some were arguing, some were looking at the floor,' he said.

'Then Mourinho came in. He knew how bad it was, but he looked at us and said: "I know this hurts you. Perhaps for most of you, it is the worst loss of your entire career. They are happy now and seem to have won the championship, but they have only won one game. This is just the beginning.

'"There is still a long way to get the title. Tomorrow, I will give you the day off, but do not stay in your houses. Go with your families, children or friends for a walk around the city. Let people see that you can overcome this. You must show your balls. After this defeat, we must fight for the title".'

Madrid would go on to finish second to Barca that season but bounced back to beat their rivals to the title in 2011-12, racking up 100 points in one of Mourinho's best ever seasons.

'We rose after this disaster quicker than anyone expected,' Dudek added.

'I understood for the first time how important psychology was in sport. How much you can gain or lose. And what an expert psychologist Jose Mourinho is.'

Of the players who featured that day, only three players remain. Lionel Messi is still strutting his stuff at the Nou Camp a decade on, despite his attempts to leave for Man City this summer. Meanwhile, Sergio Ramos has been a loyal servant to Madrid and remains pivotal aged 34 and Karim Benzema continues to lead the line.

David Villa, who scored a brace, retired this year after spells at Atletico Madrid, New York City, Melboune and Vissel Kobe in Japan – where Iniesta has played since 2018. And Pedro enjoyed five years at Chelsea before signing for Roma.

Xavi, who has been linked as a future Barca boss, is now managing Qatari outfit Al Sadd while Jeffren is turning out for Croatian outfit Slaven Belupo at the age of 32.

For Madrid – long serving talisman Ronaldo helped the club win four Champions League titles before flocking to Juventus, while the anonymous Mesut Ozil, who was hooked by Mourinho at half time – joined Arsenal for £42million in 2013, winning two FA Cups before being exiled this summer.

Midfielder Xabi Alonso ended up joining forces with Guardiola at Bayern Munich in 2014 while veteran goalkeeper Casillas played at Porto for five years before hanging up his gloves - now reportedly working back at the Bernabeu as an advisor.