Real sweeps El Classico, beats Barca 4-1

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Madrid, May 8: : Real Madrid celebrated its 31st Spanish league title with a 4-1 victory over FC Barcelona, getting goals from Raul Gonzalez, Arjen Robben, Gonzalo Higuain and Ruud van Nistelrooy to sweep the classic derby series for the first time in 24 years.

Madrid, which clinched the title on Sunday, improved its record against its arch rival to 68-30-58 and only one loss their last seven meetings. It climbed to 81 points atop the table, 10 better than Villarreal and 17 ahead of third-placed Barcelona.

Jose Maria "Guti" Gutierrez lost possession trying to get by Rafael Marquez in the 13th minute and Raul pounced on the loose ball to shoot past goalkeeper Victor Valdes.

Barcelona's defense was to blame when Robben ran clear through in the 21st to meet Guti's free kick. Gonzalo Higuain, who scored the clinching goal in Sunday's 2-1 victory against Osasuna, added another in the 63rd - less than a minute after replacing Robben.

"When you get the chance to score lots of goals, you have to take it. The first two did a lot of harm," Madrid coach Bernd Schuster said.

Substitute Van Nistelrooy converted a penalty in the 78th while Thierry Henry tallied a consolation goal for Barcelona with three minutes remaining.

Barcelona's defeat likely will add to speculation that Frank Rijkaard will not remain as manager of the Catalan club following a second straight season with out a trophy.

Adhering to tradition, Barcelona honoured the champion as Real Madrid entered the Santiago Bernabeu field - the first time in 20 years the Catalans have formed the passage of honour for their long time rivals.

"We tied down there offensive play, neutralising Messi for example," Schuster said. "We wanted to round things off in front of our fans after winning the league."

Madrid started enthusiastically and limited Barcelona forward Lionel Messi to a first touch in the 10th before a deserved opener. Bojan Krkic skied Barcelona's first chance over goal in the 24th and Henry curled wide two minutes later.

But Madrid was unrelenting and Valdes got his hands up to save Guti's rising shot from the left in 34th. Barcelona was sloppy at the other end with Henry unable find the open Giovani Dos Santos streaking in alone down the right.