MADRID: A brilliant finish by Argentine attacker Angel Di Maria gave 10-man Real Madrid a 1-0 win at home to Sevilla in a scrappy and tense clash at Santiago Bernabeu this morning.

With 15 minutes remaining Di Maria finished from a tight angle, a rare highlight in a poor encounter which ended with both sides were down with 10 men after Sevilla midfielder Mouhamadou Dabo was given his marching orders for a wild kick at the match-winner.

Real had toiled in a match where they barely created a meaningful opportunity before losing centreback Ricardo Carvalho to a red card in the 63rd minute when he picked up a second yellow for a stray elbow on striker Alvaro Negredo.

That "sense of injustice" spurred Real, as they dominated the latter stages and grabbed what was ultimately a deserved winner in a match more notable for constant flare-ups than good football.

The win, obviously not a classic in the style of Real but very typical of Jose Mourinho, cuts bitter rivals Barcelona's lead on top back to two points.

Sevilla, on the other hand, have now lost five on the trot and lie 11th after their promising start to the season was derailed last month.

Aside from the two dismissals, referee Carlos Clos Gomez also showed 12 yellow cards — nine to Real players while the backroom staff on the two benches also vented their anger at each other towards the end of the first half which also saw an official being pushed down.

And after the match, an upset Mourinho wants Real to help him tackle referees.

"There were 13 serious mistakes by the referee," said Mourinho, while waving a piece of paper with the incidents typed on them.

"I don't feel under pressure when I am doing what I like doing, and I like to coach. I am tired of this. My team need to be defended. If I say what I think, I will be on the front pages tomorrow and I will be suspended.

"There are a club and structure and I want them to defend my team from there.

"Mourinho indicated someone had prepared the list for him and that he needed others from within the club to take up the issue so that he did not pick up a punishment. He also said he wanted to have a private meeting with Real president Florentino Perez.

"I have a good personal relationship with the club, even though we think differently," said the Portuguese.

Mourinho has already served a two-match ban for being sent off in the Copa Del Rey after showing contempt to a referee, and picked up another ban in the Champions League.

He was fined and suspended after allegations that he had engineered deliberate red cards for two of his players in their Champions League match at Ajax last month.

Carvalho picked up a second yellow card when he clashed heads with Alvaro Negredo as they jumped for a high ball.

"The game was forgettable," said Mourinho.

"It was too ugly. I wouldn't have paid anything to watch it. At home, I would have put Eurosport on to watch one in Vietnam."

LONDON: Barcelona are reportedly plotting a €100 million (RM413.1m) splurge to sign Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas (pic, back facing) and Liverpool striker Fernando Torres (pic).

The Catalan giants are thought to have received a significant boost in flexing their financial muscle through their recent shirt sponsorship deal, and Daily Mirror claimed this will enable them to go after the two Premier League superstars.

Fabregas has been linked with a move back to Nou Camp for a few seasons now, and seemed to be close to joining them last summer.

However, he was persuaded to continue plying his trade with the Gunners after a discussion with manager Arsene Wenger.

But it has now been reported that the midfielder may not remain at Ashburton Grove if Barca come calling once more.

Torres has had a hit-and-miss season so far at Liverpool, and is also thought to be on Real Madrid's radar.

But it is said that being a former Atletico Madrid player would make him disinclined to make a move to Santiago Bernabeu.

Barca remain on top of the table as the Primera Liga takes a winter break when they outplayed high-flying Espanyol 5-1 in a Catalan derby at Corella — El Prat on Saturday.

Eapanyol, prior to this match, had won all their seven home matches.

The game was sadly tarnished by some racist chanting from a portion of the Espanyol fans — directed at Barca rightback Dani Alves.

However, the Brazilian refused to be shaken by the actions of a mindless few.

"I didn't even notice it," he told Marca.

"Anyway, I would never leave the pitch based on an insult."

Alves also commented on his side's ambitions to beat Real o the league title.

When told that Real boss Jose Mourinho gave his last season a score of 11 out of 10, Alves said, "Then we'll manage 12! It's a nice touch, outstanding. I respect people with high levels of self-esteem."