Real Madrid's crushing victory away to Barcelona to reach the King's Cup final has fired out a warning to Manchester United ahead of their Champions League last 16 return at Old Trafford next week.
United manager Alex Ferguson was watching from the stands at the Nou Camp on Tuesday when
Real romped to a 3-1 semi-final second leg victory, helped by a double from the outstanding Cristiano Ronaldo.
Real reached the May 18 Cup final coming back from a 1-1 home draw, the same result United achieved at the Bernabeu in the first leg, to triumph 4-2 on aggregate with a commanding display against their arch-rivals.
Despite an inconsistent league campaign which has left Real third, 16 points adrift of leaders Barca, they proved they could rise to the occasion when required and batter a side who have beaten United twice in European Cup finals in recent seasons. "We hope this will be a pivotal moment for us," Real captain Iker Casillas said.
"We are level at 1-1 (with United) and we have to try and score, and to keep a clean sheet. We need to do what we did here at Old Trafford," added Casillas, who is out of action recovering from hand surgery.
Madrid let Barca dominate possession but denied them the space to work their magic, as AC Milan had done when surprising the visitors 2-0 in their Champions League last 16 first leg last week.