With the Primera Liga title already wrapped up following Sunday's last-gasp victory at Osasuna, it was party time at the Bernabeu and Madrid played their part to the full with a commanding performance against an outclassed Barca.

Early goals from Raul and Arjen Robben put Madrid on the road to victory, and then second-half strikes from substitutes Gonzalo Higuain and Ruud van Nistelrooy sealed a convincing win over Barca, who scored a late consolation through Thierry Henry but also had Xavi sent-off in the dying minutes.

Having already retained their league title, there was a chance Madrid's players would have had their thoughts elsewhere, but Schuster was delighted to see the opposite was true.

"Of course after winning the title we wanted to cap off the season with a victory over Barcelona in front of our fans," he said.

"I think the attitude of the team was phenomenal throughout the 90 minutes.

"When you already have the title in the bag the players may lose a little focus, but it hasn't been like that. They have faced the match as if it was a final and I want to congratulate them for the great job they have done.

"We were better and are very happy with this triumph."

The victory lifted Madrid a massive 17 points above their opponents, who now cannot even claim second place in the standings following Villarreal's victory at Recreativo Huelva on Wednesday night.

Considering many people were tipping Barca to take Madrid's crown this season having only lost out on an inferior head-to-head record last time around, it is a remarkable situation for both clubs to be in, and one Schuster admits he could never have predicted.

"No-one expected Barcelona to be like this at the beginning of the season," he said.

"We thought that we would be in a position to fight for the title, but it has been a surprise to have obtained this difference.

"We have won a large number of points which is why the lead is so big, but nobody expected it."