Five consecutive Clasico wins for one of the two Spanish giants is a concept relatively unheard of. However, that was the situation heading into the game at Santiago Bernabeu. Real Madrid had gotten the better of their arch-rivals in their past five meetings, and aimed to make it six.
Meanwhile, Barcelona entered the Clasico in great form for the first time in years. The Catalans were unbeaten in their past eleven games. Bearing all that in mind, the Clasico on Sunday was set up to be a special one.
Xavi opted for a bold lineup on the night. Ronald Araujo started at right-back while Gerard Pique and Eric Garcia covered the central defence. In midfield, Busquets, de Jong, and Pedri continued their imperial partnership. Dembele and Torres flanked Aubameyang in the final third.
The game began with the scale ever-so-slightly tilted towards the hosts. Real Madrid seemed to relatively dominate the opening minutes and even had the first big chance of the game. Fede Valverde’s shot was well placed and only a diving save from Ter Stegen denied Los Blancos.
At the other end, Aubameyang soon began wreaking havoc. In the 12th minute, the Gabonese striker had his first chance of the night as he looked to get onto the end of Dembele’s cross, forcing Thibaut Courtois to make a great save.
From the 15th minute, Barcelona began to exert their dominance. The hosts looked puzzled and lost in the absence of Karim Benzema and the Blaugranas took complete advantage.
It was in the 29th minute that Dembele assisted Barcelona’s first goal. After a dazzling run on the right flank, he sent a perfectly timed cross that was headed in by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Barcelona soon doubled their lead through Ronald Araujo. In the 38th minute, the Uruguayan rose and connected with Dembele’s corner before powerfully heading it into the back of the net.
The Catalans ended the first half with a good performance, a two-goal lead and a massive chunk of confidence.
If the first half was paradise for Barcelona, the second half was utopia. The Catalans got off to a dream start to the second half when Ferran Torres scored in the 47th minute. The move stemmed from a lovely pass to Aubameyang who showed immense positional awareness to pass it to Torres. The Spanish winger blasted the ball past Courtois and made it 3-0.
The fourth goal was a story of its own. An incisional pass from Frenkie de Jong found Torres who laid the ball to Aubameyang. The striker lobbed the ball over the Real Madrid goalkeeper but did not celebrate as the offside flag went up.
Upon VAR review, it was revealed that the play was fair and the goal counted. 53 minutes in, Barcelona were demolishing their arch-rivals by four goals.
Carlo Ancelotti tried bringing on all his numerous resources off the bench but it was in vain. Barcelona’s defence was rock solid, and Real Madrid still in the shock of going four goals down.
Memphis Depay, Gavi and Adama Traore were Xavi’s substitutions and they made positive impacts on the game. Barcelona slightly lost control of the game in the 80th minute but regained it rather quickly.
With this win, Barcelona are within 11 points of Real Madrid with a game in hand. The title race may be over, but the Catalans passed their reality check and did so with flying colours.
