FC Barcelona were deserved winners in Madrid after a historical performance from Xavi’s men in El Clasico. The Catalans won the game 4-0 and closed the gap between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid to 12 points, with Barca also playing one game less. Barcelona has now scored at least four goals in five of their previous six La Liga matches, and arguably showing the best form in the league.

El Clasico
Aubameyang finished the big derby with two goals to his name. (Image: Twitter/cbssportsgolazo)

A brace from Aubameyang (’29, ’51) and goals from Araujo (’38) and Ferran Torres (’47) settled the affair in Madrid. Barcelona could have punched more, but somehow Real Madrid was lucky enough to resist one KO kick after another.

Real Madrid star forward and captain Karim Benzema — out with a calf injury — couldn’t help his team on the pitch and suffered when he saw goals go past Courtois one after another. Despite only playing 19 minutes, Barcelona’s 17-year-old Gavi won five duels, more than any Real Madrid player involved in El Clasico at the Bernabeu. These stats perfectly illustrate how the match was won and lost respectively by the two teams.

Xavi: ‘This is a big hit from us’

Xavi recorded his first El Clasico triumph, interrupting a six-game winless run for Barcelona against Real Madrid.

“We could have scored five or more,” Xavi told Movistar. “We worked for this result, but we didn’t expect to show superiority as we did.”

“This win is not enough to win the league, but it’s a big hit from us,” the Barcelona manager stressed.

Ousmane Dembele, who runs out of contract in the summer, assisted two of Barcelona’s goals at the Bernabeu. After the winter transfer period ended, Xavi insisted Dembele should remain part of the first team plans even though the club hierarchy wanted him out until the end of the campaign. The manager’s decision proved fruitful. Dembele tallied seven assists since the start of the year, the most by any player in Europe’s top five leagues in 2022.

“We could have scored many more goals tonight,” said Barcelona captain and midfielder Sergio Busquets. “If we’ll have the slightest chance of winning La Liga, we’ll go for it. Anything can happen in football.”

Nacho, who started as Real’s captain in the absence of Benzema, admitted Barcelona overwhelmed his team.

“We didn’t do well at the back nor in the attack,” said Nacho. “We weren’t comfortable on the ball either. The result says everything. It’s tough because it was a defeat in El Clasico, but we keep being at the top of the table.”

With nine rounds to go until the end of the season, Real is first in La Liga and nine points ahead of Sevilla. Barca is now third place with 54 points, but with one game in hand.