Barcelona completely annihilated Real Madrid in the La Liga Clasico fixture at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Catalans ran away with a 0-4 scoreline and in the aftermath of the clash, head coach Xavi Hernandez admitted that he expected a stronger fight from Los Blancos.
Smiles have returned to the faces of Barcelona fans once again as they watched their side dismantle their arch-rivals Real Madrid 0-4 at the Santiago Bernabeu. Los Blancos had a 15-point lead over Barca on top of La Liga table heading into the match. However, they’ve been left completely deflated by Barcelona’s ruthless performance on their own home turf.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opened the scoring for the Catalans after he got on to the end of a fantastic cross from Ousmane Dembele. He had earlier missed a chance from close range but redeemed himself well. Ronald Araujo then doubled Barcelona’s lead from a corner before the half-time break.
Following the restart, Barca continued to push their cause and soon got rewarded with the third and fourth goals from Ferran Torres and Aubameyang, respectively. Despite his brace, the Gabon international had plenty more chances and on another night, things would’ve gone more wrong for Real, who had no answers for Barcelona’s threat.
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In the post-match press conference, Xavi lavished praise on his side and even admitted that he had expected a more intense clash.
“We were expecting a harder match,”
“Before being the manager of Barcelona, I’m a culer [Barcelona fan]. I am very happy because of what this win means for Barcelonismo, it can change the dynamic in the future.”
the former Barcelona midfielder said after the final whistle.
The Spaniard also explained what he had asked from his players tactically – to press high, make runs in behind Madrid’s midfield and to retrieve the ball quickly.
“This is the path to follow and the perfect model of play to compete. The players are enjoying themselves, we’re a family in the dressing room.
“I am very proud, very happy. It’s a day to enjoy. It was spectacular, Barça are coming back. There has not been a lot of joy recently, above all in Clasicos. We will celebrate it,”
he added.
