Barcelona Stops the Bleeding—and Then Some—in El Clásico

Lower stakes, a key absence and even unorthodox kits made for a different kind of Clásico, but that’s of no matter to a Barça side that desperately needed to win one.

If, somehow, it wasn’t clear which of Real Madrid and Barcelona desperately needed a resounding result in Sunday’s edition of El Clásico prior to the match, it should be abundantly clear now.

Barcelona’s 4–0 rout of Real at the Bernabéu might not swing a title race or even have any immediate ramifications. But it does place another solid brick in the foundation that Xavi is setting as manager for a club that had utterly lost its way while planting a seed for the future as the story between the two rivals continues to be written. 

Regardless of Sunday’s outcome, Real Madrid will almost certainly win La Liga’s title this season. It remains alive in the Champions League quarterfinals after humiliating PSG, is the clear favorite to do that again by landing Kylian Mbappé this summer and is on significantly steadier footing than its crisis-hit rival. 

Its defeat also comes with a fair amount of caveats. Karim Benzema’s injury absence highlighted just how valuable and important the French striker still is in the Spanish capital. Beyond that, the top-of-the-table stakes were minimal, certainly not what has been more customary in the annual meetings between the two sides. Real Madrid is running away with the league this season, still maintaining a nine-point gap on a second-place Sevilla side that has now dropped points in four of its last five league matches. Conversely, Barcelona is trying to claw its way to the top-four finish needed to secure both the Champions League status typically befitting of the club and the much-needed revenue that comes along with it (it’s now four points clear of fifth-place Real Betis, with a game in hand to boot.)

Eurasia/Alvaro Medranda/Imago Images

Beyond that, Real Madrid entered having won five straight matchups against Barcelona in all competitions, including a riveting, 3–2, extra time win in the semifinal of the Spanish Super Cup. If ever Barcelona needed to stop the bleeding, it was now. So it won’t care much about the circumstances—especially considering who they key players were in delivering the victory.

Ousmane Dembélé was persona non grata some two months ago, when tumultuous contract talks ended without resolution and with Barça actively looking to offload the player before being stuck with him for the duration of the season. Yet there he was, setting up the first two goals and offering glimpses of the talent that Barcelona president Joan Laporta once audaciously said was superior to that of Mbappé.

The first of those goals was scored by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who himself became unwanted at Arsenal before winding up at Barça on a free transfer on deadline day in January. He wound up with a pair of goals, could have had a couple more and has continued his torrid scoring pace since getting a new lease on life. He has, in eight games, twice as many league goals for Barcelona as he did in 14 matches at Arsenal this season.

Marca/Imago Images

Then there was the scorer of Barça’s third (and assist-maker on the fourth), Ferran Torres. Another January signing that Barcelona was able to squeeze in by moving around its finances and convincing a player of a bright future, he’s had his moments when it comes to spurning chances while sensationally converting others. There was more of the same of that on Sunday, but he all but finished off Madrid before the hour mark with his chief contribution. 

Barcelona makes it 3-0! Ferran Torres adds to the rout at the Bernabéu after a gorgeous set-up from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Barça is having a DAY in #ElClasico

(via @ESPNFC) pic.twitter.com/DMRyHTlI1p

— SI Soccer (@si_soccer) March 20, 2022

It’s 4-0 to Barcelona! Stop the fight!

Aubameyang gets his second on a stunning day in #ElClasico

(via @ESPNFC) pic.twitter.com/vSloBd2Edm

— SI Soccer (@si_soccer) March 20, 2022

Barcelona is now unbeaten in 12 matches across all competitions, taking part in a European quarterfinal (albeit a tier below what it is used to) and seemingly back on track. Whether there are long-term vibes generated from the performance will be seen in short order. It took Gerard Piqué no time at all to tweet “We are back” after the final whistle, but that’ll be put to the test soon enough. Barcelona hosts Sevilla in its next league match before turning its focus to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League.

Whether this has any sort of detrimental long-term impact on Real Madrid—and whether it sparks a short-fuse reaction from president Florentino Pérez and how he views manager Carlo Ancelotti—also remains to be seen. But there was one club that sorely needed a statement-making triumph on Sunday, and it’s the one that impressively secured it.