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Despite the absence of the great Lionel Messi, FC Barcelona made a statement that they're a formidable side even without their top goalscorer in the lineup due to an injury he got against Sevilla.
Since the opening of the match, Barcelona has been on the offensive and far more tactical than Real, however, their dominance was yet to be unleashed throughout the entire match. We look into how they swept Madrid aside despite missing their great striker.
#1 Messi-less but Merciless
A lot of critics said that with the current state of the Blaugrana side as well as the absence of their king, they would fall at the hands of the opposition who are also going through a rough patch.
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However, at the end of 90 minutes, FC Barcelona emerged victorious in a convincing fashion. The current league leaders slotted five past their archnemesis and brought colours into life during the awesome spectacle.
It all began when Philippe Coutinho received a lovely pass from Jordi Alba inside the box. Not only did Alba feed the ball to Coutinho at the right time, but Luis Suarez also made himself a target for Real Madrid's defence giving acres of spaces for the Brazilian to score his first El Clasico goal and open the proceedings.
Suarez, who's part of the attacking trident of Ernesto Valverde seemed to make himself big against Madrid as he slotted three past Los Merengues in stylish fashion. Starting off from a penalty kick and ending it with a lovely chip against Thibaut Courtois, El Pistolero claimed the spotlight in the absence of Messi.
From front to back, Barcelona has forged their supremacy against their rivals and made a testament that they don't solely rely on the genius of Messi. With this kind of performance and the upcoming fixtures they have without La Pulga, they simply showed they can do it at any given circumstance.
#2 Arthur Melo just introduced himself
After Andres Iniesta's departure for Vissel Kobe, people wanted to see if someone can step up to be his replacement or come close to what he's done for the club. Up steps Arthur Melo, the former Gremio man who signed for Barcelona last march made a name for himself in his first El Clasico.
With a passing accuracy of 95% against their rivals, Arthur provided a masterclass in the midfield while making the game easier to play for his teammates. He's been constantly chased by Madrid's midfielders only to find themselves catching only his shadows.
He also showed quite a decent attempt on goal on the 19th minute where he saw an opening and tried from distance but Courtois was there to deflect it.
He made openings to his side for Alba to run into as well as providing incisive passes in the middle. If this lad can replicate this performance in their future matches, giving him the number eight justice does provide some justice.
With his first Clasico in the books, Arthur surely turned some heads after that performance. The only question now is how consistent will he be throughout the season and will he be able to bring such majesty once they visit the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in their second encounter?
#3 Pique's Mr. Everywhere gameplay
Most of the times we see him at the back but there are times as well when we can see him go up. Gerard Pique has this mentality that he can defend well for his side as well as provide a huge option up front. He did prove he's also a threat in the attack against his favourite enemy, Real Madrid.
On the 43rd minute, the defender went up during a counter-attack where Suarez got the ball on the right side of the pitch then swung a cross towards him. Although Pique met the ball with his head, it didn't go towards the goal but was still enough to threaten Real.
Though he and Barcelona conceded a goal from Marcelo, it was still a monumental game for them especially for Pique who always finds a way to take a crack at Real Madrid. Back in 2010, Pique showed La Manita as they one five goals to nil against their archnemesis. This year, he showed them La Manita once again, letting the fans know they humiliated Madrid again.
Only fate knows when will we see Pique shows La Manita the third time but the emphatic defender will never be forgotten as a staunch enemy of Los Blancos. A defender by nature but an attacker by choice, Valverde did well in allowing this man to roam around the pitch.
#4 A forgettable El Clasico debut for Courtois
During his time against Chelsea, Thibaut Courtois seemed to have a bright future as a goalkeeper, however, when he started taunting FC Barcelona by taking a swipe on Lionel Messi before their Champions League encounter last year, he's found himself at the wrong end of the stick.
In his El Clasico debut, Barcelona welcomed him by scoring five past the Belgian keeper who now has 13 goals conceded since his arrival at Real Madrid. Even his replacement in Chelsea, Kepa Arrizabalaga, is performing better than him with only four goals conceded over the last eight games.
Not only did we see him concede five goals against the Blaugrana, but we also saw how disorganized his defence was. This could be a case of lack of organization at the back or he's not just that vocal due to the seniority gap in the squad.
Nevertheless, it was an El Clasico to forget for the Belgian who said it was a dream to play for Real Madrid. He might be thinking now that it's just a nightmare he's in and hoping he can get out of it as soon as possible.
Another thing we saw that made Courtois looked like an amateur was the way he positioned himself through the four goals he conceded from an open play. During the first goal from Coutinho, he was just way out of his position.
Instead of letting his defenders take care of it, he took the matters to his own hands by trying to approach and close out the angle despite seeing two defenders close him out which made it easier for Coutinho to slot it into a virtually empty net.
He might've conceded the penalty but he did guess correctly on where the ball was going. Suarez was just a tad too accurate to find the bottom corner of the net. The second goal from Suarez though was merely an example of how important it is to stay an inch or two near the final line before the back of the net.
Barcelona broke through a counter as Ousmane Dembele made a run before feeding the ball to Sergi Roberto. He then passed the ball to Suarez who headed the ball past Courtois. Had he stayed in his lane, he might've plucked the ball in the air due to his height as well as he would've had enough time to prep himself up for Suarez's attempt.
Courtois suffered what could be the most humiliating goal of the match when El Pistolero chipped the ball over him. Yes, the defence was already gone by the time Suarez positioned himself for goal but Courtois could've at least closed the angle for the Uruguayan and made it a bit difficult for him to score.
The icing on the cake from Arturo Vidal summed up Courtois performance as he was found in no man's land again due to his defence being absent as well as not being able to position himself properly.
From the time Dembele got the ball on the left side of the pitch until the time he crossed the ball, Courtois seemed to be ball-watching which saw him way off of his position for Vidal's header. Despite the goal-fest, Courtois made some promising saves but that doesn't really cover what has happened against his side's bitter rivals.
#5 What's Next for Julen Lopetegui?
With their disappointing defeat against their rivals, Barcelona, rumours of Julen Lopetegui being replaced by Antonio Conte are now intensified as the former Spain National team manager continues to struggle with Real.
He might've delivered a good start to his side but it's still not enough as they now find themselves dwelling on ninth place in the league with six points behind their bitter rivals. Should the rumours be valid and correct, Lopetegui might see the exit doors in 48 hours.
Should he be shown the axe, this will be a really short stint for the man as he didn't last six months with Los Blancos. Arguably, this might be the decision Real Madrid has to take if they still want to bounce back as Lopetegui's record is not as impressive as their rival's manager.
Though he can look for ways to put the blame on others, this defeat against their rivals can be put into his own shoulders. Had he helped his defence organize themselves and point out to them the spots that need filling during half-time, he could've salvaged his job and possibly, live another day with Los Blancos.
