Barcelona vs Real Madrid: 5 Talking Points & Tactical Analysis of El Clasico
Barcelona beat Real Madrid 5-1 in another classic LaLiga encounter at the Camp Nou on Sunday. It was a humiliating Clasico defeat for Julen Lopetegui as Ernesto Valverde's side picked Los Blancos apart in either half with ease.
Barcelona took the lead in the first half with a goal from Philippe Coutinho as early as the 11th minute. Luis Suarez then doubled the lead from the penalty spot at the half-hour mark after he was bundled over by Raphael Varane in the box.
However, Real Madrid were quick to get one back in the second half with Marcelo finishing off a wonderful move to make it 2-1. But Suarez then scored twice in the second half to complete his hat-trick before Arturo Vidal made it 5-1 in the dying stages.
Here are the major talking points from the game.
#1 Barcelona in complete control as Real Madrid cede possession
This Barcelona side may be leading the possession stats in LaLiga this season (65.4%) but Real Madrid aren't too far behind in second place either (64%).
So it came as a surprise when Barcelona had more than 70% possession in the opening stages of the match.
Real's midfield saw Toni Kroos manage to string together a few passes but Luka Modric was largely missing in action during the first half-hour. Barcelona, meanwhile, saw their midfield of Sergio Busquets, Arthur, and Ivan Rakitic dominate proceedings.
As a result, Real merely resorted to long balls at the beginning of the game to seek out Karim Benzema or Gareth Bale.
But Barcelona's high line was up to the task and the only time Marc-Andre ter Stegen was tested was from long-range shots which were quite comfortable saves.