Twitter explodes as Barcelona demolish Real Madrid 4-0 in El Clasico
Barcelona humiliated Real Madrid in La Liga on Sunday, beating Los Blancos 4-0 at the Bernabeu.
The Blaugrana's incredible resurgence under Xavi continued as they beat their biggest rivals to extend their unbeaten streak to 12 games across all competitions.
Barcelona started with a front-three of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ferran Torres and Ousmane Dembele. Sergio Busquets, Pedri and Frenkie de Jong played in midfield, with Ronald Araujo being preferred at right-back over Sergino Dest who started against Galatasaray in midweek.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, had to deal with the absence of talismanic striker Karim Benzema. The Frenchman picked up a calf injury last week which has ruled him out for the foreseeable future. Carlo Ancelotti instead opted to play without a striker, with Luka Modric operating the furthest forward from midfield. Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo started on the flanks, while Nacho Fernandez came in to replace Ferland Mendy, who missed out due to injury.
The game started off on fire, with both sides spurning multiple opportunities to open the scoring. However, Barcelona finally broke the deadlock in the 29th minute when Aubameyang headed in Dembele's cross. The goal gave Barcelona the momentum to dominate the rest of the half.
Their pressure would pay off in the 38th minute as Dembele swung in a corner which was powered home by Araujo. The goal silenced the Bernabeu as Real Madrid fans could not believe what they were seeing.
The second half started with Xavi's side on top. They quickly ended the game as a contest when Torres put Barcelona 3-0 up after a sublime flick from Aubameyang to find him in the box. Less than five minutes later, Torres returned the favor by finding the striker in the box after bringing down Gerard Pique's pass with aplomb. The former Arsenal man did the rest, chipping the ball over an onrushing Thibaut Courtois to make it 4-0.
The striker should have had his hat-trick in the 58th minute but was unable to steer in Jordi Alba's cross at the far post. The game ended 4-0 with Los Blancos never really looking a threat to their opposition.
Barcelona were excellent but Real Madrid should still have the La Liga title in the bag
Taking nothing away from Barcelona's performance on the night, it was clear how much Real Madrid missed Benzema up front. Carlo Ancelotti's side looked toothless in attack without the Frenchman as their focal point.
The result is way more significant for Xavi's side as it shows how far they have progressed since the Spaniard took over. The Blaugrana are now third in La Liga, three points behind second-placed Sevilla with a game in hand.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, are still nine points clear at the top of the league with nine games left this campaign. Ancelotti will be disappointed with the nature of the loss but should still be confident his side can see out the rest of the campaign and lift the La Liga trophy. It was the first time since 2015 that Real Madrid had lost at home in El Clasico by a margin of four goals.
With that being said, here are the best Twitter reactions from Barcelona's 4-0 win against Real Madrid:
The man responsible for Barcelona's performance:
XAVI 🔥 https://t.co/QExRQXo1dc
All my Real Madrid friends and their sympathizers have all disappeared from tl. God is good 😹😹😹😹
Real Madrid fans stayed up late 4-nothing 😭
Xavi has schooled Carlo Ancelotti tonight but what will hurt Real Madrid fans the most is Barcelona have wanted it more , they’ve outworked and outclassed Real Madrid the visitors, it’s been a master class of a performance all over the pitch from Barcelona #ElClasico
Real Madrid look lost without Karim Benzema 😨 https://t.co/7J3KIyPwrt
Sevilla 
Ronald Araujo's last three League goals for Barcelona:
🆚 Sevilla ⚽️
🆚 Atletico Madrid ⚽️
🆚 Real Madrid ⚽️
Big. Game. Player. 💪 https://t.co/icKXLhJdMw
Saint Patrick’s Day was a couple days ago but thanks @FCBarcelona 🍀 https://t.co/wvVGggF8pZ
🏻It’s official: @FCBarcelona are back in business. 🙌🏻
Real Madrid wore black kit for their own funeral. https://t.co/RayN70GDOH
Frenkie De Jong vs Real Madrid (71 mins):
100% aerial duels won
100% take-ons successful
100% long ball accuracy
95% pass accuracy
75% ground duels won
Midfield maestro. 🇳🇱🇳🇱 https://t.co/5A2OsjoyeW
Real Madrid are playing without a system. That’s the best way to describe this.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s game by numbers vs Real Madrid (71 mins):
83% shot accuracy
6 shots
2 chances created
2 goals
1.64 xG
1 assist
Final-Third Masterclass. 🤩🇬🇦 https://t.co/t2RSsEbT76
Real Madrid fans now understand why Barcelona fans were proud of the performance in the 3:2 loss two months ago.
Real Madrid fans heading for the exits at the Santiago Bernabeu in the 60th minute 😳
(via @forca_fcb)
https://t.co/h69QNywOhJ
Even in our worst season start in over a decade, we own Real Madrid.
La Liga showing "STOP INVASION" but then allowing Barca take over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu 😭😭😭
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's last five games against Real Madrid:
(H) ⚽️
(A) ⚽️🅰️
(H) ⚽️
(A) ⚽️⚽️
(A) ⚽️⚽️🅰️
Back-to-back braces at the Bernabéu. ✌️ https://t.co/G1CK9y4db3
I couldn’t care less that we are 9 points clear at the top of La Liga. The PSG 1st leg and this game vs Barcelona are one of the worst performances in the history of Real Madrid.
Despite this really bad collective performance from Real Madrid, you have to give Éder Militão some credit. It’s actually been impressive just how awful he’s been. It’s a shocker for the ages.
This is actually an all-time bad coaching performance at Real Madrid.
If anyone has the guts to study this game tomorrow, I am sure you will be flabbergasted that a professional coach set a team up like this.
Meaning, didn't even set their team up at all.