No Messi, No Problem: 5 Takeaways from Barcelona's El Clasico win without Lionel Messi
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.
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.