3 takeaways from Barcelona’s El Clasico victory

Xavi Hernandez got his tactics right

One of the knocks when Xavi was appointed as Barcelona manager was his lack of experience. Yet it hasn’t taken a long time for him to solve some of Barcelona’s woes.

What’s more, he got his game plan spot on against Real Madrid and Carlo Ancelotti.

When the line-ups were first announced, Xavi’s decision to start Ronald Araujo over Dani Alves might have raised some eyebrows. Not because of Araujo’s defending but rather because of his work when he has the ball.

But the decision paid off. Araujo did well more often than not in marking Vinicius Jr and limiting his impact on the pitch. The Uruguayan also added a goal as he scored Barcelona’s second with a header off a corner.

From the defense to midfield to attack, all of Barcelona’s lines were working as they should and there was a cohesion among them that was missing during the first part of the season.

Veterans like Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Gerard Pique rarely put a foot in wrong and were instrumental in the win. Busquets in particular looks like he has turned back the clock since Xavi arrived.

Even when Ancelotti made substitutions coming out of halftime, Barcelona stuck to its strategy and it worked as they scored twice in the first 15 minutes of the second half.

"“We have worked hard for these results. But we didn’t expect to be so superior in their stadium,” Xavi said in his post-match interview. “We expected a more open game. I am very happy.” Source: Marca"

This performance in particular, there is nothing to nitpick with the way Xavi managed the game.