3 takeaways from Barcelona’s El Clasico victory

A statement win from Barcelona

Despite emphatic wins against Atletico Madrid in LaLiga and Napoli in the Europa League, there were still some rumblings that Barcelona needed to beat an “elite team” to measure the progress they’ve made under Xavi Hernandez.

Well, they got it.

It was a vintage performance from a team managed by someone who believes in their identity and has drilled into his players what he expects from them.

There was only one team on the pitch at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Real Madrid faithful saw that and that’s why there was a small exodus after Aubameyang scored the fourth.

Madrid were without Karim Benzema but the Frenchman may not have been enough to stop a Barcelona team that went out with a plan and, aside from not finishing some chances, executed it to perfection.

It might come across as a bit of hyperbole but the win showed how important a manager can be and that Barcelona took the right choice in bringing in Xavi.

The win also meant a lot to the players who have found a new sense of belief that they can beat any team put in front of them.

All that being said, it’s only one win and as much as Xavi is going to celebrate it, he knows they still have a ways to go.

"“We have to keep working. It’s not a trophy. We have to be humble,” Xavi noted. “We’ll celebrate today and then we have to rest and think about Sevilla. It’s three more points. Source: Marca"

With the international break coming up, Barcelona will have time to savor this Clasico win. When they come back, they face Sevilla with a chance to move up to second in LaLiga.