Real Madrid boss Rafael Benitez accepted the blame for his side’s 4-0 humbling at the hands of Barcelona, insisting that he selected the wrong starting XI for the Clasico.
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Brazilian striker Neymar doubled the lead for Barcelona in the 39th minute when he finished well with a low shot under Navas after being played through by Iniesta.
Neymar had Barca’s first chance in the seventh minute but he blazed over the bar.
Iniesta scored the third with a powerful strike into the top of the net after receiving a back-heel pass from Neymar just inside the box in the 53rd, and Suarez closed the scoring from in front of the goal after being set up by Jordi Alba in the 74th.
Barca’s dominance in the 231st meeting between the two teams, which prompted the angry Real fans to roundly whistle their own players and chant for president Florentino Perez to step down, was all the more remarkable considering coach Luis Enrique had started with a fit-again Lionel Messi on the bench. The former Liverpool and Chelsea manager has only been in charge for 16 games, but back-to-back defeats now leave Madrid six points behind Barcelona in the title race. Real Madrid did nothing of the sort all night long, and that’s why Barcelona, for now, is king.
With an estimated global audience of 400 million, Luis Enrique’s side put on a performance fitting of the game’s box-office billing, dominating a below-par Real side who rarely threatened to test the La Liga leaders. It should be a cracker, so make sure you take advantage!
Madrid was helpless as goals from Luis Suarez, Neymar and Andres Iniesta saw Barca cruise to a comfortable Liga victory – Suarez netting twice to bookend a memorable rout.
And Busquets says Barca are always confident of getting three points when they travel to the Spanish capital to face their fierce rivals.
Suarez said: “We are six points up against a direct rival but there’s a lot left”. After a bit of classic-Barcelona tiki taka in midfield, Barca sprung forward.
The white flag had already been lifted by the home side, and Isco’s sending off for kicking Neymar 10 minutes from the end was a sign of frustration at the evening’s events. “The thing I’m concerned about the most is recovering the team’s spirit”, he said.
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Let’s start with a more obvious one, Real conceded 7 shots on goal against Barcelona, a number that hadn’t been reached by any team at the Bernabeu since June 2013 against Osasuna when the visitors on that occasion scored 13 shots.
