Well, the title may not be coming to the Camp Nou this season however, after the dominant performance that Barcelona showed against Real Madrid, it may very well end up with Barca next season. This season the Catalans started out slow, not only due to the loss of their main player, Lionel Messi, but also due to management problems and injuries. After a few disappointing results from Ronald Koeman, the president decided that a much-needed change was required and thus he brought in Xavi Hernandez. The Barca legend, who was coached by Pep Guardiola, immediately changed the game style however, it took them a while before they got used to it.
Xavi, like Guardiola, likes to play very possession-based football and he loves to dictate the pace of the game. Back when he was playing for the Catalans, the club was at its peak. No team came close to Barca in terms of footballing skills and quality and everyone was intimidated to play against them. This was not only because they had a lot of top players in the team but also because they dominated possession, played fluid passes and worked together in full harmony which was just too good to be beaten.
Barcelona puts on a dominant display in El Clasico to show us that they mean business
The manager wants to bring that signature Barcelona game style back and although it will take a while to master that, it seems like the youngsters are already understanding the basics. Xavi did not have a flying start to his Barca managerial career and he did suffer a few losses. There were times when it felt like Barca were doing everything right but the finishing and there were times when the attack was good but the defence was compromised. However, they are starting to understand their new roles and they are unbeaten in their last 12 games. Thus, without further ado, let’s take a look at the three main points from Barca’s demolition of Real Madrid.