Barcelona issued a warning to rivals across Europe that they mean business this season as they thrashed Real Madrid 4-0 away from home in El Clasico.
Luis Suarez scored twice and Neymar once as the duo kept up their impressive form, while Andres Iniesta also got on the scoresheet.
Beleaguered Madrid boss Rafa Benitez had vowed to attack the champions, but set up in a formation that isolated the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema as their defence was ripped apart by Barca’s fully firing forward line.
Luis Suarez is on fire
The Uruguayan striker has now scored eight goals in his last five appearances and sits second only to Neymar in the La Liga top scorers with 11 league goals. He and Neymar now have 39 goals between them this season – Suarez has scored 15 goals in all competitions, while his Brazilian teammate has notched 14 times in 17 appearances.
Suarez’s opener in El Clasico was a trademark clinical finish that bent beyond Keylor Navas into the far corner, while his second was equally clear as he jumped Madrid’s weak offside line.
Barca are increasingly dominant over Madrid
Barca have now defeated Madrid in four of the last five El Clasico league encounters – scoring 13 goals in those five matches. They have also won 10 of the last 15 league clashes between the two sides, meaning Madrid have only beaten their rivals three times since 2008.
Yesterday’s 4-0 thrashing was the most dominant victory since their 5-0 thrashing of Madrid back in November 2010 – in which David Villa scored twice as well as goals from Xavi, Pedro and Jeffren.
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