Barcelona humiliate Real Madrid in Spanish league

Yet, despite playing in his favoured role behind the striker, Bale had no impact on the game whatsoever and the time may be coming when Madrid decide to cut their losses on the Welshman with a series of Premier League clubs said to be interested.

Lionel Messi will start on the bench for Barcelona in Saturday’s La Liga “Clasico” at Real Madrid (1715 GMT) following his recovery from a knee injury, according to the official lineups.

Every coin has two sides, so Madrid’s day was just as awful as Barcelona’s was good and no player exemplified Madrid’s performance like their talisman, Cristiano Ronaldo.

The crushing defeat for Real Madrid gave way to fans chanting calls for the team’s coach Rafa Benitez and President Florentino Perez to step down.

A giant French flag was unfurled in the stands and the Marseillaise played during a minute’s silence before kickoff to honour the victims of the Paris attacks and security was tight for the clash in the Spanish capital. Madrid needed to win to pull even with the rival in points and return to the top of the standings on goal difference.

Chasing a sixth La Liga title in eight years, Barca have 30 points, with Real, who lost 3-2 at Sevilla in their previous outing, on 24. Two goals from Luis Suarez, one from Neymar and one from Adres Iniesta sealed their 10th El Classico win from previous fifteen meetings between these two clubs. The Argentine playmaker had missed the last nine Barcelona games.

Sergi sent Suarez clear to net Barca’s opening goal in the 11th minute and nearly scored himself later in the first half. Alba touched Messi’s pass on to Suarez, who clipped a finish beyond Navas and into the far corner without a Madrid defender in sight. It was all for naught, though, as Andres Iniesta threaded a ball to Neymar. Replays showed that Neymar appeared to be slightly offside when he received Iniesta’s pass.

“The Marcelo chance at the start of the second chance is the key point in the game, if that was a goal”, he said.

Bravo turned a James shot around the post but Madrid were cut apart again on 53 minutes as Barcelona bagged a third.

Coach Luis Enrique, who played for both Real and Barca and won the treble with the Catalan side in his first season in charge in 2014-15, was euphoric.

Madrid was at full strength only for the second time this season.