Aubameyang leads way for Barcelona with two goals in Real Madrid thrashing

“I have good memories of playing at the Bernabéu,” Xavi Hernández had said and here was another one for the collection. It may even have given him even more satisfaction than all those other nights, his first visit as Barcelona’s coach, the man entrusted with their revival, seeing his side end a run of five consecutive clásico defeats with an astonishing 4-0 victory at the home of their greatest rivals.

Two goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and one each from Ronald Araújo and Ferran Torres completed the scoring but not the story. If Xavi had fondly recalled clásicos past where Barcelona “played good football and won, where we felt like we were better than them,” this was much the same, suggesting a seismic shift for his club. With Madrid still 12 points ahead of Barcelona, it is too late for this season – and that fact may have played its part – but maybe not for next year and beyond.

After five consecutive clásico defeats, Barcelona produced a performance that suggests they really might be back, enjoying watching this arena emptying early again. It had all been done early, finished before the hour, effectively done before the break. By the end, the only surprise was that the margin wasn’t even greater. It wouldn’t have been unjust.

So dominant had Barcelona become by the end of the first half that when the teams walked off the place was almost silent, apart from a chant of “Futbol Club Barcelona” from high in the north-east corner. The 300 or so Barcelona fans up there had been audible for a while, mostly only competing with whistles of frustration from the home fans as time went on. There had been a serenade of Xavi and even “olés” as their team moved the ball around the pitch, no longer in a hurry.

Barcelona had a