Opinion: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang brings the joy back to Barcelona on incredible night in the Bernabeu

Football is fun. It’s a fairly obvious statement but it seems as if we need to reiterate it every once in a while, given how seriously some seem to take it. Ad/> And football is a hell of a lot more fun when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is at the top of his game.

Liga‘We can’t rule out anything’ – Xavi on title hopes after Barca thump Real4 HOURS AGO For those that missed it (seriously where were you?) Aubameyang played a starring role as Xavi Hernandez’s Barcelona thumped Real Madrid 4-0 in a stunning Clasico win at the Bernabeu on Sunday evening. /> Some might, rightly, argue that this was Real's just deserts for their ill-advised marketing decision to wear a fourth kit for promotional reasons, rather than their traditional home strip. However a large part of the Barca victory came due to Aubameyang’s re-emergence as one of the better strikers in Europe.

He had to be eased in gradually. When he made his debut off the bench during the 4-2 thrashing of Atletico Madrid on February 6 it was his first bit of football for two months. Another substitute appearance in the derby against Espanyol and a start against Napoli in the Europa League both yielded goalless results.

Then he took off. After his brace on Sunday, Aubameyang now has eight goals in his last eight matches. For context, this season he scored six goals in 15 games for Arsenal, three of which came in the EFL Cup against West Brom.