Barca humiliated Real Madrid right at the Bernabeu.

While Messi started on the bench, Suarez, Neymar, and Iniesta took turns scoring to help Barca win 4-0 in El Clasico.

Goal:Luis Suarez 11', 74', Neymar 39', Iniesta 53'

Contrary to most fans' predictions, the first El Clasico of the 2015-2016 season resembled a training session for Barca rather than a battle for the top spot. The visitors easily took a two-goal lead in the first half, before adding two more goals in the first 29 minutes of the second half. Unable to beat goalkeeper Bravo in a few rare dangerous situations, Real had to accept a humiliating defeat at home and fell six points behind.

Overall, what surprised viewers wasn't the four consecutive goals for Barca, but the humiliating defeat of Rafa Benitez's team. In the first 45 minutes, Real Madrid created almost no dangerous situations towards goalkeeper Bravo's goal, conceding two goals from two one-on-one opportunities between Barca's forwards and goalkeeper Navas. The home team's defense even seemed to be asleep in the situation leading to the third goal, allowing Iniesta to comfortably fire a powerful shot from the edge of the penalty area. Playing with a resigned attitude as time went on, Real Madrid's performance was reminiscent of their 2-6 defeat against Barca in 2009.

From a tactical standpoint, the El Clasico can be seen as a new milestone in Luis Enrique's reign at Barca. Even without Messi, the coach who was nearly sacked earlier in the year still made Real pay the price with his versatile starting lineup. The attacking trio of Iniesta, Neymar, and Suarez constantly created chances that seemed to tear apart Real's defense, while the attacking midfield pair of Rakitic and Roberto excelled at creating opportunities. Besides his decisive use of players, Enrique further solidified his personal reputation with a more effective variation of tiki-taka. Barca almost completely abandoned their cumbersome style of play, opting instead for quick, highly accurate passes.

Barca needed only three touches from midfield to score the opening goal.

Another important reason for Real's heavy defeat in El Clasico was their lack of vigilance in defense, an area usually considered Benitez's stronghold. Two offside trap errors in the first half led to two costly goals conceded. The subsequent two goals also stemmed largely from mistakes by the central defensive pairing of Ramos and Varane, with the captain bearing the primary responsibility. Trying to return from a shoulder injury sustained in the defeat against Sevilla two weeks prior, Ramos may regret his haste and errors in man-marking. Suarez and Neymar rarely miss one-on-one opportunities, while Iniesta is known for scoring crucial goals for both Barcelona and the Spanish national team.

Another player who disappointed equally on Real's side was Ronaldo. In this match, CR7 was almost invisible on the field, with no truly dangerous plays threatening goalkeeper Bravo's goal. Compared to Bale and James Rodriguez, Ronaldo's activity level was only around 50%. The fact that his team conceded so quickly in the first half may also have drained the energy Ronaldo had been preparing for over the past two weeks.

CR7 didn't play in the recent international break, but he didn't show any signs of being in top form when playing in El Clasico.

While Real's attack was silent, goalkeeper Bravo deserved to be one of Barca's best players. The Chilean goalkeeper made at least four outstanding saves that frustrated the home team's strikers, most notably a one-on-one situation with Bale, a diving save to deny James's volley, and a header from Benzema.

Messi came on in the 57th minute, when Barca had already scored three goals. His playing time wasn't long, but it was enough for M10 to leave his mark with an assist for Suarez to seal the victory. Messi also nearly scored himself, if his shot into the far corner hadn't been saved by Varane.

Winning at the Bernabeu, Barca took a huge step forward, widening their lead over Real to six points in the standings. More importantly, coach Enrique's team instilled a sense of defeat in their rivals with a resounding victory at the Bernabeu.

Messi returns after two months out due to injury.

According to VNE