There was a time when Barcelona feared heading to the Santiago Bernabeu to play their fiercest rivals, Real Madrid.
From November 1, 1997 until April 25, 2004, the Blaugrana didn’t pick up a La Liga win in the Spanish capital, but since Pep Guardiola took charge in 2008/09, the Catalans have emerged victorious on six occasions.
Though it appears likely that Real will go on to win the title in the 2016/17 season, the balance of power in the Spanish top flight has very definitely shifted to Barca, and it’s not unfair to suggest that Los Blancos are developing something of a complex at home when it comes to facing their eternal rivals.
Also read: Barcelona vs Real Madrid: 5 most controversial moments in El Clasico history
Lionel Messi’s last-kick-of-the-match winner could still end up being decisive, and is just one of many super moments in this classic fixture.
Let’s take a look at five times Barcelona have destroyed Real Madrid in El Clasicos...
#1 Real Madrid 0-3 Barcelona – La Liga, November 19th, 2005
No one will ever forget the Clasico played on November 19, 2005. It saw quite possibly the best ever performance from a visiting player and one that even Real supporters at the Santiago Bernabeu rose to applaud.
Ronaldinho was in his pomp at the time and his skill set was never better evidenced than in this game.
Barcelona had taken the lead on 14 minutes through a stabbed finish from Samuel Eto’o and for much of the next 40 minutes or so, the game ebbed and flowed nicely. And then the Brazilian went to work.
Just before the hour mark, he received a pass inside Real’s half. As Sergio Ramos came to meet him, a swivel of the hips left the Spaniard on the floor before he bore down on Ivan Helguera. No contest. The defender was turned inside out before Ronaldinho dispatched his shot past a stranded Iker Casillas.
With 13 minutes left, he did it again from a not too dissimilar position, taking Ramos on down the outside and slotting past the advancing Casillas. Cue a standing ovation and blanket applause...from the home fans. Magnificent.
#2 Real Madrid 2-6 Barcelona – La Liga, May 2nd, 2009
Barcelona were on their way to the treble and the performance the team put in at the Bernabeu on May 2, 2009, is still fondly remembered.
Known in Spain as the Dos-Seis, a 6-2 away win showed how complete the Blaugrana’s mastery of their opponents was. The visitors had many heroes on the day and followers of the beautiful game can’t have failed to have been seduced.
It was also the first time since September 24, 1950, that Barca had scored six or more in the league against Los Blancos.
To think that the game started so well for the hosts with Gonzalo Higuain putting them ahead on 14 minutes. Perhaps their overconfidence led to them being 3-1 down before half-time, Thierry Henry equalising just four minutes later before Carles Puyol provided the most iconic moment of the match, powering in a header and then showing his captain’s armband to Real’s support.
Xavi’s pinpoint pass to a scampering Lionel Messi gave Pep Guardiola’s side a significant advantage before the break.
Sergio Ramos’ free header on 56 minutes gave the locals renewed impetus but as in the first half, Henry silenced the stadium again, this time just two minutes later, stroking the ball past Casillas who’d come way out of his goal to try and see off the impending danger.
Messi added number five and though Gerard Pique made it six, Barca had chances to make the margin of victory even more embarrassing.
#3 Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid – La Liga, November 29th, 2010
The ‘manita’ or ‘big hand’ – so called because of the five goals Barca scored against Real, was epitomised by Gerard Pique at the end of the game as he held up five fingers.
Still revered as the best single club performance in history by any team, Jose Mourinho’s Los Blancos side had arrived at the Camp Nou on November 29, 2010, unbeaten and as favourites to continue their run.
From beginning to end, Real were run ragged and well beaten in all facets of the match.
Xavi, with a slightly fortuitous opener, and Pedro, coming in on Marcelo’s blind side, gave the Blaugrana a deserved 2-0 lead but two David Villa goals in three second-half minutes ended the match as a contest. The second, courtesy of a sublime Lionel Messi pass, sent the Camp Nou into rapture.
Typical of a Mourinho side at that point, they would have Ramos sent off late on, but not before Jeffren had scooped up a fifth.
#4 Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona – La Liga, November 21st, 2015
The straw that broke the camel’s back. The game that finally saw Florentino Perez lose patience with Rafael Benitez just four months after employing him.
Another game at the Bernabeu where the visitors were absolutely in a class of their own – and one where Lionel Messi didn’t start. The manner of their dominance meant that the result was never in doubt and it was another game where a 4-0 scoreline actually flattered the hosts.
Luis Suarez gave Barca the lead with an expertly taken outside-of-the-boot finish before Neymar, after a pinpoint Andres Iniesta pass, slotted the ball under Keylor Navas.
Iniesta then provided the moment of the match, rifling in an unstoppable, rising shot into the roof of the net. It was made possible by a delicate back-heel from Neymar who was enjoying one of his best games in the Blaugrana since joining in 2013.
Trying to play the offside trap with 15 minutes to go, Madrid were left stunned as Messi delivered a first time ball to Suarez, taking out the entire Real defence. A lovely dinked finish ended the scoring and Real’s pre-match crowing at home that they would topple the Catalans from their perch.
#5 Real Madrid 0-5 Barcelona – La Liga, February 7th, 1974
During a season where Johan Cruyff inspired Barcelona to their first La Liga title in 14 years, one result stood out above any other.
When the Catalans headed to the Bernabeu, a venue where they’d only won three times in the previous 26 years, no one could’ve imagined what was to come.
The Dutchman was at his imperious best and Real Madrid couldn’t get near him for the entire game.
Asensi opened the scoring with a smart near-post finish for the Blaugrana on the half hour mark and once Cruyff had doubled the lead on 39 minutes after dancing through the challenges of three defenders, the writing was on the wall.
A poor clearance from Los Blancos in the 54th minute fell to Asensi who powered through the opposition to fire Barca further ahead. As Real pushed forward trying to get a foothold in the game, a simple counter-attack and long ball from Cruyff fell at the feet of Juan Carlos. As the keeper advanced, Carlos delivered a peach of a lob into the top corner for the goal of the game – and there were still 25 minutes to go!
Just four minutes later, Cruyff’s free-kick found the head of Sotil who was unmarked in the six-yard box despite there being four Real defenders within reasonably close proximity. The striker buried it for one of the best-ever victories on enemy territory.
