Real Madrid vs. Barcelona score, takeaways: Barca embarrass Los Blancos in El Clasico, Aubameyang scores twice

Two goals in each half carried Barca to the lopsided victory

Nobody, not even Barcelona, saw this coming. In El Clasico on Sunday, Barca went to Real Madrid and obliterated and humiliated their rivals with a shocking 4-0 victory, simultaneously announcing their return to relevance. Dealing with ups and downs in the post-Lionel Messi era, the team appears to have hit its season peak in form under manager Xavi, stretching its unbeaten run to 12 games. 

Barca scored twice in each half, and it was 4-0 before the hour mark, leaving the home side silenced and stunned. Without Karim Benzema due to injury, Real were also without answers, failing to produce on the few attacking opportunities they had while dealing with Barca's quick and efficient passing. 

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice, while Ronald Araujo and Ferran Torres both added a goal, as Barca rolled to another comfortable victory. 

Here's the winning goal:

The win comes on the heels of Barca's win at Galatasaray on Thursday to advance to the Europa League quarterfinals, with the team once again showing its attacking efficiency on the road.

Here are three takeaways from the match:

Real looked predictable without Benzema

Real finished with a bunch of shots, 14 to be exact, but none of them were all that great. They produced an xG of just 0.85, one of their worst outputs of the season and lowest since that historically poor 1-0 loss at PSG in their Champions League round of 16 first leg last month. Real entered the game averaging an xG of over 2.0 in their previous five games, but here they rarely looked like a threat.

Without Benzema at the No. 9 position, Real relied on the speed of Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo. Each had one decent look in the game but were not sharp enough to test Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, as Barca's defense came ready to play.

The Barca attack is on absolute fire 

Holy smokes. Barca's attack is just sensational at the moment, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang showing out. They've scored four goals in five different matches in the last month, and they've only gone without a goal once since early December. 

They were relentless in this one, quick to play the ball forward and were as in sync as they have been in a while, which says a lot since they've been in sensational form.

For Aubameyang, that is nine goals in 11 games for his new club. A decent January signing... 

It's not the Messi days, but Barca are back

It's going to be a while until it feels like the golden days of the Messi era. And I don't mean his last couple seasons where they team was quite poor, but the future hasn't been brighter for a while. Auba has been fantastic, Ferran is fitting in nicely, they have so much young talent, and even more will be coming. 

Xavi knows what it is like to have Barca at the top, and they are trending in the right direction after just a handful of months with him leading the team. That's not to say that they are going to contend for the Champions League next season, but I'll tell you, I wouldn't be all that surprised if they continue to progress. The play has been there, the confidence is there, and the belief is there. I'm saying it right now that Barca are back... and even Gerard Pique agrees.

[Mar 20, 2022 at 4:21 pm ET · Roger Gonzalez]

Frantic now!

Wow, this game has turned into an open affair! Chance after chance for both teams in a crazy back and forth as Ferran just curls the ball wide of the right post!

[Mar 20, 2022 at 4:18 pm ET · Roger Gonzalez]

Barca nearly take the lead!

A great chance 12 minutes in! Aubameyang gets the ball in the box from Ferran, but his effort after turning is struck right at the goalkeeper!!! Wasted chance! 

[Mar 20, 2022 at 4:00 pm ET · Roger Gonzalez]

Underway!

Action has gotten started at the Santiago Bernabeu!

[Mar 20, 2022 at 3:59 pm ET · Roger Gonzalez]

You can have all of the talent in the world, but if you aren't on the same page and fostering a level of confidence, spirits are going to be low. Just look at the entire Barca era under Ronald Koeman. But now with Xavi, there is a different feeling with this Barca squad as the results have drastically improved. Bounced from the Champions League group stage, an early exit seemed likely until Xavi got things going. A top-four finish in La Liga seemed unrealistic, not what is unrealistic is them finishing outside of the top four. Xavi has managed to change the culture quickly, with that, the team's trajectory has greatly improved. "I'm very optimistic," defender Gerard Pique said, according to Marca. "After the months we went through and last season, to again take flight and see that we have a positive dynamic, it's the best possible news. People when they come to the stadium have fun, and that is primitive, and we do too on the pitch. The results will come, they have come, and we hope to continue on this path until the end of the season."

[Mar 20, 2022 at 3:57 pm ET · Roger Gonzalez]

Ferran and Traore are adapting quickly

With Aubameyang penned in as the No. 9, both Ferran Torres and Adama Traore have quickly found their footing as well. Since joining the team in the winter transfer window, Ferran has four goals and three assists and continues to return to form. His positioning has largely been superb, his runs have been precise, and though he has missed his fair amount of chances, he's been an impact player more often than not.

Adama, on the other hand, returns home to Barca. In a league not nearly as physical as England, the former Wolves star has used his speed and strength to his advantage, making defenses look silly time and time again. So far he's recorded four assists, and it wouldn't be a shock if that number is doubled by season's end. And when you considering that would be for half a season, that's some serious production.

[Mar 20, 2022 at 3:48 pm ET · Roger Gonzalez]

Aubameyang has made all the difference

It's amazing what a quality striker can do. In a side that has struggled to find any sort of consistency in attack since Luis Suarez's best days, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been the key to the attack, giving it a bite it lacked in a long time. The Gabon international only played 57 minutes in his first two games, which is understandable, taking some time to get fit and adjusted. But since then, he's been superb and it's a natural fit that feels like has been in existence for years now. 

With a renewed energy and confidence, the former Arsenal man has done it all, finishing from close and producing golazos from distance. He's got seven goals in his last seven games in all competitions, with a goal scored in five of them. Averaging a goal per game over the last month, him solidifying the No. 9 position has allowed for the team's other new additions to play their natural positions and give a revamped Barca attack some serious chemistry. 

[Mar 20, 2022 at 3:42 pm ET · Roger Gonzalez]

Why has Barca improved so much?

I wrote last week about just how good Barca have been under Xavi, giving the three main reasons why they are better and returning to form post-Messi. Those reasons were Aubameyang, others adapting in attack and just a high of confidence and spirit. I'll share excerpts from the story momentarily.