Five takeaways
- This midfield trio can play against any given team - Some questioned Kroos, Modric and James' ability to play against elite sides like Barcelona, given their lack of defensive skills. And even though they struggled a bit and were helped by Isco as well, they balanced it all with a good offensive display that proved Ancelotti's thinking right.
- Karim Benzema is the undisputed striker of this team - Some fans knew this already, some others didn't. The Bernabeu gave him a standing ovation when he was substituted and even sang his name for the first time ever. If he goes through a scoring draught again, Real Madrid fans should remember these games against Liverpool and Barcelona just not to whistle him.
- The fullbacks can defend and attack at the same time - Marcelo and Carvajal are two offensive-minded fullbacks that were very active throughout the whole 90 minutes. They had to take care of Suarez and Neymar respectively, and both Barcelona players made them work a lot -- they are world-class players after all -- , but both Marcelo and Carvajal stepped their game up after their tough opening 10 minutes and completed a good game, helping Real Madrid offensively a lot as well.
- Real Madrid still missed Bale's verticality - Whenever Real Madrid had the chance to counterattack, James showed that he's nowhere near Bale's speed and ability to dribble past defenders. The Colombian attacker is great with the ball on his feet, as he showed with his assist to Benzema on Real Madrid's third goal, but he should have dominated Barcelona's Mathieu.
- Xavi cannot admit that his team have been edged yet - Barcelona's midfielder said after the game that "Real Madrid have been playing under a counterattacking style for the last six or seven years", beating them "the same way" in Saturday's Clasico. It's true that Ancelotti's men sat back and enjoyed some good counterattackig chances as soon as they earned the 2-1 lead, but the game was very different before that. Xavi's statement leaves FC Barcelona in a bad position, but maybe he was just bitter after Luis Enrique replaced him with Rakitic without even letting Xavi take the corner-kick he was ready to kick.