Barcelona ended a five-game losing streak against Real Madrid in sensational style as they sealed an emphatic 4-0 Clasico victory at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.
Xavi's men were dominant from the outset and went in at the break two goals up following headers from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ronald Araujo.
They picked up where they left off at the start of the second period, with Ferran Torres and Aubameyang completing the scoring before the hour mark.
The Blaugrana are still 12 points behind Carlo Ancelotti's league leaders, although Xavi's third-placed side do have a game in hand.
Federico Valverde drew a smart stop from Marc-Andre ter Stegen in the early stages, while at the other end Thibaut Courtois denied Aubameyang and Ousmane Dembele in quick succession.
Torres then whipped narrowly wide from just outside the penalty area before Barca's dominance bore fruit in the 29th minute when Aubameyang headed in Dembele's right-wing cross from inside the six-yard box.
Courtois denied Aubameyang a second soon after, yet Madrid found themselves 2-0 behind after 38 minutes when an unmarked Araujo nodded home Dembele's corner from eight yards.
Torres made amends for a glaring miss 20 seconds into the second half with Barca's third in the 47th minute, the Spain international slamming into the net after he had been superbly picked out by Aubameyang's back-heeled pass.
Aubameyang made it 4-0 in the 51st minute with a sumptuous finish over Courtois after being played in by Torres, the goal given by VAR after it had initially been ruled out for offside.
Torres, Aubameyang and Dembele all had wonderful chances to compound Madrid's misery further, yet it mattered little in the end as Barca extended their unbeaten away run in LaLiga to 11 games in memorable fashion.
What does it mean? Barca stun Ancelotti's insipid charges
Only Sevilla have conceded fewer goals than Madrid in LaLiga this season, yet Los Blancos' backline had no answer to Barca's breathtaking attacking display.
The result meant Xavi became only the second Blaugrana head coach to remain unbeaten after his first 10 away games in LaLiga after Ernesto Valverde, who did not lose any of his first 18. If the Catalan giants continue to play like this on the road, Xavi will have no issues powering past that record.
Aubameyang's hot streak continues
Aubameyang has wasted little time making an impact since his arrival from Arsenal last month. The Gabon international has now scored in each of his last five meetings with Madrid (seven goals), making him the first player to score in five successive games against Los Blancos in the 21st century.
Madrid's dismal defence
Eder Militao and David Alaba endured a torrid time against Barca's supreme forward line. The visitors broke through the duo's wafer-thin resistance with alarming ease and could easily have won by an even greater margin, with a combination of wasteful finishing and Courtois' goalkeeping stopping the scoring at four.
What's next?
Madrid are next in action on April 2 when they visit Celta Vigo in LaLiga, while Barca travel to Sevilla in the Spanish top flight a day later.
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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