Ranking the 9 Biggest Wins in El Clasico – ‘Real Madrid vs Barcelona’

El Classico is not a mere match of two footballing teams, instead it involves an age old political and ideological rivalry at its core. Under the fascist regime of the Spanish ruler Francisco Franco, Real Madrid came to be seen as a symbol of power, to streamline Spanish nationalism. On the other hand, in Catalonia amidst the suppression of its people’s identity, language, flag and cultural expression, FC Barcelona (named after Catalonia’s capital) propagated forth a symbol of resistance. Thus, this clash of two social classes in abstraction, translated into a fierce affair on the field. This was evident in both the team’s respective philosophies, the elitist Madrid worked to assemble a team of superstars (Galacticos), whereas Barcelona with their motto of “Mes Que Une Club” (more than a club), focused on the development of local talent that understood the club’s humble origins and handicaps, thus playing for the Catalan people and their revolution.

Now although the significance of this Classico between Real Madrid and Barcelona has shifted towards more monetary and material goals. However, the history of this bitter rivalry, puts the pride and bragging rights for each of the teams involved at stake, always ensuring an entertaining matchup. Following are some of the most nail-biting instances of this ancient rivalry. A new chapter of this rivalry is written every new season, each more intriguing than the other. After three consecutive Classico defeats out of which 2 came in finals, Real Madrid would look to redeem their vanity as well as their position in the La Liga table against the leading Barcelona. The Barcelona team coming on the back of a Champions League knockout at the hands of Inter need this win to regain their momentum and seal the La Liga title with Real Madrid lurking closely behind (4-point gap).

Ranking 9 biggest wins in El Clasico Real Madrid vs Barcelona

There are few derbies in sports that take the center stage as El Clasico, contested by two of the biggest football clubs in the world, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. These two titans have dominated the Spanish topflight throughout history, and whenever they lock horns against each other, it is a spectacle for the fans. Several historic players and high-profile names have graced the two sides in the Clasico. Real has the slight edge with 105 wins in terms of head-to-head, Barca is not far behind with 104 wins and 52 draws between them. El Clasico has orchestrated some memorable games time and again, delivering with an unmatched intensity. FC Barcelona and Real Madrid have contested in a total of 28 major finals. Out of these games Barcelona have come out on top for a total of 13 games, whereas Real Madrid have won a total of 15 finals. The latest crunch Classico was played on 26 April for the Copa Del Rey trophy where Barcelona secured the win and subsequently the trophy through an extra time winner by Joules Kounde.

Even players and managers in a Classico have an added incentive to give sensational performances as the aftermath of this game could either make or break their careers. This article looks to analyze such hall of fame games between these two legendary teams.

9. Barcelona 5-1 Real Madrid (1953/54)

Real Madrid and Barcelona dominated the Spanish topflight football equally during the 1950s. In the 1953/54 season the first encounter between the two Spanish giants went the way of Real Madrid. Seething with the fire of revenge, Barcelona hosted Madrid at their home stadium of Les Corts on February 21, 1954. The match initially looked an extension of the reverse fixture when Madrid scored the first goal through Alfredo Di Steffano. The Catalans however bounced back in style by adding five goals through Justo Tejada, Cesar, Moreno and Manchon. Though they finished second in the league at the end of the season, the win helped them salvage their pride after the initial rout. This was the first season of Di Steffano for Real Madrid, subsequently after which he went on to cement a great era at this club. Barcelona being the underdogs for this tie went in and played their natural possession football, sticked to their strengths, thus they could easily dismantle Madrid in the midfield and seal the victory by further being clinical in front of the goal.

Fun Fact: Di Steffano was originally signed by FC Barcelona through his parent club of River Plate (owned player rights) while he played for Millonarios. After playing certain friendly practice matches for the club, Real came into the picture and negotiated a deal with Millonarios. The Spanish federation came up with an absurd solution of allowing the player to play two seasons each with both the clubs. However, due to the decision being politically influenced by Franco’s regime, Barcelona ultimately pulled out of the deal completely.

8. Barcelona 5-1 Real Madrid (2018/19)

Barcelona utterly dominated the first Clasico of the La Liga 2018/19, battering Real 5-1. The Catalans were initially apprehensive for the fixture as their talisman Lionel Messi was out injured with a fractured arm. Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde was playing the season with a fragile defense which could be highly susceptible to the Madrid attack despite the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. Therefore, both teams needed to make a statement to the fans, anxious about their team’s performance. The match began with a quick transition goal made by Jordi Alba and converted by Coutinho. This was quickly followed by a Luis Suarez penalty after Varane fouled him inside the box (VAR review). Messi’s close friend, Suarez pranced the pitch like a man motivated to prove his mettle, the pre-match media chatter of Barcelona’s over reliance on Messi added fuel to the fire. Marcelo’s solitary goal after half time proved to be only a consolation as Suarez went on to score twice more to complete his hat-trick, thus joining an elite list of players with hat-tricks in the Clasico history. Arturo Vidal also found the score sheet for the Blaugrana, allowing Gerard Pique to repeat his iconic “high five” celebration in front of the home crowd. Barca, led by Ernesto Valverde, went on to lift the league title that season; meanwhile, Real Madrid endured a turbulent campaign marked by several managerial changes.

Fun Fact: Julen Lopetegui, the Real Madrid manager for the Classico came into the game with 4 defeats in 5 matches. He was sacked after the Classico defeat having lasted for a mere 14 games as Madrid head coach.

7. Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona

Next up is the most recent Clasico, where Barcelona ripped apart Real 4-0. Following Los Blancos’ dominance in the previous few Clasicos, Barcelona gained back the bragging rights with aplomb, silencing the entire Santiago Bernabeu. Hansi Flick’s debut Classico turned out to be a memorable one, as his well-drilled Barca team overcame a clueless Madrid side. Real Madrid strengthened by the arrival of debatably the current best player in the world, “Kylian Mbappe” looked to repeat their previous season of La Liga dominance. However, Barcelona’s new German coach and his latest attacking trio of Raphinha, Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal had other plans. Mbappe appeared to have opened the scoring before being flagged offside, which would be a common occurrence in this match as Barca played a high defensive line and high pressing structure, clocking in 8 offside calls before the first half. Heading into half time the game looked equally poised except that Real Madrid had been unable to break through the Barcelona defensive structure. This frustration, and Barca’s constant probing materialized early in the second half in the form of a brace by Barca’s talisman Robert Lewandowski. There was no stopping the Blaugrana after the floodgates were opened. Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal, gave a small glimpse into his potential, becoming the youngest player to score in an El Classico at the age of 17 years. This brilliant performance was capped off by a “redemption arc” replenished Raphinha, leaving the Real side consisting of top players like Bellingham, Vinicius, Valverde, etc. in the dust.

Fun Fact: Hansi Flick is only the second manager to win his first official Classico, since Gerardo “Tata” Martino won it on October 26, 2013, through goals from Alexis Sanchez and Neymar in a 2-1 victory.

6. Real Madrid 2-6 Barcelona (2008/09)

Barcelona’s fabled squad under manager Pep Guardiola produced an emphatic 6-2 win against Real Madrid in their treble-winning 2008/09 season. Los Merengues was one of the many teams that fell victim to Barca’s tiki-taka and total football. Barcelona was leading the La Liga title race with Madrid close on their heels, separated by a point difference of just 4. Thus, this Classico was touted as the title decider. Pep Guardiola had already enchanted the Barcelona faithful as well as any European football purist through his implementation of his tiki-taka tactics. However, Real Madrid could be the only club to rain on this Catalan parade. The match began with Gonzalo Higuain giving an early lead for the Bernabeu crowd to rally behind. Thierry Henry, however, did not allow the joy to last long, levelling the score almost instantly. Carles Puyol then came in with a thumping header, to put Barca in the lead and celebrated with a symbolic kiss to his captain’s armband. This was also the first implementation of Pep’s brainchild, the “false 9” setup, headed by the youngster Lionel Messi. The managerial masterclass paired with the nimble feet of the young prodigy led to another goal before half time. Sergio Ramos came in with a bullet header after the commencement of the second half, catching a faint scent of a possible ‘Remontada’ Madrid tried to rally. Thierry henry along with strikes from Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique made sure that any comeback hopes harboured by Madrid were just wishful thinking. The midfield dominance by Barca, along with Messi dropping deep to drag defenders away from Henry and Eto, resulted in Madrid losing control of the game completely.

Fun Fact: In 2009 Barcelona triumphed in the Copa del Rey, La Liga, the Champions League, the Spanish Super Cup, the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup, completing a historic calendar year sextuple.
 

5. Real Madrid 5-0 Barcelona ( 1953/54)

In the reverse fixture to the aforementioned Clasico in 1953/54, Real Madrid prevailed with an astounding 5-0 victory. Alfredo Di Stefano had just joined Real Madrid after a controversial saga between Barca, Madrid and the Spanish Federation. Real Madrid hadn’t won La Liga since 1933, and Di Stefano’s signing was a major step taken by them to replenish their glory. The match was played at Madrid’s home in the Chamartin stadium with extreme hostility built up between fans due to the circumstances that ensued. Both represented two opposite ends of a socio-political scale. Di Stefano took the game by the scruff of its neck, proving why he was the most sought-after youngster in world football. He opened the scoring with a worldie, scoring again in the dying minutes to seal the humbling 5-0 loss for Barcelona. Other goals were scored by Roque Olsen, appearing consecutively twice on the scoresheet and Molowny.

Fun fact: This win orchestrated by Real Madrid coach Enrique Fernandez against his former club helped Madrid win the La Liga that season after a 21-year drought.

Also Read: Top 10 Best Real Madrid Players of All Time (Ranked)

4. Real Madrid 0-5 Barcelona ( 1973/74)

This was an extremely auspicious Classico that was played in the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. During Franco’s regime each Classico was played with many political overtones and radical feelings in the game’s atmosphere. This was compounded further following Madrid’s decade long dominance both in terms of trophies won and overall footballing influence. Since going on a Galactico signing spree, obtaining players like Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas, Paco Gento,etc. Barca’s abysmal results in La Liga had prompted the board to invest big on a Dutch superstar known as Johan Cruyff. After more than a decade long title drought, the Barcelona faithful were rearing to  regain their hegemony in La Liga and thus the pressure on the new signing was mounted high in the 1973-94 season. Johan Cruyff did exactly that by bringing parity to a scale tipping gradually in Madrid’s favour.Although he did not hail from Barcelona but he embodied the culture and its football better than any player. Coached by the Dutch manager Rinus Michels, Barcelona played fluid football, implementing principles of the Dutch “total football. Johan Cruyff was key here as he played the role of the free man, playing in between the lines, dropping deep and dragging defenders and playing intricate through passes using his magnificent vision and first touch. He made the first goal for Manuel Asensi before scoring himself just a short while later. Subsequently Asensi completed his double with Juan Carlos and Hugo Sotil also registering Goals for the team. This was a huge testament to the world, marking Barca’s emergence with new players and new strategies like “total football” while preserving its values of Mes Que Une Club.

Fun fact: In this legendary match, Johan Cruyff was so dominant with his passing, dribbling and overall influence on the pitch that the Real Madrid home crowd gave him a standing ovation. This gesture was unprecedented for a rival club and was even followed by Spanish newspapers calling him “El Salvador” (The Saviour) of Barcelona.

3. Real Madrid 5-0 Barcelona ( 1994-95)

Despite winning consecutive league titles from the start of the 90s, Barca’s dominance ended in the 1994-95 season, finishing fourth in La Liga. Johan Cruyff’s dream team were entering into the waning of their golden era. Just the previous year, Barca had humiliated their rivals with a scoreline of 5-0 at Camp Nou where Romario led the charge with his hat-trick. Thus this subsequent Classico at the Santiago Bernabeu was more than a football game, it was a revenge mission. Jorge Valdano, the new Real manager had taken up the job to complete a squad overhaul and get Madrid back to its winning ways. This intent showed in Madrid’s game as previously shunted striker Ivan Zamorano who was on the verge of leaving Madrid at the end of the1993 season, showed up for the big game with an unbeatable hat-trick of goals. His first half hat-trick prompted an iconic celebration where he held out three fingers to the delirious crowd. The call of vengeance was thus answered as subsequently Luis Enrique and Amavisca scored goals to round off the victory. Luis Enrique who would sign for Barcelona just a few months later played a great game supported by greats like Raul, Redondo and Laudrup in the midfield. Madrid went on to leverage this dominance to win the league.

Fun Fact: Michael Laudrup is the only player in history to be on the winning side of two consecutive 5–0 El Clásicos — one with Barcelona in 1994 and one with Real Madrid in 1995. Laudrup was instrumental for both these victories through his vision and composure, thus when asked about this Pep Guardiola reportedly said, “We lost because Laudrup played for them this time.”

2. Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid ( 2010/11)

Arguably the best team in the history of football, Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona was at the peak of its powers in the 2010/11 season, thrashing every team that came their way with their slick passing game. Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid stood no chance in the Clasico at Camp Nou with around 98,000 spectators, assembled to watch the beautiful tiki-taka football unfold. Barcelona deployed a traditional 4-3-3 lineup, where Messi played as a false 9. This innovation by Pep Guardiola revolutionized football as defenses initially had no idea how to deal with these constant movements. Messi was supplemented in attack by David Villa and Pedro Rodriguez both of whom were smart and strong runners behind the defensive line, with a deft touch and cold finishing. Further assisted by a midfield of Xavi, Busquets and Iniesta along with Messi dropping deep to help run the channels, the hosts enforced total control.The defense line couldn’t keep up with the central movements, allowing strikers to dart behind the defence and create dangerous 1v1’s. The scorers in the match were the box crashing Xavi Hernandez, followed by Pedro in the first half. David Villa quickly doused Madrid hopes with a brace in the second half, another goal in injury time through Jeffren Suarez. Although Messi did not score in this game, his suitability for the setup was proved as he controlled the game while providing two assists. This was significant for Barca in topping the league which they further went on to win. This was a significant blow for Jose Mourinho, another great manager of the footballing world rendered helpless by the perfection of Pep’s side.Besides the league title, Barca went on to defeat Manchester United in the finals of the Champions League.

Fun fact: Real Madrid’s frustration showed on the pitch as while losing the fixture 5-0, Sergio Ramos couldn’t inhibit his anger at Lionel Messi, one of the orchestrators of the Barca victory. He recklessly fouled Messi in the 90+(3rd) minute to be sent off from the field.

1. Real Madrid 11-1 Barcelona (1942/43)

Real Madrid registered their biggest win against their bitter rivals, Barcelona, in the second leg of the Copa del Generalisimo (presently called Copa del Rey) in 1942, decimating the Catalans 11-1, making it the biggest win in El Clasico. Pruden and Sabino Barinaga scored a hat-trick, with the latter netting one more goal to his tally.  Alonso(brace), Alsua, and Botela found the score sheet for Los Blancos while Mariano Martin netted the consolation goal for the Blaugrana. Barcelona had won the first leg at home with a satisfying score of 3-0. This victory was marred with a lot of controversy, with Madrid media outlets claiming that the crowd had been hostile towards the players. El Classico was surrounded by an air of political unrest that time, with the dictator Franco vouching for centralization of spanish power and suppression of the catalans, basques and other cultural regions.Even the second leg was played amidst a tense situation, as media outlets had propagated a narrative that the Catalans were unpatriotic and not aligned towards the mother Spanish nation. This controversial game ended in an aggregate score of 11-4, which took Real to the next round only to be eliminated by Atletico Bilbao. This also resulted in Barcelona president resigning in protest of potential foul play occurring through Madrid’s state connections. This match cemented the intense rivalry between these two teams.

Fun fact: It is reported that after the first leg defeat, Franco the Spanish dictator who promoted Real as the states club and supported its functions and endeavours, was anxious about Catalan agenda prevailing in the second leg. Thus, it is said that he intimidated the Barcelona players in their dressing room saying that the atmosphere in Chamartin was very hostile, and anything could happen to the players if Barcelona tries to dominate.

List of Biggest Wins in El Clasico

Rank	Scoreline	Year
1.	Real Madrid 11-1 Barcelona	1942/43
2.	Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid	2010/11
3.	Real Madrid 5-0 Barcelona	1994/95
4.	Real Madrid 0-5 Barcelona	1973/74
5.	Real Madrid 5-0 Barcelona	1953/54
6.	Real Madrid 2-6 Barcelona	2008/09
7.	Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona	2024/25
8.	Barcelona 5-1 Real Madrid	2018/19
9.	Barcelona 5-1 Real Madrid	1953/54

Also Read: Top 10 Best Barcelona Players Of All Time – Ranked

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