Lionel Messi returned for Barcelona against Real Madrid in El Clasico, but his play was secondary to Barca’s tactical dominance. SI breaks down its 4–0 win over Real.

Lionel Messi returned from injury on Saturday, but Barcelona hardly needed him. He made his influence obvious right away, creating the final goal of a 4–0 win over Real Madrid, but the victory was already secure before he stepped on the field.

​Barça scored after just 10 minutes, Luis Suárez putting away the first of two goals that bookended a blaugrana-dominated match. He and Neymar, along with a vintage performance from 31-year-old creative midfielder Andrés Iniesta, carried the team in Messi’s absence.

Barcelona began the match in its typical 4-3-3 alignment, with Sergio Busquets anchoring the midfield and Sergi Roberto playing on thebecame easier to find. In the middle and low blocks, Modrić and Kroos collapsed on top of the back line, allowing Rakitić and Iniesta to step higher than they normally would to pressure in the event of a loss of possession.

This again accentuated the central gap between defenders and attackers for Madrid. Unable to build out of the back sustainably, Madrid launched long balls forward that Barcelona defended comfortably most of the time.

Goalkeeper Keylor Navas only attempted four short passes and 11 long balls out of the back, compared to Bravo’s 17 short attempts and nine long throughout the match. Among the goalkeeper and center backs, Madrid launched 20 long balls from its defensive third, while Barça hit 12.

Real looked comfortable in its high-block defending due to its