Picture Credit: Twitter
The El Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona at Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday night proved out to be a nightmare for the home side. The Laliga leaders succumbed to a humiliating 0-4 defeat at the hands of Xavi Hernandez's new-look side who completely dominated the game. A brace from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and one goal each from Ronaldo Arajuo and Ferran Torres powered Barca to a huge win, leaving Carlo Ancelotti's side in shock.
In the absence of Karim Benzema, the responsibility lied on the shoulders of young Vinicius Jr who has been in scintillating form this season. The 21-year-old has 17 goals and 14 assists across all competitions this season but with his strike partner not available on the field, the youngster had a dismal outing in the big game.
Eric Garcia vs Vinicius Jr - The new rivalry
Vinicius Jr missed couple of good chances to score and was well guarded by the robust Barcelona defense. He also had some angry face-offs with opponent players on few occasions and in one of the moments, Eric Garcia got an opportunity to mock the Brazilian.
When Adama Traore stole the ball from Real Madrid attacker in final stages of the match, Garcia notably looked towards Vinicius Jr and said (in Spanish), "You're gonna win the Ballon d'Or next season?! The Ballon d'Or?" which was indeed quite a savage act by the Barca player.
Eric Garcia had a flawless performance in El Clasico
Apart from producing the best troll of the match, the Spanish defender also did a remarkable job in defense. Eric Garcia was absolutely sensational at the heard of defense of Barcelona as he continued his terrific growth under Xavi. He registered 79/81 passes during the clash, with an accuracy of 98%.
With 4 interceptions, 5 recoveries, 2 clearances, 1 block and 3/3 duels won, it was indeed a phenomenal display by the centre-back who was not dribbled past even once during the match. After his epic performance and banter against Vinicius Jr, it will be interesting to see how things unfold when the two youngsters clash against in the next El Clasico.
It is the start of new era in Spanish football and it looks like the old heated and competitive vibes of the Real Madrid vs Barcelona rivalry might finally be back now, after a few quiet seasons.