5 biggest defeats suffered by Barcelona against Real Madrid

El Clasico has been the focal point of football enthusiasts for decades, if not centuries. The two giants of Spanish football have history, glory, and heritage woven into the very fabric of their existence. Real Madrid and FC Barcelona have faced each other a total of 256 times in official games.

Los Blancos have emerged victorious in 104 outings. Meanwhile, Barca have won 100 times, with the majority of their wins coming in recent times. Prompted by their recent losses at the hands of Los Blancos, here is a list of the five biggest Barcelona defeats at the hands of their bitter rivals from the capital. 

Real Madrid 11-1 Barcelona (June 19, 1943)

The biggest defeat in the history of the El Clasico is unfortunately claimed by the Blaugaranas. The Catalan side suffered a humiliating defeat way back in 1943 in the second leg of Copa del Generalísimo (now known as the Copa del Rey) semi-final.

The result was not a fair one, as the players from Catalonia played the match fearing for their lives after the dominant rulers from Madrid had warned them of the fate they would have to encounter if they won it. Puden, Sabino Barinaga, Antonio Alsúa Alonso, Curta, and Botella all scored in the infamous rout in the return leg, which gave the Los Blancos an 11-4 victory on aggregate over both legs. 

Real Madrid 8-2 Barcelona (February 3, 1935)

Another big defeat for Barcelona happened way back in 1935, as they lost 8-2 in the Spanish League encounter. Escola and Guzman were the only goalscorers for the Catalan side, which was managed by Ferenc Plattko back in the day. Madrid’s eight goals came courtesy of a hattrick from Lazcano and a haul (four goals) from Sanudo. Luis Reguiero also found the net for the side from the capital. 

Barcelona’s biggest defeats have all come by a five-goal margin in the El Clasico. Two of those defeats came way back in 1949 and 1953 in the league. In 1949, they came up short with a 6-1 defeat, which was followed by a 5-0 humiliation four years later in La Liga. 

Real Madrid 6-1 Barcelona (October 9, 1949)

Commonly known as the “Pacto de Hontoria” (Hontoria Pact), Real Madrid defeated Barcelona 6-1 courtesy of goals from Eugenio, Igoa, and braces from Molowny and a certain Alfredo di Stefano.

This was the first El Clasico appearance for the Argentine who went on to win five European cups for Los Blancos in the 1950s. Considered as one of the greatest players of the century, Di Stefano scored 308 goals in 396 appearances for the club between 1953 and 1964.

Real Madrid 5-0 Barcelona (September 25, 1953)

This match is widely remembered for the dominance displayed by Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, who were in sensational form on the day. Real Madrid took the lead early in the first half, with a goal from Hector Rial in the seventh minute.

They continued to press forward and added two more goals before halftime, scored by Joseito and Rial again. In the second half, Real Madrid continued to dominate, with two more goals from Molowny and Di Stefano, sealing a convincing 5-0 victory over their arch-rivals Barcelona.

Real Madrid 5-0 Barcelona (January 7, 1995)

Barcelona were the dominant force during this era, fresh after winning back-to-back La Liga titles and their first European Cup. Interestingly, another name in the scoresheet was Luis Enrique who would go on to win everything as a Barcelona coach. Enrique was also Spain’s manager from 2018 to 2022.

The first El Clasico since the departure of Johan Cruyff under acrimonious circumstances was ruled by Chilean striker Ivan Zamorano. Cruyff’s assistant, Carles Rexach, who was in the Blaugrana dugout for this match had no answer to the Chilean as he scored two and assisted one.

Biggest defeats suffered by Barcelona

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