When referee Lao Si blew the final whistle, the scoreboard at Bernabéu Stadium showed a score of five to nil.
In El Clásico, this was undoubtedly a lopsided score—and a humiliating one at that.
Five to nil had appeared repeatedly throughout the history of Real Madrid and Barcelona. The most famous example was undoubtedly Barcelona's five-nil thrashing of Real Madrid under Cruyff, followed by Valdano leading Real Madrid to a five-nil revenge victory the following season.
In Benitez's first season as Real Madrid's head coach, the team had coincidentally demolished Barcelona five to nil at Camp Nou. Now, Ancelotti's team had also beaten Barcelona five to nil at Bernabéu Stadium—not to mention the Champions League semifinal from the previous season.
This had been a complete and utter defeat. There was no reason for it, and no excuse to be found.
The Barcelona players all looked dispirited. They clearly understood how damaging this defeat was to the team. As they walked off the pitch, Vilanova met them at the touchline and kept saying something to them, obviously trying to comfort them. But it had little effect. They still looked utterly dejected as they left.
This was an El Clásico at the very beginning of the new season, yet Barcelona had suffered such a crushing defeat. It completely erased Real Madrid's loss at Camp Nou in the first leg. At the very least, in everyone's eyes, that first-leg match now looked like a fluke.
Every head coach adjusted his tactics according to the match. They would make certain attempts, and Ancelotti had clearly tried a possession-based style in the first leg. It had failed, so in the second leg he returned to Real Madrid's strongest approach: counterattacks and aggressive forward play.
Five to nil. This proved what path Real Madrid should take