After beating Barcelona, Real Madrid sat atop the La Liga table with a six-point lead.
With only twelve rounds left in the league, a six-point lead was already substantial. Especially considering that Real Madrid had won both of their clashes with Barcelona, leaving Barcelona with virtually no chance of competing for the title.
Even the Catalan media had to admit after the match that Barcelona had not only lost the game, but the championship as well.
Both Real Madrid and Barcelona had been in outstanding form and playing excellent football this season. Real Madrid, for example, had set a historic La Liga record with nineteen consecutive wins. Across the Top Five Leagues, that was also the best record in history. Barcelona, meanwhile, had been winning match after match, sweeping all before them.
Real Madrid's attacking line, led by Yang Yang, Hazard, Robben, and Di Maria, and Barcelona's attack, featuring Messi, Neymar, Sánchez, Villa, Pedro, and others, could both be described as the most luxurious, elite lineups in world football. Together, they had produced the sharpest attacks in European football this season.
Mundo Deportivo commented after the match that Barcelona had fallen six points behind Real Madrid because they had lost both El Clásicos. Without those two matches, the two teams should have been neck and neck.
"But unfortunately, we were still slightly inferior."
Marca and several other media outlets close to Real Madrid all declared that after defeating Barcelona and taking a six-point lead, Real Madrid had essentially secured the league title in advance. The only exception would be if the team suddenly suffered a complete collapse, but that was virtually impossible.
As for Real Madrid's performance this season, many media outlets believed that Yang Yang was the team's number-one contributor and its core competitive force.
"Forty La Liga goals