When they get going, they really are a joy to watch.
As far as El Clasicos go, it wasn't the greatest. In terms of the title race, it wasn't a great outcome either.
However, while Real Madrid fans didn't get the early Christmas present they were hoping for, some of the football Barcelona played in the second-half left reminded everyone why we always tune in to watch Lionel Messi and the lads do what they do best.
Zinedine Zidane won't be a happy man as Madrid lost 3-0 to their bitter rivals at the Santiago Bernabeu, effectively ending their hopes of retaining the La Liga title. They are now 14 points behind Barca and the likelihood of making up that deficit is remarkably slim.
Sky Sports summed up the match by saying Barca had enjoyed a sunny Saturday afternoon stroll in the Spanish capital.
Ouch.
But the neutrals were unanimous in their praise for Barca once they got going after the break, particularly the free-flowing move which yielded Luis Suarez's opener.
There was also special praise for Messi, the one-man record-breaking machine. He became the first man to reach 25 El Clasico goals, while he surpassed the legendary German striker Gerd Muller in the scoring charts in Europe's top five leagues.
https://twitter.com/muhammadbutt/status/944560493758418944
https://twitter.com/messi10stats/status/944560594153345029
https://twitter.com/bwin/status/944560475794264064
https://twitter.com/footballliveCH/status/944560504776818688
https://twitter.com/Ladbrokes/status/944559389243006976
https://twitter.com/ajaxdailydotcom/status/944564619087089664
https://twitter.com/ahmadf_o/status/944562184205545473
https://twitter.com/fcb_OneTouch/status/944557741216997376
https://twitter.com/HumourThoughts/status/944562421246476288
https://twitter.com/RoyNemer/status/944566433345953792
https://twitter.com/BarcaWorldwide/status/944565959175450625
Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, was lambasted for his contributions to the game. Suffice to say, he didn't have his best game. While Messi soaked up the acclaim, Ronaldo was left seething.
https://twitter.com/SkySportsStatto/status/944569257303658496
https://twitter.com/TeejayAljead/status/944567415458942976
https://twitter.com/unibet/status/944562102886334464
https://twitter.com/FCNazalona/status/944552623356735489
