There are football games that are decided by a single player.
Karim Benzema is one of them.
Just under two weeks ago, he secured a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League against Paris with a hat-trick for Real Madrid.
But Benzema missed Sunday's Clásico between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona through injury.
That's how it became one of those games where, afterwards, victory and defeat are less attributed to the players than to the coaches.
Not without reason: Xavi Hernández only came to Barcelona in November.
In the 4-0 triumph on Sunday at the Bernabéu Stadium it was clear: Barça now bears his signature.
A group of losers has turned into a confident team that succeeded in everything in the Clásico.
Central defender Piqué tweeted: "We are back." The sports press from the Catalan capital even saw the "Bernabéu stadium desecrated as in the best of times", and "AS" from Madrid thought that Barça had "dance on the nose" of Real coach Ancelotti. .
Real Madrid kept chasing
Barcelona defended well up front, disrupting Madrid's defenders early on and appearing compact.
The Catalans certainly let the ball run through their own ranks.
Automatisms that had already been lost by their own coach took effect again, the direct game, the famous triangle, where you get the impression that they were playing with one man more on the pitch.
The stats later recorded 60 percent possession for Barcelona, but during the game the impression was that the players in the unfamiliar black Real Madrid jerseys were constantly chasing.
This game is known from FC Barcelona, with Pep Guardiola they celebrated it so well on the ball that they could afford a high defense with a back three.
Under Luis Enrique, Barça became more dynamic.
The captain on the pitch was always Xavi Hernández, he won the Champions League four times, was Spanish champion eight times, European champion twice and world champion once.
In 2016 he left and ended his career in Qatar with Al-Sadd SC.
He then coached the club for three years.
He didn't have any more experience when he returned to Barcelona in November.
His predecessor Ronald Koeman had sorted out the squad and then realized that with this team you should be happy to qualify for the Champions League.
All the alarm bells went off in the club.
Not playing in the Champions League would spell relegation for the heavily indebted club, sports economists have argued, and chairman Joan Laporta signed Ferran Torres from Man City for €55m and Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on a free transfer.
The two scored three of Barça's four goals on Sunday, but they alone don't explain the success.
The secure defense found space in the back of the Madrid midfield, which had moved far up, the lightning-fast wingers Dembélé and Torres mostly ran away from their opponents.
With their flanks, the Madrid central defense usually seemed completely out of place.
Defense chief Alaba was almost always wrong, including Aubameyang's 0-1 goal when he tried to clear two meters in front of the center forward with a stretched leg.
He also jumped too low at 0: 2, so Barça's central defender Araujo was able to nod off.
Easy game for Barça
Which also shows: Real Madrid made it very easy for Barça.
Coach Ancelotti did not send any of his substitute centre-forwards, Jovic or Mariano, to replace the injured Benzema, but made a false nine out of Luka Modric.
But Modric was missing in midfield at all corners and ends.
Toni Kroos was overwhelmed with defensive tasks.
After the break, Ancelotti also defended with a back three and made things worse with the unfamiliar line-up.
The experiment was immediately punished, resulting in two goals conceded shortly after the restart.
In the last 20 minutes, Barça took their foot off the accelerator and downplayed the game, leading to "olés" from the away fans and a burst of anger from Xavi on the touchline.
The coach complained that he wanted to see intensity until the final whistle.
But otherwise he was just as exuberant.
It's a shame he couldn't make more substitutions, he said, because you have to experience the Clásico on the pitch.
If his game idea is implemented consistently, Barça can beat anyone.
However, he also assessed the chances of winning the championship realistically: "We'll get back to you a little too late." After all, Madrid are still twelve points ahead of Barça, who, however, have one game less on their account.
Ancelotti immediately admitted: "It's my fault." Beyond that, he remained calm.
The team must not get nervous now and must use the international break to recover.
"I could be wrong," he added dryly.
"But that very rarely happens twice."