Fit-again Xavi makes Barca shine

His tendinitis behind him, Xavi brilliantly lit up Barcelona's 5-0 demolition of arch enemies Real Madrid in Monday's 'Clasico' to confirm his place as the chief playmaker in Pep Guardiola's team.

"I'd already said it: when Xavi isn't there, our game is different," said Xavi's French team-mate Eric Abidal after the Catalans' breath-taking destruction of their rivals at Camp Nou.

At 30 and with 12 years as a professional behind him, Xavi brings the touch, the tempo and the vision to Barca's star-studded line-up.

There are also goals. He opened the scoring in the 10th minute on Monday, sprinting like a number nine into the Real penalty area to receive Andres Iniesta's pass and lob the ball past a helpless Iker Casillas.

The Barca number six then found David Villa with a devilishly precise cross-field pass in the build-up to Pedro Rodriguez's 18th-minute second goal.

A goal and an assist to an assist in his 11th Clasico represent the bare statistics, but his true worth could be gauged from the desperation of his opponents.

AFP