MADRID, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The "Clasico" between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid always captures the headlines when it is played in Spain. This weekend was no different, and there are several things we can learn from matchday 36 in Spain.
1 Referee not up to the Clasico
The debate is still raging in Spain over whether referee Hernandez Hernandez's decisions in Sunday night's Clasico favored (or harmed) Barcelona more than Real Madrid or vice versa, but one thing is clear; he made too many mistakes for such a major game with a worldwide TV audience.
It's true that some of the players didn't help him in a match that got increasingly tense and a referee only gets one view of the action while the TV audience gets several slow motion replays to make their minds up, but Hernandez Hernandez's display will only add weight to those who are looking forward to the arrival of VAR in Spain next season.
2 Barca rule in Spain
Barca come out of the Clasico as champions of the Copa del Rey, with a 15-point lead over Real Madrid in the La Liga and with an unbeaten run of 42 league matches, needing to just avoid defeat in their last two games to become the first side in Spain to go an entire league campaign without losing a single game.
Madrid's only real aim in the Clasico was to break that unbeaten run, and despite playing against 10 men for all of the second half, they failed to do so.
Despite Madrid reaching the Champions League final, Barca (who won 3-0 in the Bernabeu before Christmas) have clearly earned the right to say they are the best side in Spain.
3 Some values are worth keeping
Every year Athletic Club Bilbao give a "One Club Man Award" to a former professional who spent their entire career with one club, resisting the temptation to move elsewhere.
The first season saw legendary Southampton player Matt Le Tissier, who was followed by Maldini and Sepp Maier, while this season the award was for former Barcelona defender Carles Puyol, who received it on the pitch during the halftime in the 2-0 win at home over Betis.
In a time of mega-contracts and big-money moves. On the same weekend as Real Madrid refused to perform the traditional "guard of honor" to the new La Liga champions Barcelona, the One Club Man award shows there are people who still care about their clubs the values that exist in the game.
4 Caparros can turn Sevilla around
Joaquin Caparros enjoyed a triumphant return to the Sanchez Pizjuan stadium with a 1-0 win against Real Sociedad on Friday.
The win ends a run of eight matches without a win and reactivates Sevilla's options of returning to the Europa League. Caparros looked to return to the old virtues of hard work and a solid defense, as well as reactivating the passion among a set of fans who had become increasingly frustrated with former coach Vincenzo Montella.
Sevilla have tough games this week against Real Madrid and local rivals Betis and still have work to do, but Caparros has returned their hope.
