Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang paid a moving tribute to his late grandparents as he celebrated his second goal for Barcelona in their triumph over Real Madrid.
The Catalan giants put their bitter rivals to the sword on Sunday night with a famous 4-0 victory at the Santiago Bernabeu. Aubameyang was a standout performer in El Clasico with two goals and an assist, opening the scoring in the first half and adding his second after the interval having set up Ferran Torres to extend the lead.
The former Arsenal striker broke two records with his astonishing display for Barca, whom he joined on a free transfer in January, and celebrated his second goal by putting two fingers to his forehead and holding out a ball with his other hand.
Speaking after the match, Aubameyang explained the gesture was a reference to popular anime television show Dragon Ball Z and he had "wished" he could find the back of the net for his grandparents.
"It was a ball from Dragon Ball. With it you can make a wish," he said. "I wanted to win and score a goal for my grandparents, who are gone. A friend of mine gave it [the ball] to me. I thought about it today."
Aubameyang's double took his tally in a Barcelona shirt to nine goals in 11 appearances and he appeared to hit back at his former critics, such as Gunners legend Paul Merson, after his latest star showing. Merson had described Aubameyang as "finished" as his time at the Emirates wound down following Mikel Arteta's decision to strip him of the captaincy. In a Twitter post sharing his celebration alongside a picture from Dragon Ball Z, Aubameyang simply wrote: "Hello from the finished player."
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The mood in the Barcelona camp is certainly much happier than when Xavi replaced Ronald Koeman in the dugout in early November. Aubameyang has been central to the recent resurgence at Camp Nou and his manager declared Barca could "easily have scored five or six" against Los Blancos.
However, Xavi played down his side's hopes of a late title charge as they remain 12 points behind Real Madrid with a game in hand. "Maybe we're a bit late but this is a very big win for us," the Spain legend said. "We've won tonight and we also have the better head-to-head record but it is going to be very difficult.
"Madrid have only lost three league games. They have to lose three more. We must keep working hard. The first objective is to qualify for the Champions League."
