Real Madrid Defeat Barcelona in Intense El Clásico Clash. It may be an exaggeration to call it revenge now, but Real Madrid has somewhat eased the pain of losing four El Clasicos after spending a season without a title. In the first El Clasico of the season, they defeated Barcelona 2-1 in a thrilling match. However, if Kylian Mbappe’s penalty miss and two goals were not disallowed for offside, Los Blancos’ winning margin could have been even greater.
Before today’s (Sunday) match at the Santiago Bernabeu, the tension was raised by Lamine Yamal’s ‘thief’ and ‘sneak’ labels for Real. To which Xabi Alonso’s team responded on the field. However, the 2-1 difference that decided the outcome of the match happened in the first half. Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham scored for Real and Firmin Lopez scored for Barca. Barca midfielder Pedri received a second red card (second yellow card) towards the end. The tension escalated into a brawl at the end of the match.
Barcelona was already in a big mess before the match. Stars like Rafinha, Lewandowski and Gavid are out due to injuries. Coach Hansi Flick is also not in the dugout due to a card-related ban. So what? His plan and strategy were already planned. On the other hand, Real’s mess was due to their four consecutive losses last season. Not only that, they had to digest 16 goals in those matches against the Spanish champions. The first El Clasico of the new season has somewhat healed that mess.
Despite losing the match, Barca had possession of the ball throughout the entire period. Real was ahead in shots. Flick’s men managed to put 5 out of 15 shots on target with 63 percent possession. On the other hand, Xabi Alonso’s team had 9 out of 22 shots on target. Despite the high pressing and ball control, Real’s defense did not give Yamal-Rashford much opportunity to take shots in the match.
Real was awarded a penalty in just the second minute of the game. However, the VAR monitor showed that Yamal did not exactly foul Vinicius Junior. Instead, the Brazilian star kicked Yamal’s leg while trying to take a shot after the ball was thrown. As a result, the referee changed the previous decision. Yamal took the first shot of the match for Barca in the ninth minute. However, it went well beyond the goalpost. Real took the lead a couple of minutes later with Mbappe’s goal, but this time it was the same old disappointment. Mbappe suffered a lot against Barca last season due to Flick’s high-line defense. Similarly, in the first Clasico of the new season, his first attempt was saved as a penalty.
Although Real attacked as soon as they got the ball, Barca were far ahead of them in possession. Los Blancos were repeatedly defeated by the Catalans’ high-pressing football and controlled play. Meanwhile, Jude Bellingham extended a great defensive pass from midfield in the 22nd minute. This time Mbappe avoided the offside trap, and visiting goalkeeper Vojislav Szczesny stepped up to block the way. But there was no way to stop Mbappe’s powerful shot, which he entered the box and hit past him. The French captain’s celebrations did not fade this time.
In the 33rd minute, Barca’s Spanish forward Ferran Torres had a good chance, but Thibaut Courtois did not have to rush to stop his weak shot. Similarly, Szczesny turned away a slow shot from Vinicius. Three minutes later, the Catalans equalised. Pedri took the ball from Arda Gullar and passed it to Rashford, who found Firmino in the box and headed it into the net from close range. The Spanish forward fired home from close range.
Real took the lead again in the 43rd minute after a counterattack that saw Pedri blocked. Bellingham, who had assisted the previous goal, got on the scoreboard this time. He had already scored in the last match, but today the English star, who was standing in the gap, headed in Vinicius’ cross to Militao. Bellingham scored his second goal of the season with a cool head. A team effort later, Mbappe put the ball in the net, but the assistant referee signalled for offside. The hosts went into the break with a 2-1 lead.
Both sides were desperate to score from the start of the second half. Real were slightly ahead, after four minutes, Eric Garcia got the ball in his hands, and they got a penalty thanks to VAR. But the Barca goalkeeper saved Mbappe’s shot from the spot kick brilliantly. However, Garcia-Lopez’s finishing failure caused the Blaugrana to be disappointed several times in a short period of time. After Yamal started the game on the central wing, Barca created some more chances. On the other hand, another goal by Real was ruled out for offside in the 68th minute, and Bellingham was left frustrated by not getting his second goal.
The rest of the match saw attacks and counterattacks. Both teams made several substitutions. Vinicius caught the eye, and the left winger expressed his anger until he went to the dugout when he was lifted to replace Rodrygo. In the end, no one could change the scoreboard. Alonso’s team retained the top spot in the La Liga points table with a 2-1 victory. They have 27 points from 10 matches, increasing their lead over Barca. The Catalans are in second place with 22 points from the same number of matches.