In a heated El Clasico encounter, Real Madrid got the better of FC Barcelona for the first time since April 2024. At the Santiago Bernabeu, Los Blancos defeated their Catalan rivals 2-1, thanks to goals from Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham. Fermin Lopez scored the solitary goal for Barcelona. This win gave Madrid a comfortable five-point lead over second-placed Barcelona in the LaLiga table. Barcelona’s coach, Hansi Flick, had to watch from the stands as he served a suspension, and tempers boiled over briefly at the final whistle.
Both teams started strong in this high-voltage clash. Barcelona’s Marcus Rashford had a shot deflected inside the Madrid penalty box in the first minute of the game, while moments later, Real had a video review for a potential penalty. The referee finally decided that Vinicius Junior had made contact with Lamine Yamal’s boot instead of the other way round.
The initial 20 minutes were eventful one with a disallowed goal from Mbappe in the 12th minute, and multiple chances for Barcelona as well. But in the 22nd minute, the Frenchman did finally give Real the lead. Assisted by Bellingham with a defence-penetrating through ball, Mbappe kept his right-footed shot low into the left side of the goal. It was his 11th goal of the season.
It was a strong outing for the England midfielder, as Bellingham registered a goal as well after the assist. Right before the end of the first half, he was assisted by Eder Militao from a Vinicius cross. That tap-in restored the lead for his team after Fermin Lopez had equalised.
After scoring a hat-trick against Olympiacos in the UEFA Champions League in midweek, Fermin made the most of a defensive error by Arda Guler. Rashford suddenly had space in the penalty box, and he crossed precisely for Fermin to finish right footed from inside the penalty area.
Soon after the start of the second half, VAR again came into play, this time awarding a penalty to Xavi Alonso’s side, after Eric Garcia failed to keep his hand away from the ball after it bounced back to him while defending against Bellingham. However, the Barça goalkeeper, Wojciech Szczesny, summoned up a brilliant one-handed save to keep Mbappe from increasing the lead in the 52nd minute.
Bellingham was then denied by an offside call, the third time that Barcelona’s high line just about escaped more embarrassment. A few minutes before the end of the regulation time, Barcelona’s right back, Jules Koundé, got close to an equaliser. However, he failed to control the ball, as a delightful lofted pass from Yamal bounced off his chest and was easily collected by Thibaut Courtois in the Madrid goal.
Barcelona will face Elche in their next league game on Sunday, November 2, while it is Valencia that await Real.
For more updates, follow RevSportz