Real Madrid narrowly won, with a final score of 2-1, against their great rival, FC Barcelona, in a new episode of “El-Clasico”, at the “Santiago Bernabeu” stadium, in a match that counted for the 10th round of the Spanish championship. Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham, for “los blancos”, and Fermin Lopez, for the Catalans, respectively, added their names to the scorers’ list, and this success of the band trained by Xabi Alonso was the first obtained in the company of the “blaugrana” band after four consecutive defeats suffered in the previous season.
Real Madrid and FC Barcelona faced off in the 262nd episode of “El-Clasico”, and at the “Santiago Bernabeu” stadium in the Spanish capital, “los blancos” intended to keep their “armchair” as leaders, while the Catalans “aimed”, in the event of success, to climb to first place in the general ranking. In the middle of last week, the students trained by Xabi Alonso had managed to defeat Juventus, in the UEFA Champions League, on their own field, final score 1-0, in a duel in which Jude Bellingham scored the only goal throughout the 90 minutes.
On the other hand, the “blaugrana” team had defeated Olympiakos in the same competition, in their own “home” with the unbelievable score of 6-1, Marcus Rashford, with a “double” and Fermin Lopez, who scored three times, being the people in the center of attention. Dani Carvajal, Dani Ceballos, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen were all recovered in time for the Madrid club, while David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger were unable to be included in the squad for this match due to medical problems they are currently facing.
In the away team, Joan Garcia, Robert Lewandowski, Gavi, Dani Olmo, Andreas Christensen, Marc ter-Stegen and Raphinha were unable to travel to the Spanish capital to play against FC Barcelona’s great rivals. In the case of Xabi Alonso, the meeting at the “Santiago Bernabeu” stadium in the 10th round of the current LaLiga season was the first he experienced as Real Madrid’s coach, and Hansi Flick was unable to lead his players from the sidelines due to the suspension he received at the end of the Catalans’ victory over Girona, final score 2-1.
Last season, the two teams faced each other four times, twice in the Spanish league, which the Catalan club won, and also in the final of the Spanish Cup and the last leg of the Spanish Super Cup, both of which the same “Blaugrana” team managed to win. Before this game, controversial statements by Lamine Yamal referring to the idea that “Real Madrid is a club that complains about referee decisions and that they steal” led to a more electrifying atmosphere than usual, with tension in the air.
The first appearance in the offensive zone belonged to the Catalan team, when a ball recovered on the edge of the penalty area allowed Pedri to quickly pass to Marcus Rashford, but the British footballer’s shot was blocked by Federico Valverde, Barcelona benefiting from a corner kick. Immediately afterwards, Real Madrid escaped on the counterattack, and Vinicius Junior was fouled in the penalty area by Alejandro Balde, Cesar Soto Grado dictating, in the first phase, a penalty for the hosts. At the end of the check of the action, the referee of the match changed his mind and canceled the initial decision.
Lamine Yamal “came out on the ramp” in the ninth minute of the game, when the pass sent by Ferran Torres found the Spanish international free on the right flank, but his execution, with the inside of his left foot, at the far corner, went just past the posts defended by Thibaut Courtois. “Los Blancos” opened the scoring in the 12th minute of the confrontation, when Fermin Lopez gave up possession to the opposing team, and Kylian Mbappe, the top scorer in the Spanish championship, sent a spectacular long-range volley that could not be blocked by Wojciech Szczęsny.
However, the goal scored by the French player was disallowed, due to the irregular position in which the home team’s “decar” was caught when he received the ball and headed towards the posts defended by the Polish goalkeeper. In the 22nd minute, “los blancos” unlocked the scoreboard, after Kylian Mbappe received a pass between the lines from Jude Bellingham, and the player from the Hexagon took over in a future position and calmly finished in the far corner, on foot, triggering joy in the stands.
Subsequently, a well-constructed positional attack by the players trained by Xabi Alonso led to the possibility of Jude Bellingham shooting from the edge of the penalty area, but his execution was deflected by Pau Cubarsi, outside the field of play. Real Madrid created another scoring opportunity in the 29th minute when Kylian Mbappe was left alone near the goal and fired from a tricky angle, but Wojciech Szczęsny was on target.
Dean Huijsen came close to scoring in the 30th minute when the home centre-back received a pass in a dangerous area, but the Bournemouth summer signing’s shot went wide of the post. Ferran Torres received a pass in the centre of the penalty area from Fermin Lopez, but the Barca ‘s seven-pointer was saved, but the completion of the FC Barcelona “seven” was far too weak to cause problems for Thibaut Courtois, and the Belgian goalkeeper retained the ball.
In the next phase, Vinicius Junior came into possession of a ball near the Catalans’ goal, and the Brazilian player’s execution seriously stretched Wojciech Szczęsny. Alvaro Carreras brought the ball out, a few sequences later, on the edge of the box, where Jude Bellingham shot from the first, on foot, but his attempt to score was not of sufficient quality to increase the score in favor of his team. FC Barcelona equalized the situation in general, when Arda Guler lost the ball in a dangerous area, and Marcus Rashford made the decisive pass for the goal scored by Fermin Lopez.
Real Madrid regained the lead on the scoreboard with about four minutes left in the first half, when Vinicius Junior’s cross found Eder Militao free to head home for Jude Bellingham, who completed a simple formality to score. FC Barcelona started the second half looking for an equaliser, with Marcus Rashford running towards the back of the net, followed by a pass to Fermin Lopez, whose shot was parried.
Eric Garcia handled the ball inside the box after sliding into the area, and Cesar Soto Grado was called to the sidelines to watch the replays, with the referee awarding a penalty for Real Madrid. Kylian Mbappe was responsible for converting the penalty, but Wojciech Szczęsny guessed the corner and stepped in to deny the goal. Fermin Lopez escaped alone on the counterattack, and the Spanish central midfielder decided to shoot from about 20 meters, but his execution was caught by Thibaut Courtois.
Lamine Yamal tried his luck in the 64th minute of the match, when he decided to shoot from a long distance, but the Iberian international’s shot reached the Real Madrid turf. Vinicius Junior received a pass from Kylian Mbappe, and the South American footballer’s shot went wide. Close to the end of the game, Pedri has received a second yellow card and went earlier to the dressing room.
Real Madrid accumulated 27 points in the general hierarchy of LaLiga, being five lengths ahead of the Catalans, also managing to tie their fifth success in a row in all competitions. “los blancos” also managed to defeat FC Barcelona for the first time after four consecutive matches in which the “blaugrana” team won. In the next round of the domestic championship, the team led by Xabi Alonso will host Valencia, while the players coached by Hansi Flick will face Elche at home.