Kylian Mbappe secured a vital 2-1 victory for Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid in the latest El Clasico, held at Camp Nou. The French forward netted a brace to hand Barcelona their first domestic defeat of the ongoing campaign, successfully reducing the gap between the two rivals to just three points in the La Liga standings.
The match saw Mbappe open the scoring before the interval, and he later capitalized on a late opportunity to seal the result after Raphinha had initially equalized for the home side. Despite the win, Real Madrid remains in third place, trailing both Atletico Madrid and Hansi Flick’s Barcelona. The defeat marks a difficult week for the Catalans, who also fell to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Barcelona midfielder Pedri addressed the performance after the game, stating, “In general, we didn’t have a great game. In the first half, we weren’t ourselves; there were a lot of things we could have done better.” He further emphasized the long road ahead, adding, “We wanted to win the Clasico in front of our fans, but the season is very long… a league is not won here.”
Under the guidance of Jose Mourinho, who was brought back to shift the balance against Barcelona, Madrid has now secured five consecutive victories across all competitions. While the visitors were forced to compete without the suspended Vinicius Junior, they showed tactical resilience. The team is currently finding its rhythm under the veteran Portuguese coach after experiencing two seasons without silverware. But were surprisingly subdued against Mourinho’s side, barca won six of the seven previous Clasicos since the German arrived.
The match began with a tense, cagey opening period. Early on, Barca defender Pau Cubarsi effectively neutralized Mbappe, while Real Madrid defender Marc Cucurella was frequently seen clutching the shirt of 19-year-old talent Lamine Yamal. Barcelona suffered an early blow when defender Xavi Espart was forced off with an injury before the half-hour mark, replaced by Alejandro Balde. While Real Madrid’s Marc Cucurella took a rapid liking to Lamine Yamal’s shirt, constantly grabbing at the 19-year-old winger, barca defender Pau Cubarsi twice reacted well to shut down Mbappe.
Andriy Lunin stepped into the Madrid goal in place of Thibaut Courtois, who was sidelined with the flu. Lunin made a crucial save at his near post to deny Anthony Gordon before the visitors gained the momentum. Mbappe broke the deadlock with his 10th league goal of the season, benefiting from a clearance by Gerard Martin that deflected off the Frenchman into the net.
Barcelona sought a quick response, but Lamine Yamal missed a clear-cut chance to level the score. Before the halftime whistle, Yan Diomande nearly extended Madrid’s lead, but his strike found the side netting. Early in the second half, Gerard Martin managed to contain Jude Bellingham, momentarily preventing the visitors from threatening further.
Raphinha, who struggled to make an impact in the first half, leveled the score shortly after the hour mark. Following a pass from Pedri, the Brazilian forward fired the ball through the legs of Jude Bellingham. Although Lunin managed to get a touch, he could not stop the effort, marking Raphinha’s 13th league goal of the season. Pedri fed the Brazilian, La Liga’s top goalscorer with 13, who fired through Bellingham’s legs, and Lunin could not keep the shot out.
Barcelona pushed for a winner, with Lunin making a superb save to deny Martin from a corner. Lamine Yamal also came close with a curled effort, and a shot from substitute Frenkie de Jong was blocked by Dean Huijsen. The decisive moment came late, however, when substitute Gabriel Jesus lost possession, allowing Madrid to counter-attack. Eduardo Camavinga surged past Cubarsi and set up Mbappe for an easy finish into an empty net to secure the win.
