It was a devastating El Clasico night for Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday. The Galacticos were thrashed 4-0 by their biggest Rivals Barcelona, who reclaimed the top spot in the Spanish League and moved the points further from the reach of Carlo Ancelotti and his team. A vintage performance for the Catalonians in the heart of Madrid to repeat double their winning streak against the Spanish League and Champions League defending Champions.
Real Madrid came off a wonderful performance last Tuesday in the UCL game against Borussia Dortmund. It was a repeat of the 2023/24 season Champions League final and Los Blancos came up big to overturn a 2-0 defeat in the first half to a 5-2 victory at full-time. It was an astonishing performance for Real Madrid and Vinicius Jnr stood out with a hattrick of goals on the night ahead of his anticipated Ballon d’Or crowing. The Galacticos were aiming towards a similar victory in the League against their biggest rivals – Barcelona, who had on Wednesday night thrashed German super club Bayern Munich 4-1 in the Champions League.
Andriy Lunin stood in goal for Real Madrid following Thibaut Courtois’s recent injury. At the Madrid defense were Eder Militao and Rudiger at the central back and Lucas Vazquez and Ferland Mendy at the sides, the same as the game against Dortmund on Tuesday. There were many changes in the middle for Carlo Ancelotti’s side, Luka Modric didn’t start and it was a four-man lineup of high-pressing Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde, Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga. Vinicius Jnr and Kylian Mbappe stood in the attack for Real Madrid. Rodrygo, David Alaba, and Dani Carvajal are still sidelined with injuries.
Barcelona on the other hand still cope without a new signing – Dani Olmo. Fermin Lopez started in the attacking midfield, pairing with Raphinha and Lamine Yamal at the sides and falling back to aid Pedri and Marc Casado at the half. Hansi Flick decided not to use out-of-retirement goalkeeper – Wojciech Szczesny and entrusted Inaki Pena to the post. Balde, Inigo Martinez, Cubarasi, and Jules Kounde started at the defense with Robert Lewandowski posting up in the center of Barcelona’s attack.
Real Madrid had multiple chances to take the lead at halftime but the Galacticos failed to show their brilliance against a highly strategic Barca side. Vinicius Jnr came closest to the goal after dribbling his way to the box but saw his effort hit the side netting. Kylian Mbappe thought he had his first goal at the Clasico in the 32nd minute and celebrated the goal before VAR ruled the goal off for offside. The French forward was flagged six times in the game, showing his inability to beat Barcrlona’s offside trap. This would later cost Madrid as the experienced Ledwandoski on the other end of the pitch read through the Madrid defense like a hawk. The Polish striker beat the off-side trap in the 54th minute from Casado’s trap, pined Andriy Lunin from outside the box, and slot in the ball at the bottom corner.
Madrid would have been trying to initiate a comeback only to see the Polish striker double Barca’s lead two minutes after the first. Ledwandoski found his spot between Real Madrid’s center-backs to head in Balde’s cross into the far corner. The following minutes will be relatively slow for both sides. Jude Bellingham would have scored from a chance from a spot-kick but failed to keep his composure and put the ball into the back of the net. Ledwandoski blew his chances of getting a hattrick in the El-Classico and sealed the game for Barcelona when he hit the post from Raphinha’s pass in the 66th minute, then blew another clear goal-scoring opportunity over the roof.
Kylian Mbappe was hunted by the offside flag again after running down the box to put a through ball past Inaki Pena. The game came even further far-fetched for the Los Blancos in the 77th minute, when wonderkid Lamine Yamal who was kept quiet for most of the match broke off in a counter-attacking position, received the pass from Raphinha and finished into the roof of the Madrid net with his weaker right foot. This is his first goal against Real Madrid and he is now the youngest goal scorer in the history of the El-Clasico, for Spain, in La Liga, and at the Copa del Rey.
When many thought it was over, Barcelona pulled the last card with another impressive counter-attacking play. This time Lamine Yamal turned provider to set up Raphinha with a fine ball over the top. The Brazilian beat Lucas Vazquez to the long ball and nipped in a chip over the goalkeeper to add salt to the wounds of the Real Madrid players and fans at the Santiago Bernabeu. It was a painful scene for the Madrid fans who sat behind the post, witnessing four draining goals from the Catalans.
It’s Madrid’s second defeat in the last five games and their first in La Liga. Barcelona continues their impressive record of all but one win this season since Hansi Flick took over the club’s affairs. The Catalans have played 14 official games under the German’s leadership and won 12 while scoring a record 47 goals in these games. They are now six points clear of the defending champions in the Spanish League and on their race to nick it.
33-year-old Barcelona goalkeeper Inigo Martinez was named player of the match at the El-clasico game. He was at the heart of a brilliant defensive performance against one of the most potent attacks in the world. Martinez kept the defensive line perfectly to constantly catch Madrid offside. His brilliant communication with the back line was credible and Hansi Flick will not regret his decision to let the veteran start the game against the club’s biggest opposition in the League. Martinez saved efforts from Vinicius Junior and Mbappe and made sure he kept a clean sheet as Barcelona won all three points in the game.
PLAYER RATINGS
Real Madrid: Lunin (6), Lucas (6), Militao (6), Rudiger (6), Mendy (6), Valverde (7), Tchouameni (6), Camavinga (6), Bellingham (7), Vinicius Junior (7), Mbappe (7). Subs: Diaz (6), Garcia (6), Modric (6)
Barcelona: Pena 8, Kounde (7), Cubarsi (8), Martinez (9), Balde (8), Casado (7), Pedri (7), Yamal (8), Lopez (7), Raphinha (8), Lewandowski (7). Subs: De Jong (7), Gavi (7), Olmo (6)
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Carlo Ancelotti will return to the drawing board to find a way back from this devastating defeat at the hands of the Catalans. Madrid’s trembling dreams live on and the club will have a challenging time defending the trophies they claimed in the previous season. With the depth of the squad and their experience, there’s no doubt that the team will bounce back from this defeat soon.
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