[Real Madrid](https://www.managingmadrid.com) saw their season effectively come to a tragic close at the hands of nemesis FC Barcelona as the Catalans came back from behind to win the Clásico 4-3 at Montjuïc on Sunday afternoon. Kylian Mbappé had given Los Blancos a 2-0 lead before a collapse meant that Barcelona led 4-2 before half-time, with Mbappé’s hat-trick goal in the second half worth little more than consolation as the team racked up a third defeat in their last seven games, the second at the hands of the Catalans.
### Three answers
**1\. How would Ancelotti build his defence with so few options?**
Just when you think that the defensive injury crisis can’t get any worse, it often does. Dani Carvajal, Éder Militão, Antonio Rüdiger, David Alaba, Ferland Mendy and Eduardo Camavinga were all unavailable for this game, and left a back four which pretty much chose itself in Lucas Vázquez, Aurélien Tchouameni, Raúl Asencio and Fran García. The only real doubt was whether Ancelotti would drop Fede Valverde back to defence, locking up the right hand side with a more reliable option than Vázquez. The veteran’s performance, winning only 60% of his tackles and committing an error leading to a goal, showed why Ancelotti should have considered that option. But it’s easy to see that the coach didn’t want to sacrifice a crucial midfield player in a game where Real Madrid simply had to win.
**2\. Could Barcelona extend their record against Real Madrid to be the best since Pep Guardiola?**
Victory here made it four Clásico wins in a row, coming out on top in all four meetings this season since Hansi Flick arrived in the north-east of Spain. That’s the longest run of consecutive wins since Pep Guardiola won his first five Clásicos as Barcelona coach, with a run ending in 2012. One more curious stat, this is also the longest run of league Clásicos without a draw, now up to 18. It reflects the polarisation of the fixture, so often in recent years ending in huge wins or humiliating defeats as the two sides go all-in. This season, Flick has shown himself to have the solution to unlock this fixture. Real Madrid need to change that dynamic quickly next season if they hope to challenge for the title.
**3\. Would there still be a title race after this game?**
No. Barcelona haven’t mathematically secured the title, but they are seven points clear with three games to go. Should Real Madrid fail to beat Mallorca on Wednesday, Barcelona will be crowned without kicking a ball. Even if that does happen, victory for Barça in their Catalan derby against Espanyol would see them lift the title on Thursday. Should Barcelona fail to win there, and Real Madrid do win on Wednesday, then they could seal it at home against Villarreal next weekend. Two draws from their remaining three games would be enough, given Barcelona’s superior head-to-head record after winning both Clásicos.
### Three questions
**1\. Should Carlo Ancelotti continue to the end of the season?**
It’s easy to see why Real Madrid fans could feel such frustration with Carlo Ancelotti. His decisions, such as the one to continue with Lucas Vázquez at right-back all season long, have portrayed an image of a stubborn coach who won’t correct his own mistakes. As such, it’s hard to justify him bringing about any improvement in the remaining two weeks of the season. But, like with all things in football, there are emotions involved. It seems abundantly clear that Ancelotti will not be in charge for the Club World Cup and that the deal to bring Xabi Alonso to the Bernabéu as coach is only missing the public announcement. Ancelotti is this club’s most successful ever coach, and even though this ending gives a bittersweet way to finish, he deserves the dignity of seeing out the remaining three games of the league season. After all, it can’t get much worse.
**2\. Has any game been a better depiction of Real Madrid’s season?**
So much early excitement. So much potential. Every reason to believe that Real Madrid really could surprise everyone and make the impossible seem possible. Only for there to be foolish mistakes and lapses in judgment, injuries to key players, and a mental collapse which reflected the lack of a cutting edge in this team. The mere fact that Ancelotti came into this title-defining May Clásico with the back four that he did is down to poor decision-making both last summer and in January. The fact that he continues to persist with the same players and tactics, even against the same Barcelona systems that have made light work of Real Madrid three times already this season, is just as culpable. They say that repeating the same process and expecting a different result is the true meaning of insanity. Madridistas may feel like they were witnessing it first-hand on Sunday.
**3\. Do Real Madrid rely too much on Kylian Mbappé?**
Three goals puts Kylian Mbappé in the history books as the first man to score a hat-trick in the Clásico and lose. It also reflects how everything went through the Frenchman for Real Madrid. His 2.06 xG accounted for 77% of the team’s total. 0.49 came from substitute Víctor Muñoz (more on that shortly), and no other Real Madrid player recorded more than 0.05. The team’s other stars, Vinícius Júnior and Jude Bellingham, were silenced by Barça’s tactics and mustered a single shot between them. Perhaps most worrying of all should be the substitutions. 21-year-old Víctor Muñoz came on for his first-team debut with the team chasing a goal to equalise on 88 minutes, ahead of Rodrygo Goes. Carlo Ancelotti might point to the illness that kept him out last weekend, but a flu that takes over a week to shift would be almost more worrying than the coach not counting on one of his biggest players for such a crucial game.