Real Madrid defeated Barcelona 2-1 in El Clasico on Sunday afternoon.
The match got off to a lightning-fast start, and after just two minutes, Real Madrid were awarded a penalty, but after a VAR review, the referee overturned his on-field decision and restarted play. Lamine Yamal originally appeared to bring Vinicius Junior down inside the box, but the replay instead showed that the Brazilian, instead of being taken out, actually kicked Yamal's leg, which is what caused him to go down.
Shortly after being denied their originally given penalty, Madrid had the ball in the back of the net yet again, thanks to an absolute screamer from Kylian Mbappe. Fermin Lopez was dispossessed inside his own half, and as soon as he was without the ball, Mbappe hit it first time from around 30 yards out, and his shot slammed into the bottom corner. Although it was a phenomenal goal, it was once again disallowed due to an offside in the build-up.
In the 22nd minute, for the third time in the match up to this point, Real Madrid had the ball in the back of the net yet again, but this time the goal stood. It was Mbappe again who slotted the ball away after he was played in behind the Barcelona defence by Jude Bellingham, and the Frenchman slotted a calm finish past Wojciech Szczesny and into the bottom left corner. Although Barcelona only found themselves one goal down, the fact that Madrid had been able to put the ball in the back of the net three times after just over 20 minutes played is a huge concern.
Although the majority of the first half was incredibly one-sided in favour of Madrid, in the 38th minute, Fermin Lopez scored to equalise for Barcelona. Arda Guler was dispossessed in a bad area inside the Madrid half, and Barcelona quickly counter-attacked. The ball was played wide to Marcus Rashford, and the Englishman put a picture-perfect ball across the box to Lopez, who made no mistake with his finish, and made it 1-1.
Just five minutes after Barcelona levelled the match up, Madrid regained the lead thanks to a goal from Bellingham. Vinicius Junior produced some brilliant wing play to beat Jules Kounde down the left flank, and after beating him, the Brazilian lofted a cross to the back post to Eder Militao, and he headed it across to Bellingham, who tapped the ball into the back of the net to regain their lead at a key time in the match.
Shortly after regaining their lead, Madrid had the ball in the back of the net for the fourth time in the match so far, but once again, it was ruled out due to offside. It was Mbappe again who converted, but he was well offside and the goal was immediately ruled out.
The first half came to a close with Real Madrid leading Barcelona 2-1.
Just minutes into the second half, the hosts were awarded a penalty. The penalty was awarded as Eric Garcia handled the ball inside his own box after Bellingham tried to cross it in, and although there were some nerves inside the stadium, as once again there was a pretty lengthy VAR review, it was eventually awarded. Mbappe stepped up to take the penalty, but was denied by Szczesny, who produced an excellent save to keep it out.
In the 68th minute, yet again Madrid had the ball in the back of the net thanks to a tidy finish from Bellingham, but once again it was chalked off due to several players being in offside positions. The Barcelona offside trap caused Madrid huge issues throughout the match, and this was a showing of that once again.
In the 89th minute, Jules Kounde was played in on goal, but he completely squandered the opportunity, and the ball was claimed by Courtois. This was one of the most significant moments for Barcelona in the match, but the chance just fell to the wrong player.
In the 100th minute, Pedri was sent off. The Spaniard received a second yellow card for a poor, late challenge, and Barcelona were reduced to 10 men.
Pedri's sending off was the last action of the match, and Real Madrid saw the match out to secure a 2-1 victory in the first Clasico of the season.
Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona - Match Statistics
Real Madrid
31
23
10
12
4
3
0
Match Highlights
To follow soon...
Real Madrid Player Ratings
Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe celebrating after Real Madrid score against Barcelona
GK: Thibaut Courtois - 7/10
Made a few good saves, but looked quite uncomfortable when dealing with the set pieces, which Barcelona were putting into his penalty area.
RB: Federico Valverde - 7/10
Had another solid showing at right-back. Valverde had a good, competitive battle with Rashford and was also a threat in the final third.
CB: Eder Militao - 8/10
Provided a good assist for Bellingham's goal. Although Militao didn't have much to do in possession of the ball, defensively, he stayed switched on and produced plenty of defensive actions such as blocks and clearances.
CB: Dean Huijsen - 6/10
Struggled defensively down the left flank, especially when coming across to help out Carreras. The big defender was fine playing the ball out from the back, but looked incredibly shaky when Barcelona committed players forward.
LB: Alvaro Carreras - 8/10
Managed to completely nullify the threat of Yamal for the majority of the match. Carreras was almost faultless defensively, but also contributed with plenty of pace and directness in the final third.
CM: Aurelien Tchouameni - 7.5/10
Provided very good protection to his defence. The Frenchman didn't have much significant to do with the ball at his feet, but his physical presence in the midfield really helped his side.
CM: Eduardo Camavinga - 7.5/10
Worked hard and pressed very well in the middle of the park. Quite like his fellow countryman, Tchouameni, Camavinga didn't have much to do in possession, but his pressing and work rate were a big asset for Madrid.
AM: Jude Bellingham - 9/10 (Man of the Match)
The most important player on the pitch. Bellingham had involvement in both of Madrid's goals, assisting the first and scoring the second, and worked his socks off throughout the match, whilst also showing quality in the final third.
RW: Arda Guler - 5/10
Didn't have anywhere near as much creative influence on the match as he typically does. Guler was partially at fault for Barcelona's first goal as he was dispossessed in his own half.
ST: Kylian Mbappe - 7.5/10
An up-and-down day for the French superstar. Although he eventually got his goal, Mbappe also missed a penalty and had a screamer ruled out for offside. He was a constantly active, creative threat in the final third and probably should've scored more.
LW: Vinicius Junior - 8/10
Had a huge part to play in Madrid's second goal, as he produced some brilliant wing play to get past Kounde. The Brazilian was relentless down the left flank all match, constantly showcasing his pace and skill.
SUB: Brahim Diaz - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Daniel Carvajal - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Rodrygo - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Dani Ceballos - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Gonzalo Garcia - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
Barcelona Player Ratings
Fermin Lopez celebrating after scoring for Barcelona against Real Madrid
GK: Wojciech Szczesny - 8.5/10
The experienced goalkeeper was kept constantly busy by the Madrid attackers, and he managed to put in an excellent performance considering what he was faced with. Szczesny produced several brilliant saves throughout the match and also managed to keep out Mbappe's penalty.
RB: Jules Kounde - 6/10
Struggled defensively against Vinicius Junior, who was relentless down the left wing. Kounde wasn't terrible, but his confidence was knocked early due to the success the Brazilian was having against him.
CB: Pau Cubarsi - 6/10
Quite like his centre-back partner, Garcia, Cubarsi was also good with the ball at his feet, but really struggled to deal with the pace and skill of the Madrid attackers at times.
CB: Eric Garcia - 5.5/10
Gave away a penalty, albeit he was lucky that Mbappe went on to miss it. Garcia was decent when playing the ball out of defence, but seemed to really struggle against the pace and trickery of Madrid's attackers.
LB: Alejandro Balde - 5.5/10
Struggled physically against Bellingham. The youngster struggled defensively, but also didn't really offer anything offensively.
CM: Pedri - 8/10
Worked hard in midfield and was pretty much faultless in possession of the ball. Pedri got up and down the pitch, and whilst also creating some really good chances in the final third, he was brilliant defensively.
CM: Frenkie de Jong - 6.5/10
Saw more of the ball than any other player on the pitch, but he didn't really do much with it. The Dutchman mainly passed backwards and sideways, which often slowed Barcelona down.
AM: Fermin Lopez - 8/10
A lively attacking threat for Barcelona. Lopez continued his brilliant form with yet another well-taken goal, and he pretty much always produced something when in the final third.
RW: Lamine Yamal - 5.5/10
A Clasico to forget for Yamal. He was completely shut down by Carreras at times, and although he had moments where he did get past him, what followed in terms of his end product was pretty poor.
ST: Ferran Torres - 5/10
Hardly had any involvement in the match and was almost anonymous at times.
LW: Marcus Rashford - 8/10
A good performance by the Englishman. Rashford was a constant threat down the left wing whenever he was given the ball, and he also provided a good assist for Lopez's goal.
SUB: Ronald Araujo - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Marc Casado - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Roony Bardghi - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Gerard Martin - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.