Barcelona were unable to tally their fifth successive Clásico win. Look back on an engrossing game with the best facts and Opta data in our Real Madrid vs Barcelona stats page.
Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé played starring roles as Real Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1 in the first El Clásico of the 2025-26 La Liga season to end Barça’s recent domination in the fixture and increase their lead at the top of the table.
Barcelona had been aiming to make it five successive Clásico wins in all competitions for only the second time in the fixture’s history, but they rarely looked like leaving the Santiago Bernabéu with all three points this time.
For a while it may have seemed luck was on their side as marginal calls went their way after an early Madrid penalty and goal were overturned.
But at no point did the hosts fall behind, with Bellingham having a hand in both goals and Mbappé scoring for the seventh league game in a row.
They earned Real Madrid a ninth successive home win in LaLiga, something they’d not achieved since February 2015 (W9) under Carlo Ancelotti, and extended their lead at the summit to five points.
Real Madrid vs Barcelona xG map
Vinícius Júnior seemed to have Madrid on their way in just the second minute when Alejandro Balde had been deemed to foul him in the box, but the penalty decision was reversed to spare the visitors.
Soon after, a spectacular Mbappé strike was disallowed due to a marginal offside call, with Barça continuing to live life on the edge.
Madrid finally edged ahead legally soon after in the 22nd minute, Bellignham slicing open the Barcelona defence and Mbappé coolly slotting home.
That took the Frenchman to 16 goals from just 13 appearances in all competitions this season.
Barcelona levelled towards the end of the first half, Marcus Rashford teeing up Fermín Lopez after Arda Guler had been robbed just outside his own box.
But Madrid still went into the break ahead. Éder Militão headed a deep cross back across goal and Bellingham was on hand to tap in, becoming the first Englishman on record to score and assist in a La Liga Clásico.
Madrid should have increased their lead early in the second half when Eric García conceded a penalty for handball, but Wojciech Szczesny saved Mbappé’s spot-kick to keep the visitors in the contest.
The game was tighter generally in the second half, though, with clear opportunities at a premium at either end until Rodrygo shot straight at Szczesny in second-half stoppage time.
But Madrid didn’t ultimately rue that wasted chance, with any likelihood of a late Barcelona equaliser ended by Pedri earning his second yellow card of the game.
As such, Xabi Alonso became only the second of Madrid’s last nine managers to win their first La Liga Clásico.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Real Madrid vs Barcelona stats from their La Liga meeting at the Santiago Bernabéu.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Real Madrid vs Barcelona Stats: Post-Match Facts
Facts to follow…
Enjoy this? Subscribe to our football newsletter to receive exclusive weekly content. You should also follow our social accounts over onX, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.