Mbappe, Bellingham fire Real Madrid to El Clasico win over Barcelona
Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham stole the show as Real Madrid bested 10-man El Clasico rivals Barcelona 2-1 at the Bernabeu to move five points clear at the top of the La Liga table.
In true Clasico fashion, it took just four minutes for the first controversial flashpoint of the game, as a Real Madrid penalty for a perceived Lamine Yamal foul on Vinicius Junior was overturned following a VAR review.
Los Blancos’ Mbappe then had a wonder strike disallowed for offside not long after, but he was not to be denied a second time, launching Xabi Alonso’s men into the lead after getting in behind Hansi Flick’s high line.
The red-hot Fermin Lopez drew La Blaugrana level not long after, but Barca’s atrocious defending came to the fore once again towards the end of the first half, allowing Bellingham to restore the hosts’ lead with one of the simplest goals he will ever score.
Real Madrid were then presented with a golden chance to go 3-1 up early in the second half, as Eric Garcia was penalised for a handball inside the penalty area, but Wojciech Szczesny was equal to Mbappe’s spot kick.
Alonso’s men were subsequently content to sit back and hold what they had in the dying embers, during which Pedri was sent off with virtually the last kick of the game, and the Real tactics just about paid off as the capital giants moved out of sight at the La Liga summit.
The derby that often has everything had it all again today – from disallowed goals and penalty saves to terrible defending and temper tantrums – and there can be no downplaying the importance of this result for Real Madrid.
Neither side came into the hotly-anticipated derby in tip-top shape, but Real Madrid were boosted by Dani Carvajal, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen’s returns from injury, while Barca lamented the absences of Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski.
The Blaugrana trident of Rashford, Lopez and Lamine Yamal can hardly be described as second-string, but Yamal’s powers waned while Mbappe and Bellingham flaunted theirs – at least in the first half.
Alonso made a raft of risky changes in the second 45, where Vinicius Junior took particular issue to being substituted, refusing to shake his manager’s hand and storming straight down the tunnel after an on-field meltdown.
However, the hosting manager just about got away with his questionable substitutions, and Real are now firmly in the driver’s seat in the La Liga title race after ending a run of four successive Clasico losses.
