Mbappé scores a brace: Barça suffer first league defeat in El Clásico

Real Madrid have handed FC Barcelona their first league defeat of the season. The man of the match in El Clásico was Kylian Mbappé, who scored twice – bringing Real back to within three points of Barça in the table.

Following their first defeat of the season – a 2–4 loss at Paris Saint-Germain – Barça manager Hansi Flick was without Dani Olmo, who had sustained an injury to his left adductor muscle at the Parc des Princes; Bernal was also on the bench. Rodri and Fermin started in their place. International player Adeyemi had to settle for a place on the bench at the start.

Real Madrid manager José Mourinho even fielded a new starting five following the 4–1 win over Leipzig: Vinicius Junior, who was suspended for the league match, was absent from the squad, as was goalkeeper Courtois, who was suffering from flu – although there had been some confusion regarding his availability. Camavinga, Carreras and Rüdiger were also left out following the victory over RB. New to the starting line-up were Cucurella, Konaté, Tchouameni, Diomande and reserve goalkeeper Lunin.

Raphinha and Arda Güler stood out

Barça pressed high up the pitch as usual from the start, whilst Real sat back slightly when the hosts were in possession: following a misplaced pass by Pedri, Arda Güler had the first shot on goal (5’); for Barcelona, Gordon had the first attempt (7’). Both teams gave as good as they got and went straight into the one-on-one duels with the intensity expected of a Clásico, though there were few real chances.

For the Royals, Arda Güler was the most prominent player and kept trying his luck from distance (18th, 26th). For Barça, Raphinha had a few shots on goal but failed to convert (22’, 24’, 33’). Following Barça’s early substitution – with Dani Olmo coming on in Paris, it was now Espart’s turn after half an hour – Real looked slightly more dangerous, with Mbappé missing from a promising position (34’).

Mbappé scores a bizarre opener – Lamine Yamal misses a quick equaliser

The Madrid side kept launching sporadic attacks, whilst the Blaugrana, although they managed to create chances – Gordon had the most dangerous in the 35th minute – struggled overall against some pesky visitors. Following an unfortunate defensive error by Martin, Real then took the lead with a slapstick goal: a cross from Diomande was cleared by the defender straight onto Mbappé’s shin, from where the ball ricocheted into the net (41).

Lamine Yamal squandered an immediate chance to equalise, failing miserably when one-on-one with the goalkeeper (44′). Against a high line, Mbappé hit the inside of the post – albeit from an offside position – (45’+1), whilst Diomande’s shot went into the side netting (45’+2).

Raphinha equalises – Lunin prevents a second goal

After the break, Real remained dangerous on the counter-attack: Martin then prevented the score from becoming 0–2 with an outstanding defensive intervention, outnumbered against Bellingham and Mbappé (51). Barça, who had previously been playing rather haphazardly, capitalised on a lapse in concentration by the otherwise alert Real defence to equalise: following a short corner, Pedri played the ball to the unmarked Raphinha, who nutmegged Bellingham to make it 1–1 (61).

Barcelona’s approach changed thereafter, and Real suddenly found themselves struggling against the renewed intensity of the press. Following a corner, Lunin then prevented a quick one-two: the substitute goalkeeper produced a superb reflex save to deny Martin’s header (66’). For Real, only Arda Güler provided any relief (71).

Barca pushed for the win – and were punished mercilessly

The Blaugrana, on the other hand, pushed for a second goal: the otherwise unlucky Lamine Yamal from distance (78’, 81’) and substitute de Jong (80’) underlined Barca’s determination to turn the game around. But once again, Real had the last word: Bellingham played a superb through ball for the Madrid side; substitute Camavinga ran in behind the defence, shook off Cubarsi with ease and kept an eye on his teammate, leaving Mbappé with the simple task of slotting into an empty net (87′).

Barça were unable to recover from this late shock and thus suffered their first defeat in La Liga, whilst Real reduced the gap to three points. As a result, Flick’s side missed out on setting the sole record for the best start to a season with ten wins from ten games. In the previously evenly balanced Clásico head-to-head record, Real now lead 107–106.

In La Liga, FC Barcelona’s next match is against Deportivo Alavés this coming Saturday (9.00 pm), whilst Real Madrid will then play away at Racing Santander the following day (4.15 pm).