Real Madrid rallied twice before Jude Bellingham won it all in stoppage time in a 3-2 win over Barcelona at the Bernabeu, with a fantastic Clasico, Real Madrid taking over La Liga.
Madrid pulled off a rare three-game sweep against Barca, having beaten the Blaugrana at home and away as in the Spanish Super Cup.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men climb as high as 81 points to open up a 10-point lead at the top of the table, with Girona third (68 points), even more than second-placed Barca.
[MORE: 10 things we have from Premier League Week 34]
It was an entertaining Clasico, more open than usual thanks to the tired legs of both groups in the Champions League second legs in midweek. An injury to Frenkie de Jong before the break helped replace the tone of the match.
Madrid fell behind thanks to goals from Andreas Christensen and Fermin Lopez, who were equalised by Vinicius Junior and Lucas Vazquez.
Real, still alive for a treble, were celebrating a win over Manchester City, while Barcelona had lost badly to Paris Saint-Germain a day earlier, and the atmosphere didn’t change much after this one.
Real Madrid vs Barcelona, Clasico standings (from fotmob. com)
Real Madrid vs Barcelona, Clasico standings (from fotmob. com)
Real Madrid visit Real Sociedad on Saturday before kicking off the Champions League semi-final with a holiday at Bayern Munich on April 30.
Barcelona have more than a week to prepare for their trip to Valencia on Monday, April 29.
Start: p. m. ET on Sunday, April 21
TV Channel: ESPN Deportees
Online: ESPN
Scorers: Christensen (6′), Vinicius Jr (pen 18′), Fermín (69′), Vázquez (73′), Bellingham (90 1′)
He did it again!
Birmingham City’s pass hit the post to meet Lucas Vazquez’s cross that snaked through a sea of bodies.
It shattered at home, a season-winning classic for the 20-year-old.
Lamine Yamal outflanked 3 Real defenders and won a free kick from Antonio Rudiger.
The shot comes from the edge of the 18.
Ilkay Gundogan plays short and a shot is blocked. This leads to the corner.
The ball goes to João Félix, who makes a mess.
It’s a resumption of Lunin and Vini Jr is at 1×1 with Ter Stegen still rejected by the goalkeeper.
Joao Cancelo came out for lunch, while Vini Jr’s cross to the far post found right-back Lucas Vazquez, wide open.
Lamine Yamal takes a left-footed shot from the left flank and Ferran Torres tries to deflect the ball past Lunin.
The goalkeeper pushed him towards the center, where Fermín reacted momentarily to make it 2-1.
Madrid made a change and left-back Fran García came on for Camavinga.
Ferran Torres and Joao Felix come on with less than an hour to go, while Lewandowski and Raphinha are updated.
Ancelotti has yet to sign for Real.
Fermin Lopez replaced Christensen at half-time and Barça’s lack of intensity is evident. Ferran Torres and Joao Felix are attacking options, while Oriol Romeu and Marcos Alonso would thank the team for the opportunity.
Madrid would be happy with the point they get from this game, but they can call on Joselu, Brahim Diaz, Dani Ceballo and Arda Guler if they want to get a win. Defensive features are plentiful, as discussed earlier in the updates.
Real Madrid will be in the lead, as Barça are looking for a win and are taking great opportunities to prove it and get back in front.
The xG favoured Real a bit, Barça showed danger attacking down the flanks and the home side looked mediocre in defence.
Frenkie de Jong was injured before the break and Pedri will take his place. It’s a huge loss but also a great replacement in terms of style, because, to make a comparison with Manchester City, De Jong is the closest thing to Rodri in the championship. while Pedri is more of a Bernardo Silva.
Luka Modric can’t muster enough strength in a great combination play at the 18-man limit, and Marc-Andre ter Stegen leans towards a simple effort.
Yamal stirred up Real’s backline again and Eduardo Camavinga joined him with a hand on his shoulder.
Yellow card and free kick from the edge of the goal. 18. Raphinha shoots.
Ferland Mendy, Eder Militao, Nacho Fernandez and Dani Carvajal will be on the bench if Carlo Ancelotti wants to move away from his midfielders in defence.
Almost 2-1 from the corner, but Lewandowski goes over the crossbar.
After that, Real seemed to have a better chance of scoring the third goal of the match.
Then Lamine Yamal took a corner towards goal and Lunin thought he had won the ball back just before crossing the line.
The VAR takes a look at it now and the angles are brutal. It’s hard to say that one or the other can be conclusive, so we’re playing for a 1-1 draw.
Cancelo got in through Vazquez and Barca’s young star Pau Cubarsi left his leg down in an attempt to block a pass.
Instead, Vázquez takes a touch with a dangling leg and a penalty is awarded.
Vini finishes. We’re 1-1.
Tchouameni cut out a pass into the box and Luka Modric headed in the wake of Vinicius Júnior.
The superstar will create chances like this on purpose, but Vini misses and the score remains 1-0.
The hero of the week is a precocious goat.
Barça won a corner and the kick went into the six-yard box.
Andriy Lunin, who was at Manchester City in midweek, failed to catch the ball and Andreas Christensen rose well above Toni Kroos to bring the ball home.
1-0 for the Blaugrana.
Real Madrid have a smart lead in the standings and can necessarily stop the La Liga triumph, while Barcelona stumble after the sadness in the second leg against PSG in the Champions League.
Real Madrid could use a draw and Barça want 3 points. But once the ball is kicked, a certain amount of abandonment at times. Let’s go!
Lunin, Vázquez, Tchouameni, Rudiger, Camavinga, Modric, Valverde, Kroos, Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo, Bellingham.
Ter Stegen, Cancelo, Kounde, Christensen, Cubarsi, Araujo, De Jong, Gundogan, Yamal, Raphinha, Lewandowski
Karim who? Jude Bellingham (16 goals), Vinicius Junior (12) and Rodrygo (10) have all worked their way up in La Liga to carry the brunt of Karim Benzema’s departure to Saudi Arabia. Toni Kroos and Fede Valverde lead the team in terms of assists. while Antonio Rudiger and Nacho Fernández form a wonderful centre-back pairing.
Thibaut Courtois and David Alaba are all suffering from long-term injuries and will play on Sunday.
Robert Lewandowski leads the Blaugrana with thirteen goals and 8 assists, while the Premier League’s imports are next in terms of league goals with 12 (Raphinha) and 11 (Ilkay Gundogan). Frenkie de Jong and Gundogan have been the club’s players this season, while Pedri, Lamine Yamal and Joao Felix have also inspired in attack and young phenom Pau Cubarsi impresses in defence.
Barça have been phenomenal youngsters Alejandro Balde and Gavi for 22 and 36 games respectively.
(C) 2023 NBCUniversal