Dan Thomas joins ESPN FC via Craig Burley and Alejandro Moreno for Barcelona’s Clasico loss to Real Madrid. (2:12)
MADRID (AP) — Jude Bellingham scored a delayed game-winner as Real Madrid beat Barcelona 3-2 in a thrilling Clasico on Sunday, leaving Madrid 11 points adrift at the top of the table and, with six games remaining, one step. closer to the La Liga title.
Barca took the lead at the Santiago Bernabeu thanks to Andreas Christensen, before Vinicius Junior equalised from the penalty spot. Barça could have taken the lead before the break, but without generating a goal line in La Liga, Lamine Yamal’s shot was considered off the line.
A point-blank goal from substitute Fermin Lopez put Barca back in front midway through the second half, but Lucas Vazquez equalised just four minutes later before Bellingham scored in stoppage time.
Spaniards Alex Kirkland and Sam Marsden tell what this result means for each of the La Liga giants.
Of course, it’s Jude Bellingham. Was there any doubt?
The midfielder scored two goals to win the first Clasico of the season in October in what could simply be called the Bellingham Show. Here he dazzled with a stunning stoppage-time goal, beating Marc-André Ter Stegen to end the race for the name. Real Madrid will win La Liga this season and Bellingham’s role in that victory may not have been much greater.
Madrid are now 11 points ahead of second-place Barca. Six of those problems stem from two wins in the Classic, either thanks to Bellingham. Twice Barca took the lead here at the Santiago Bernabeu, and twice Madrid responded, with an unsung hero. Lucas Vazquez as the key player in the example, before Bellingham sealed the three points in the 91st minute.
It wasn’t a Clasico that Madrid had to win. They just had to make sure they didn’t lose, keep their lead at the very least and save Barça from breathing some life into the name race that was already overdue. That’s how it was: It’s not all or nothing, as it usually feels in El Clasico. But it remains the most important club match in world football, and the atmosphere at the Bernabeu was up to the task. Even the stadium’s towering new 360-degree surround giant screens were turned on for the first time.
It wasn’t Madrid’s most powerful XI, with some fatigue after 120 minutes played against Manchester City in midweek. Coach Carlo Ancelotti made three changes, with Dani Carvajal, Nacho Fernandez and Ferland Mendy all dropped. Luka Modric – in what could be his last appearance in the Clasico – came in midfield, while Vazquez replaced Carvajal and Aurelien Tchouameni joined Antonio Rudiger in central defence. Mendy’s absence meant Eduardo Camavinga played at left-back, with the difficult task of facing Lamine Yamal.
It’s not all good news for Madrid. Barcelona’s first goal will make goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, the hero of the penalty shootout against City, uncomfortable. Lunin came off his line in an attempt to get a corner from Raphinha, but couldn’t get close City won 18 corners against Madrid in Manchester and failed to score from any of them. Here Barça only needed one.
Another fear was the difficulty with which Lamine Yamal brought Camavinga back to life, before he was nevertheless substituted in the second half. But it’s another, broader and less exciting player, Vazquez, who deserves so much attention. The 32-year-old’s dribbling led to Madrid’s first goal, beating Joao Cancelo and going over Pau Cubarsi’s leg, for Vinicius to convert the penalty. And when Barca regained the lead in the second half, it was Vazquez who responded to convert it. 2-2, taking advantage of a cross from Vinicius with a cold shot to the far post.
Vazquez was also given a helping hand to win, at which point the focus was naturally on Bellingham and some other very important goal in what has been a remarkable debut season. Time and time again, when Madrid needed him most, Bellingham delivered his performance, the ultimate player. And possibly it would have given them the championship title. -Alex Kirkland
Barcelona’s season will end with a trophy.
This week began with hopes of clinching a first Champions League final since 2019 and closing the gap between La Liga leaders and Real Madrid to five points. It ended with a European outing and a third Classic loss of the season.
There were moments in Madrid on Sunday when it looked like they were going to revive their waning name hopes. Christensen’s first goal and Lopez’s goal to make it 2-1 were the highlights, but also another night when 16-year-old Lamine Yamal once back showed just how special he is.
There were other moments that may have replaced the game as well. Barca will regret the fact that goal-line generation is not used in Spain after Yamal’s first-half shot, stored through Lunin, was deemed not to have crossed the line. He will also regret a poor finish from Ferran Torres and a defensive defense from Joao Cancelo.
Cancelo beat too softly through Vázquez, who then fouled Pau Cubarsí, leading to the penalty with which Madrid equalised. The Portuguese full-back then left the same player absolutely indifferent to Madrid’s second equaliser, at a time when it seemed that the momentum had arrived. tilted in Barça’s favour.
Dan Thomas joins ESPN FC via Craig Burley and Alejandro Moreno for Barcelona’s Clasico loss to Real Madrid.
While individual errors have hampered Barca’s name defense during the season, injuries have also played a role. There was another here when Frenkie de Jong was forced off with an ankle injury in the first half.
But in reality, even a win at the Bernabeu wouldn’t have been enough. They would still have needed Madrid, who have lost just once in La Liga this season, to lose trouble in at least two more games, while winning their last six. Perhaps it is better to move forward without the false hopes that three issues might have raised.
Barça can do it in the future. It remains to be seen what the future holds for coach Xavi Hernandez. Prior to this week, calls had been mounting for him to challenge his decision to retire this summer after a 13-game unbeaten run. Back-to-back defeats to Paris Saint-Germain and Madrid could replace that.
Xavi led Barca to their first name in La Liga since 2019 last season, but it’s hard to argue that they have stepped up this season, despite the additions of Cancelo, Joao Felix and Ilkay Gundogan. They failed against Madrid three times and lost their way against PSG despite a merit of two goals when Ronald Araujo was sent off in the second leg in midweek.
Gundogan told ESPN this week that those are reports that will serve the team well next season. That’s a positive way to look into it. There is also a young, talented team full of potential, but there are also economic problems and spaces for the team that wants to be defeated. Although the long term is uncertain, the defeat to Madrid means that plans can now be made. . – Sam Marsden