Real Madrid beat Barcelona in a five-goal thriller in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium to make another step towards winning the La Liga.
It was another special night in Madrid as the hosts moved one step closer to winning the league by defeating their rival. In the first half, Barca took an early lead from Christensen’s header, but Vinicius leveled the match from the penalty spot.
In the second half, Fermin Lopez put the Catalans in front again. However, five minutes later, his goal was canceled by Lucas Vazquez. Both teams tried to score the winner in the final minutes but it was Jude Bellingham to stole the show, just like in the first leg. Madrid won the ELClasico 3-2 to go 11 points clear at the top of the table.
Real Madrid Vs Barcelona: Play-by-Play
Barcelona started the match with high pressure on Madrid’s defense. This strategy resulted in a corner in the 6th minute. Raphinha sent the corner to the far post and Andreas Christensen took advantage of Lunin’s mistake to score with a header to put the Catalans ahead. As the visitors were enjoying their early lead, Vinicius wasted a real chance to make things even.
In the 13th minute, Barca came close to scoring again, but Lunin denied Yamal. This miss proved costly as they were punished three minutes later. Vazquez who brilliantly dribbled past Cancelo was brought down in the six-yard box by Pau Cobarsi and the Ref did not hesitate to point to the spot. Vinicius Jr scored the penalty to level the match.
In the 28th minute, Barcelona almost took the lead again. Raphinha sent another corner and Lunin scrambled Yamal’s shot away off the goal-line. VAR checked the scene and ruled no goal as the whole ball did not cross the line. Lamine Yamal continued to cause the hosts problems and Camavinga received a yellow card for bringing him down.
In the last minutes of the first half, ter Stegen saved Luka Modric’s low shot and Christensen made a vital block on Rodrygo to deny Madrid. The visitors’ last chance came through Ilkay Gundogan’s free-kick but his shot went over the bar. In the 6th minute of the added time, Pedri replaced de Jong looked to have a serious injury. After that, the Ref blew his whistle and the teams shared spoils in the first half.
Second Half Report
The visitors began the second half with a substitution. Fermin Lopez replaced Christensen as Xavi looked to win the match by increasing attacking forces. In the 55th minute, Vinicius made a good run on Barca’s left side, but his shot was not on target. Ten minutes later, Xavi made further substitutions as Joao Felix and Ferran Torres came onto the pitch for Lewandowski and Raphinha.
In the 66th minute, Ferran Lopez broke on the counter, but his low shot went wide of the far post. Three minutes later, Barcelona retook the lead. Lamine Yamal’s curling shot was parried away by Lunin and Fermin Lopez was there to score from the rebound. After that, the hosts made two substitutions. Brahim Diaz and Francisco Garcia replaced Kroos and Camavinga and Madrid responded well to Barca again. Lucas Vazquez scored from close range on Vinicius’ cross to level the match in the 73rd minute. That was a well-worked team goal from Ancelotti’s boys.
After their second goal, the hosts made another change as Eder Militao replaced Rodrygo. In the 79th minute, Vinicius raced forward on another quick counter, this time from the left side. He hit a low shot on goal that was saved by the keeper in the near post. The Brazillian left the pitch three minutes later to make way for Joselu.
In the 87th minute, Madrid came close to scoring but Joselu could not hit the target after a mix-up from the visitors’ defense. As we reached the added time, Diaz won the ball in his own half and passed it to Vazquez. He made a cross toward the goal which was missed by Joselu, but Jude Bellingham was on the far side to score the winner. The 20-year-old did it again just like the first leg and Real Madrid won the ElClasico to be 11 points in front of their rival.
Real Madrid Player Ratings (4-4-2)
Andriy Lunin (GK) – 6/10: Could do better about the goals. Made a few saves, especially in the second half as his side tried to stay in the game.
Lucas Vazquez (RB) – 9/10: Outstanding. He probably played the match of his life with a goal and two assists. Man of the match.
Antonio Rudiger (CB) – 7/10: Coped with Barca’s attack well throughout the night. However, he could placed better on the second goal.
Aurelien Tchouameni (CB) – 7/10: Solid performance from the Frenchman. His positioning helped Madrid on some occasions.
Eduardo Camavinga (LB) – 6/10: Had a difficult night against Yamal. He performs better in the midfield position.
Luka Modric (CM) – 7/10: Fine performance from the veteran. Controlled the tempo of the match as he usually does.
Toni Kroos (CM) – 6/10: Normal display from the German. Made a vital Block early in the game, but could do a better job on Christensen’s header.
Federico Valverde (CM) – 7/10: The box-to-box midfielder made his usual service to help his side. Another energic performance.
Jude Bellingham (CAM) – 8/10: Scored the winner at the death to be the hero again. His goals against Barca were so valuable this season.
Vinicius Jr (FW) – 7/10: Scored the first goal from a penalty and made the assist to Vazquez for the second goal. However, he wasted some chances throughout the night.
Rodrygo (FW) – 6/10: The Brazillian forward was quiet tonight. Could do better on two occasions, especially in the first half.
Substitutes
Francisco Garcia (For Eduardo Camavinga – 71‘) – 6/10: Replaced the tired Frenchman and did his job quite well.
Brahim Diaz (For Toni Kroos – 71‘) – 7/10: His presence was vital in Madrid’s third goal. Another good sub from Carletto.
Eder Militao (For Rodrygo – 74‘) – 6/10: Replaced the Brazillian forward to make room for Tchouameni in the midfield.
Joselu (For Vinicius Jr – 82‘) – 5/10: Came late into the game and missed two chances.
Manager
Carlo Ancelotti – 7/10: The Italian coach made a few changes as Vazquez started as a right-back and used Camavinga on the left again. He may be criticized for the latter and using Kroos and Modric at the same time, but his side won the match thanks to Vazquez and it’s another victory for him.
Barcelona Player Ratings (4-3-3)
Marc-Andre ter Stegen (GK) – 6/10: He almost saved the penalty and Could do little about the other goals. Made some good saves to keep his side in the match.
Jules Kounde (RB) – 6/10: He played well for most of the game, but could do better on Madrid’s winning goal.
Ronald Araujo (CB) – 6/10: Was his side’s best defender on the night. Although they lost and conceded three goals, it was a good response by the Uruguayan after the last match’s disaster.
Pau Cubarsi (CB) – 5/10: Conceded the penalty on Lucas Vazquez. The promising youngster has much to learn in the coming years.
Joao Cancelo (LB) – 4/10: He was at fault for the first two goals. His future looks unclear with this week’s performances as his mistakes continue to cost Barca.
Andreas Christensen (DM) – 7/10: Scored the first goal and made a vital block in the first half. He was subbed at half-time.
Frenkie de Jong (CM) – 6/10: Injured at the last minute in the first half. Braca missed him dearly in the last 20 minutes.
Ilkay Gundogan (CM) – 7/10: His presence and passes in the midfield were one of his side’s main weapons all night.
Lamine Yamal (RW) – 7/10: Barcelona’s most dangerous player. The 16-year-old caused Madrid problems throughout the night.
Raphinha (LW) – 7/10: Made the assist to Christensen from a corner and was a threat, especially in the first half.
Robert Lewandowski (ST) – 5/10: Very quiet from the talisman. It was a night to forget.
Substitutes
Pedri (For Frenkie de Jong – 45‘) – 7/10: His presence changed the tempo of the match a bit, but his effect was not much in the final twenty minutes.
Fermin Lopez (For Andreas Christensen – 46‘) – 7/10: Came as a sub and scored the second goal for the Catalans.
Joao Felix (For Raphinha – 64‘) – 6/10: Brought pace and variety to the match, but could not help his side to create real chances.
Ferran Torres (For Robert Lewandowski – 64‘) – 5/10: missed a golden opportunity, although he was offside.
Manager
Xavi Hernandez – 6/10: His decision to sub Christensen who was his team’s best player was odd. However, It resulted in Fermin Lopez’s goal to put Barca in front again. He will regret letting the lead go two times and lost probably his last important match as the coach of Barca.
