Barcelona beat Real Madrid at the Bernabeu to go six points clear in La Liga.
Hansi Flick’s side were overwhelming at home to their fiercest rivals, with Kylian Mbappe frustrated by their well-organized offside trap in the first half, then striking four times after the break.
Robert Lewandowski scored his 13th and 14th La Liga goals of the season in the 54th and 56th minutes to put Barcelona in control. Lamin Yamal then scored his first Clásico goal in the 77th minute before the in-form Rabinha added a fourth with 6 minutes left to play.
As a result, Barcelona is in first place with 30 points, 6 points more than Madrid. Here, our writers analyze the key talking points.
How Barcelona Caught Mbappe Offside Time and Time Again
As many expected, Barcelona’s offside trap was a major talking point in the first half.
Barca caught Bayern Munich twice in the first half, but they quadrupled that tally in 45 minutes at the Bernabeu, with Kylian Mbappe contributing six of those.
The first major offside came within two minutes. With Pau Gubarsi closing down Eduardo Camavinga and Jules Counte worrying Vinicius Junior behind him, Mbappe found himself in acres of space but only a small part early on.
The same pair combined again in the 14th minute, this time from further up the pitch. Mbappe finds space between the Barca centre-backs but his run goes wrong again.
Five minutes later, it happened again. This time, Mbappe appeared on another flank, with Alejandro Balde high up the pitch as he often does in Hansi Flick’s set-up, but the Frenchman was narrowly offside.
The final incident within the opening 30 minutes of the match saw Mbappe again run into the gap between Inigo Martinez and Cubarsi, but his run was mistimed.
La Liga’s semi-automated system shows just how close the offside was.
The blueprint for Mbappe was his strike partner. When Vinicius Jr came in behind, he made use of his pace, aware of where Barca’s high line was. Real Madrid’s midfielders and centre-backs saw him often throw balls over the top, but also play through Barcelona’s press.
Down the line, Ferland Mendy finds Kamavinga in space and he turns away from Marc Cassado before slotting past Vinicius Jr. He runs past Aurelian Dichoumeni and runs in behind Counte, completing a triangle that Barca purists would be proud of. Climb to the end of the pass. He makes it and cuts inside but drags his shot wide.
(Images: La Liga TV)
Ananthajith Raguraman
Lewandowski continues his sensational scoring form
For most of the first half, Lewandowski never got close to the Madrid goal as the action was at the other end.
But when the first chance arrived, after Casado’s accurate ball broke Madrid’s off-side trap, Lewandowski immediately took the chance, firing early from the edge of the box with nothing for Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin or his defenders to do about it.
Lewandowski’s second goal was even better – Balde’s cross was superb, and a poor mark from Madrid’s centre-back. But the header was even more expert, the Pole twisting his body, flexing his neck muscles and guiding the ball powerfully into the corner, just out of Lunin’s reach.
It really should have been better for Lewandowski. Madrid’s defense broke down again and he had a very simple chance to score a third, but somehow hit the post from close range. Another chance soon followed from Lamine Yamal’s accurate cross, but this time Antonio Rudiger was close and Lewandowski shot over.
Has scored 17 goals in 14 games across La Liga and Champions League so far this season. Those goals mean Lewandowski is already in the odds to win this year’s La Liga top scorer award. More importantly, his key role tonight saw Barca now favorites to win this season’s La Liga title.
Dermot Corrigan
Did Real Madrid’s defending contribute to Barca’s opening two goals?
After Barca’s defensive offside trap worked well in the first half, it completely broke down the first time Madrid were tested.
The home side’s back four were not well coordinated, with left-back Ferland Mendy the main culprit. The Frenchman was a yard deeper than his colleagues, and Lewandowski was good enough to get the ball in a legal position for the first goal and send a low shot past goalkeeper Lunin.
A few minutes later the defense was even worse. After Lucas Vazquez was caught out of position by Robinha at right-back, Jude Bellingham tried to track down Alejandro Balde one-on-one but couldn’t stop the cross. Then centre-backs Eder Militão and Antonio Rudiger left Lewandowski in acres of space, just 10 yards from goal, with the Barca centre-forwards in such lethal form that laxity was always likely to be punished.
In one game Madrid’s supremacy seemed to have changed completely. All four of Madrid’s defenders had their share of blame for what happened.
Dermot Corrigan
Why did Flick bring in De Jong — and did it work?
This Barcelona team was praised for playing directly. But that changed in this Clasico.
After a poor first half display for Barca, Flick made a surprise change and brought on Frenkie de Jong. Fermin López was replaced, which meant Petri took on a more advanced role, with De Jong and Casado acting as holding midfielders.
It was a rough start for De Jong. After missing the European Championships with an ankle injury, the problem continued and he was unable to return until this month. But that may change from now on.
De Jong was a key figure for Barca (Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
His introduction into the game produced Barcelona’s best spell – and it was because they slowed down the tempo. As Petri progressed further, Barca had more time on the ball and Madrid’s counter-attacks were severely curtailed. De Jong slotted himself between the centre-backs to help his side’s build-up play, and Casado kept his work rate tidy in midfield.
Barca put a heavy load on the midfield and that gave them the edge. Casado’s through-the-needle pass caught Madrid’s defense by surprise after a good passing sequence to Lewandowski for the first goal.
The same was true for the second goal, when Barcelona held midfield to open up a pass for Balde on the left wing at the right time. Two brilliant finishes from Lewandowski did the rest, but it all started with Flick’s half-time changes.
Paul Paulus
Mbappe and Vinicius Jr disappointed — Madrid have problems in attack
After joining Madrid for the first 45 minutes of Mbappe’s first Clásico, the Frenchman found himself caught inches offside – culminating in the Frenchman’s disallowed effort on the half-hour mark.
There was also frustration when Vinicius Jr. jumped clear, opted to shoot himself and shot wide.
On the stroke of half-time, Mbappe received a pass into the Barca area, but Gubarsi pushed the ball away from him. Then, at the other end, Lewandowski was presented with two clear chances to score and converted both expertly to put Barca in control.
Mbappe had a frustrating night (NurPhoto via Jose Breton/Images Action/Getty Images)
Mbappe finally got his first shot on target but it was scattered under pressure and saved by goalkeeper Inaki Pena. The best chance was yet to come – by now Mbappe was onside and clear, but his low shot was too close to the Barcelona goalkeeper’s feet.
Frustration mounted as Mbappe raced back again and this time fired a shot past the pen, raising the offside flag once more.
On the other side of Madrid’s attack, Vinicius Jr. finished all games with zero shots on target. In contrast to the performance at the other end, Yamal and Rabinha converted chances that were not positive.
Madrid are now six points behind Barca in the La Liga table and have scored 16 fewer times in 11 games so far (37 goals to Barcelona Madrid’s 21). Neither Mbappe, Vinicius Jr nor anyone else at Madrid have good numbers.
Dermot Corrigan
What did Carlo Ancelotti say?
“I have no regrets,” Ancelotti told the post-match press conference. “We followed the line of play against Dortmund. The approach was more pressing. We did it for 60 minutes. This is a difficult moment.
“The result did not reflect what happened on the pitch. They used because of their faith when they were ahead. Before that, we had a lot of opportunities.
“It was a different defeat to Lille (in the Champions League. We didn’t compete there, we played very badly. We lost 4-0 to Barca last time (in March 2022), we won La Liga and the Champions League.”
What did Hansie Flick say?
“When I started, we said we wanted to create an environment where players could be at their best,” Flick said. “The mood is brilliant. We can celebrate this win – I have given (the players) two days off.
“All the players are following the game plan and I am happy about that. Fans deserve it today. The connection between the team, the club and the fans is incredible.
What’s next for Real Madrid?
Saturday, November 2: Valencia (A), La Liga, 8pm UK, 4pm ET
What’s next for Barcelona?
Sunday, November 3: Spanish (H), La Liga, 3.15pm UK, 10.15am ET
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(Top photo: Oscar Del Pozo/AFP via Getty Images)
