In a vibrant Clásico, Barcelona staged an epic comeback against Real Madrid, going from being 0-2 down to winning 4-3 on Sunday. This triumph takes a giant step towards winning the LaLiga title.
Kylian Mbappé put Madrid ahead from the penalty spot in the fifth minute and extended the lead shortly after, generating hope in the visiting team at Montjuïc. However, the joy was short-lived. A header from Eric García reduced the difference, a great goal from Lamine Yamal tied the score, and Raphinha scored twice to put Barça 4-2 up at halftime.
Mbappé completed his hat-trick in the 70th minute, assisted by Vinícius Júnior, which led to a tense and dramatic finish, with opportunities for both teams. Barça claimed a penalty for a handball by Aurélien Tchouaméni, which was not awarded. Víctor Muñoz, from Madrid, missed a clear goal opportunity, and both Mbappé and Fermín López had goals disallowed in added time.
With this result, Barcelona moves seven points clear at the top of the LaLiga table, with three games to play. This means they could secure the title this very week.
Barcelona on the verge of LaLiga title
Barça, after the disappointment of their elimination from the Champions League, defeated Madrid in an extraordinary way, placing themselves two points away from the title. Demonstrating once again their mental strength, the team reacted quickly after the tough defeat against Inter.
This result practically ensures that Hansi Flick’s team will close the season with a full set of national titles, after having defeated Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup and in the Copa del Rey final. A victory against Espanyol on Thursday would be enough to secure LaLiga, if Madrid does not score points against Mallorca on Wednesday, or with any combination of two points in the remaining three matches.
Progress has also been made in the Champions League, despite the defeat against Inter, reaching the semi-finals for the first time since 2019. Few would have predicted this level of success at the start of the season, after a season without titles.
This season has been marked by the team’s resilience, with a touch of confidence boosted by players like Yamal, who was sensational again against Madrid.
“They can’t handle us this season”
Lamine Yamal
Yamal said it two weeks ago, after winning the Cup final. And once again, he was right, as Madrid collapsed after leading by two goals in the Catalan sun. Barça has now won four victories in four Clásicos this season. They haven’t secured the third trophy yet, but it’s only a matter of time. Few will argue that they are deserving champions. Except for a run of four defeats in seven games in November and December, they have been the best team in Spain throughout the season.
Real Madrid’s defense, exposed by a superior Barça
It is important to remember that Real Madrid faced this match without their starting defense: Dani Carvajal, Éder Militão, Antonio Rüdiger, and Ferland Mendy. In their place, two full-backs, Lucas Vázquez and Fran García, who have been repeatedly exposed this season, played alongside Tchouameni and Raúl Asencio.
The way Barcelona dismantled Madrid in the second half of the first half, seeming able to score almost at will, was a sight to behold.
A defining moment of defensive fragility was when Vázquez gave the ball away to Raphinha in the 45th minute. The Brazilian, as ruthless as few in LaLiga this season, did not hesitate, exchanged passes with Ferran Torres and made it 4-2.
Vázquez put his hands to his head. As an experienced player, he knew that, after a dream start, the match was about to be lost, and with it, the league title.
For Madrid, there was a sense of déjà vu: it wasn’t the first time Barcelona had outplayed them to score four goals in quick succession this season. In fact, it has happened three times in four Clásicos this season.
Barça did it in the second half at the Santiago Bernabéu in October, scoring four goals in half an hour. They repeated it in the first half of the Super Cup final in Jeddah, with four goals in 33 minutes. And they did it here, in Montjuïc, with four goals in 26 minutes.
These streaks should be epic, iconic. The fact that it has happened three times this season says it all about the offensive prowess of this Barcelona team and the alarming defensive weakness of Madrid.
Enjoy Barça, without worrying about the defensive line
Just relax and enjoy this Barça. Too often this season, the analysis has focused on their advanced defensive line. How many times have we heard “They’ll fall apart when it really matters” or some variation of that sentiment?
Well, it’s May, and Barça is about to secure a domestic treble and has improved in Europe.
Also, Flick doesn’t care. He knows his Barça team will concede goals with their way of playing. They take risks and sometimes will be overwhelmed, but the positives have outweighed the negatives this season.
Four matches have featured candidates for the team of the season in the last two weeks: the Copa final against Madrid, the two matches against Inter, and this great Clásico match on Sunday, which did not yield from the moment Mbappé opened the scoring until López’s late effort was disallowed in stoppage time.
Barça has come back from two goals down on several occasions: against Benfica in the Champions League, against Atlético de Madrid twice, against Inter twice (before finally losing), even against Celta de Vigo two weeks ago in LaLiga and now against Madrid. That is due, in part, to their advanced defensive line and their high press. There haven’t been many more entertaining teams to watch in Europe this millennium.
In Yamal, they have a player you can’t take your eyes off. If he’s not the best player in the world yet, he’s undoubtedly the best to watch. His goal against Madrid was sublime. He would have also had a hat-trick of assists, if it weren’t for Raphinha’s lack of accuracy, who still managed to score two more goals to bring his season’s tally to 34 in all competitions.
Of course, there are flaws. Even here, it was clear that they hadn’t learned the lesson against Inter. Muñoz sent the ball over the crossbar and Wojciech Szczęsny saved against Mbappé, who also had a goal disallowed for offside. There have also been too many individual errors in recent weeks, but that’s something Flick will have to work on during the summer. If he can correct that aspect of his team’s game, without losing their offensive potential, they will be even stronger next season.
More goals for Mbappé, but without major trophies to show
“They are numbers. The most important thing is to win trophies. Scoring goals is important, but if we don’t win trophies, it’s not worth it.”
Kylian Mbappé
That’s what Kylian Mbappé said in March. And here we are two months later, and Real Madrid are out of the Champions League, lost the Copa del Rey final and, almost certainly, out of the LaLiga title race, after this wild afternoon at Montjuïc left Madrid seven points behind Barcelona with three games to play.
Mbappé has scored 39 goals in all competitions this season. It’s an impressive total, breaking club records, almost flawless. But, unless what Madrid does in this summer’s Club World Cup is counted, he will end the 2024-25 season without a major trophy.
He scored when the team won the UEFA Super Cup, scored again when they won the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, and scored in the final defeats in the Super Cup and the Copa del Rey. In the Champions League, the highlight was a hat-trick in Madrid’s tie with Manchester City. And in what was effectively a LaLiga “final” here, he scored another hat-trick, and could have added a fourth in added time to change the result, only to be denied by offside.
Mbappé’s numbers are good, and his performance in this last Clásico of the season was excellent, his movement and clinical finishing punished Barcelona’s infamous advanced defensive line. But, by Mbappé’s own admission, that is not enough.
He spent too much time at Paris Saint-Germain scoring many goals without winning the Champions League, which his talent and status as a player demand. He arrived at Madrid to change that. And so, his season, regardless of those 39+ goals, will be widely seen as a disappointment, perhaps even by himself.
