Real Madrid clinched a hard-fought 2-1 victory over FC Barcelona in the latest El Clasico. With this win, Real extended their lead at the top of La Liga by five points.
Matchday 10 of the La Liga 2025/26 season saw midfielder Jude Bellingham score his first league goal and assist of the season. Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe continued his impressive scoring streak.
Fermin Lopez scored the lone goal for Barcelona, which was an equaliser in the 38th minute.
The result leaves Barcelona in 2nd position and 5 points adrift of Xabi Alonso’s Real.
Here we present the top talking points from the contest held at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
Vinicius Junior brings unwanted attention for being substituted
Brazilian winger Vinicius Junior’s reaction to being substituted for fellow Brazilian Rodrygo in the 72nd minute was concerning. The Real Madrid ace was visibly upset with his substitution, ignoring manager Alonso as he walked past him and left for the tunnel. He returned to the bench several minutes later. As per reports, after full-time, he even had to be held back from confronting Lamine Yamal.
“He contributed a lot,” Alonso said of the 25-year-old’s performance against Barca after the contest at a presser. “All coaches know that there are different personalities. I’m taking away a lot of positives from Vini Junior’s performance and I don’t want to lose sight of what’s important,” the Spaniard added.
In-form Mbappe has a busy outing
Mbappe has been in top form for Real Madrid this season. The former Paris Saint-Germain star had a busy game. Despite having a goal ruled out by VAR early on, he scored the opener. Mbappe had another goal ruled out in the 2nd half. He also had a penalty saved in the 52nd minute.
Despite all the chaos, Mbappe is running away with the goals. This was his 16th goal for the club in all competitions this season, including 11 in La Liga.
As per Opta, Mbappe became the third player to score in four consecutive El Clasico matches across all competitions in the 21st century (six goals).
Rashford enjoying his loan spell
Marcus Rashford, who is on loan at Barca from Manchester United, is making a mark for Hansi Flick’s side. The England winger assisted Lopez for the equalising goal. This was Rashford’s 5th assist in La Liga this season from 10 appearances. He has scored one goal. Meanwhile, the versatile player also owns 4 goals and an assist from three Champions League appearances for the Catalan giants.
Barcelona have an option to make Rashford’s move permanent next summer and if he continues in this vein, Flick may push for the player’s signature.
Bellingham is picking up form and can reclaim England spot
Bellingham, who returned from an injury recently, is picking up form. After helping Real beat Juventus 1-0 on Matchday 3 of the Champions League, the Englishman was at this best against Barca. He produced a defence-splitting through ball to assist Mbappe for the opener. His goal was a tap-in in the 43rd minute.
Bellingham, who had been left out of the England squad by Thomas Tuchel in October, could near a return in the upcoming international games next month. England have huge depth and pedigree in their squad, however, Tuchel knows the importance of Bellingham, who is getting back to his best. He had failed to score or assist in six games since returning from shoulder surgery.
Barca miss star players and their high defensive line gets caught
Flick decided to go with a high defensive line and this was too easily breached by Mbappe and Vinicius.
The high defensive line did catch Real offside on five occasions, however, slow reactions and miscommunication caused issues. Mbappe’s opener presents a case when Alejandro Balde stepped out a split-second too late and this left the player through on goal.
Barcelona were also without several key stars. Robert Lewandowski, Gavi, Dani Olmo and Raphina missed the clash with injuries. This was a major setback for Barca in this El Clasico.
Discussion about this post