Barcelona turned chaos into clarity, mounting a ferocious comeback to down Real Madrid 4-3 in a thrilling El Clásico that now leaves them just inches from lifting the LaLiga title.
At the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, the story began with Kylian Mbappé silencing the home crowd. Two goals inside 15 minutes the first a clinical penalty, the second a ruthless counter-attack, put Madrid firmly in control.
But this Barcelona side, still reeling from a Champions League exit, showed no interest in folding. Eric García’s towering header sparked the revival, Lamine Yamal’s exquisite curler made it 2-2, and Raphinha punished Madrid’s midfield blunder to flip the game in a breathless 15-minute stretch.
Before the break, Madrid imploded again. Lucas Vázquez’s calamitous error handed Raphinha his second of the night, giving the Brazilian 16 goals against Los Blancos this season, the most any team has conceded to a single opponent.
The second half saw Barça threaten to run away with it, only for Thibaut Courtois to produce a string of world-class saves. Still, even his heroics couldn’t mask the defensive frailties Madrid have battled all season.
Mbappé completed his hat-trick with 20 minutes to go, his fifth Clásico goal in four appearances but it was a lonely triumph in a night of collective failure. Not since Puskás in 1963 had a Madrid player netted three in an away Clásico, and yet it mattered little.
Barcelona’s energy, orchestrated by Hansi Flick’s tactical precision, overwhelmed a patched-up Madrid defence missing its usual backbone. Pressing high, exploiting space, and executing transitions with ruthless efficiency, this was a team unshaken by early adversity.
“We are delighted,” Yamal said after the match. “It was very important to win today to get closer to the league title.”
Barça now sit seven points clear with three games to play. A Madrid slip at Mallorca or a Blaugrana win at Espanyol on Thursday will mathematically confirm what this game already made clear.
El Clásico delivered its usual mayhem, controversy, and magic but this time, the night belonged to Barcelona. And the title, barring a miracle, soon will too.
