SPANISH League
Madrid, Oct 27: Real Madrid finally ended its recent struggles against Barcelona in a tense clasico which saw players confronting each other after the final whistle.
Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham scored as Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1 in the first clasico of the season on Sunday, halting a four-game losing streak against the Catalan rival.
The victory increased Madrid’s league lead over Barcelona to five points after 10 rounds.
There was a scuffle between the bench players from both teams after Barcelona’s Pedri was sent off just before the final whistle. The altercation continued after the game ended, with Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior and Barcelona star forward Lamine Yamal – who was successfully contained by Madrid defenders during the match – among those involved.“It was the moment and the tension from both teams,” Madrid coach Xabi Alonso said. “It was the tension of an important match and a close result. We shouldn’t read too much into these moments of tension. All sorts of things have happened in clasicos.” Vinícius and Yamal – whose pre-match comments upset some Madrid fans – exchanged words a couple of times during the game. Vinícius gestured against Yamal, using his hands to hint that the Barcelona star was talking too much.“Talk is cheap,” Bellingham posted on Instagram after the match.
The England player called it “a magnificent performance from the whole team.” “This victory is also for the fans,” he told Real Madrid TV. “Last year we played badly in the big games and today this victory was for everyone.” Yamal and Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and Madrid defender Dani Carvajal also got into an altercation after the match.
Madrid reserve goalkeeper Andriy Lunin was sent off following the post-match scuffle, and Vinícius was among the players shown a yellow card.Vinícius was visibly upset when he was replaced by Rodrygo in the 72nd. He went straight to the locker room before rejoining his teammates on the bench a few minutes later.
“All coaches know that there are different personalities,” Alonso said. “Now we’ll enjoy it and, when the time comes, we’ll talk about these things in the dressing room, of course.”
Mbappé strikes
France forward Mbappé, who failed to convert a second-half penalty kick, put Madrid ahead halfway through the first half. That came after the VAR had reversed a penalty-kick call and a goal for the hosts in the opening 15 minutes at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.Mbappé opened the scoring in the 22nd after an assist by Bellingham. Barcelona equalized through Fermín López in the 38th and Bellingham netted the winner in the 43rd.Mbappé had his penalty kick saved by Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny in the 52nd.
Madrid has won 12 of its 13 matches this season, with its lone setback a 5-2 loss at Atletico Madrid in the Spanish league in September.
It was the third loss of the season for Barcelona in all competitions. It had also lost this month 2-1 to Paris Saint-Germain at home in the Champions League and 4-1 at Sevilla in the Spanish league.Yamal was making his third appearance after missing some playing time because of an injury. The youngster couldn’t do much against Madrid defender Álvaro Carreras throughout the match at the Bernabeu.
Mbappé increased his league-leading tally to 11 goals in a breakaway, calmly finding the net with only Szczesny to beat after a nice through ball by Bellingham. It was Mbappé’s 16th goal in his last 13 matches with club and country.
Rashford’s assist
Barcelona equalized after a mistake by Madrid midfielder Arda Guler, who lost possession near the area to allow Marcus Rashford to make a run through the left side and find López for an easy strike from close range.
Bellingham put Madrid ahead again five minutes later, finding the open net from near the goal line after Madrid defender Éder Militão headed the ball toward the goal following another nice run and cross by Vinícius.
Bellingham, who missed the first part of the season because of a shoulder injury, had scored his first goal of the season on Wednesday in Madrid’s 1-0 win over Juventus in the Champions League. He was also involved in the play that led to the missed penalty by Mbappé – a handball by Barcelona defender Eric García as he tried to contain Bellingham inside the area.
Mbappé had another goal called off for offside in first-half stoppage time. (AP)
