Real Madrid finally broke their hoodoo against Barcelona, edging a fiery Clasico 2-1 on Sunday in a match that ended with tempers flaring and players squaring up after the final whistle.
Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham were the heroes at the Santiago Bernabeu, each finding the net to lift Madrid five points clear of their bitter rivals after 10 rounds of La Liga. The win snapped a four-game losing streak to Barcelona and reasserted Madrid’s dominance in Spain’s most storied rivalry.
Late drama overshadowed the victory when Barcelona midfielder Pedri was sent off, triggering a scuffle between both benches that spilled over into the postgame handshake line. Vinicius Junior and 17-year-old Lamine Yamal – largely contained by Madrid’s defense – were at the heart of the confrontation.
“It was just the emotion and tension from both teams,” Madrid coach Xabi Alonso said. “In matches like this, those things happen. We shouldn’t make too much of it – there’s always fire in a Clasico.”
Vinicius and Yamal had already exchanged words during the match, with the Brazilian mocking the young winger by gesturing that he talked too much – a pointed response to Yamal’s pregame remarks that had irked Madrid supporters.
“Talk is cheap,” Bellingham posted on Instagram after the match.
The England midfielder 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, Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and defender Dani Carvajal also got into an altercation after the match.
Madrid reserve goalkeeper Andriy Lunin was sent off following the postmatch scuffle, and Vinicius was among the players shown a yellow card.
Vinicius was visibly upset when he was replaced by Rodrygo in the 72nd minute. 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.”
France forward Mbappe, who failed to convert a second-half penalty kick, put Madrid ahead midway through the first half. That came after VAR had reversed both a penalty and a goal for the hosts in the opening 15 minutes at the Bernabeu.
Mbappe opened the scoring in the 22nd after an assist from Bellingham. Barcelona equalized through Fermin Lopez in the 38th, and Bellingham netted the winner in the 43rd.
Mbappe had his penalty saved by Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny in the 52nd.
Madrid have won 12 of their 13 matches this season, with their lone setback a 5-2 loss at Atletico Madrid in September.
It was the third loss of the season for Barcelona in all competitions. They had also lost 2-1 to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League and 4-1 at Sevilla in La Liga earlier this month.
Yamal was making his third appearance after returning from injury. The youngster struggled to make an impact against Madrid defender Alvaro Carreras throughout the match at the Bernabeu.
Mbappe increased his league-leading tally to 11 goals with a composed finish past Szczesny after a clever through ball from Bellingham. It was Mbappe’s 16th goal in his last 13 matches for club and country.
Barcelona equalized after a mistake by Madrid midfielder Arda Guler, who lost possession near the area, allowing Marcus Rashford to break through the left side and find Lopez for an easy finish from close range.
Bellingham restored Madrid’s lead five minutes later, tapping into an open net from close range after defender Eder Militao’s header following another precise cross from Vinicius.
Bellingham, who missed the start of the season with a shoulder injury, had scored his first goal of the campaign 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 Mbappe – a handball by Barcelona defender Eric Garcia as he tried to contain Bellingham inside the area.
Mbappe had another goal ruled out for offside in first-half stoppage time.
Madrid were awarded a penalty two minutes into the match after a run by Vinicius inside the area, but the call was reversed after video review. Vinicius went down after he struck Yamal’s leg while attempting a shot. The referee initially called a foul on Vinicius but changed the decision after reviewing the replay.
Madrid thought they had opened the scoring about 10 minutes later when Mbappe found the net from long range, but VAR intervened again to rule him offside when he received the ball.
Pedri was sent off deep into second-half stoppage time after a sliding tackle on Aurelien Tchouameni.
Madrid were outscored 16-7 and lost all Clasicos last season across all competitions – the first time Barcelona had swept the rivalry in a season with at least three meetings.
Barcelona arrived Sunday with mounting injury woes in attack. Coach Hansi Flick watched from a stadium box after receiving a red card for protesting in the previous round. Striker Robert Lewandowski was sidelined with a hamstring injury, while forward Raphinha remained out with a right leg issue sustained in late September. Playmaker Dani Olmo and first-choice goalkeeper Joan Garcia had already been ruled out.
Raphinha, who was among those involved in the postgame altercation, scored five of Barcelona’s 16 goals against Madrid across four meetings last season.
Elsewhere, Mallorca drew 1-1 with Levante, Celta Vigo beat Osasuna 3-2 with Pablo Duran scoring an 87th-minute winner, and Rayo Vallecano edged Alaves 1-0 thanks to Alemao’s stoppage-time goal.
