Mbappe and Bellingham Fire Real Madrid to El Clasico Glory

Sports

Real Madrid secured a 2-1 victory over Barcelona in a fiery El Clasico on Sunday night at the Santiago Bernabéu, with Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham delivering decisive goals that ended Madrid’s four-game losing streak in the fixture and strengthened their grip on the La Liga summit.

Mbappe, who later missed a penalty, opened the scoring after a brilliant setup from Bellingham, firing a low shot past Wojciech Szczesny to register his 11th league goal of the season. Despite Fermin Lopez equalising for Barcelona before the break, Bellingham restored Madrid’s lead just five minutes later, tapping home from close range after Eder Militao headed Vinicius Jr’s cross into his path.

The match was filled with drama from the outset. Madrid saw an early penalty overturned by VAR and an Mbappe strike ruled out for a marginal offside before the Frenchman finally found the net. Barca, missing key players including Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, and Dani Olmo, struggled to cope with Madrid’s intensity.

Madrid dominated the first half but were pegged back when Marcus Rashford—making his Clasico debut—set up Lopez for the equaliser. Bellingham’s response, however, ensured the home side went into halftime ahead.

In the second half, Mbappe had a chance to double Madrid’s lead from the spot after Eric Garcia was penalised for handball, but Szczesny guessed right to keep Barca in the game.

Barca youngster Lamine Yamal, who stirred controversy during the week with remarks about Madrid, endured a frustrating evening and was met with jeers from the Bernabéu crowd.

As the clock wound down, Barca pushed for an equaliser, even sending Ronald Araujo forward as an auxiliary striker during stoppage time, but Madrid’s defence held firm.

Tensions boiled over in the dying minutes when Pedri was sent off for a second yellow card, sparking a brief scuffle between players from both benches.

With this result, Real Madrid move to 27 points, five clear of second-placed Barcelona, having now won nine of their first ten league games. The victory serves as a statement of intent from Xabi Alonso’s side, proving their ability to perform in the season’s biggest moments following their earlier derby defeat to Atletico Madrid.