From the very start, El Clasico was everything it was supposed to be. There was drama, invention, chaos and… controversy. There’s always controversy.
It all started with a second-minute penalty for Real Madrid that was overturned by the VAR after a Lamine Yamal challenge on Vinicius Junior in the box. Referee Cesar Soto Grado pointed to the spot — before being sent to view a replay that showed Vinicius Jr making contact with Yamal, rather than the other way round. Still, you’ve seen them given.
Some 10 minutes later, Kylian Mbappe looked to have scored a wonder goal, a searing volley from way outside the box from an Arda Guler flick to rob possession. Unfortunately again for Madrid, the Frenchman was marginally (and we mean marginally) offside.
But the home side would not be denied. From a defence-splitting Jude Bellingham pass, Mbappe found the net again with a slick low finish — and this one did count.
Madrid were totally on top, and Barca just seemed to be hanging on, before a Guler mistake allowed the away side to pounce and grab a goal back — Fermin Lopez converting from a Marcus Rashford cut-back.
This was the first Clasico in its 123-year history with an English player on both sides — and Bellingham wasn’t done yet. He put Madrid back in front before the break, finishing from close range after an Eder Militao header across the Barca goal.
There was more VAR action straight after the break. It intervened again to recommend a penalty after the ball struck Eric Garcia’s hand in the box. Mbappe stepped up to take it, but Wojciech Szczesny made a brilliant save.
You might have expected that to help swing momentum in Barca’s favour, but in truth it was a pretty disappointing performance from Hansi Flick’s side — with the German manager up in the stands serving a suspension.
Pedri was sent off for a second yellow card offence deep into injury time, a moment that sparked confrontation between the two dugouts, with police officers intervening. But for Madrid, the only sour note was Vinicius Jr’s annoyed reaction to being replaced in the second half.
Victory for Xabi Alonso’s side extends their La Liga lead over Barca to five points with 10 games played now in the 2025-26 campaign. Here, The Athletic’s Dermot Corrigan, Tomas Hill Lopez-Menchero and Anantaajith Raghuraman go through the game’s big talking points.
Madrid’s ride on the VAR rollercoaster
Refereeing drama has dominated recent editions of El Clasico — the only surprise was how early it came here.
Two minutes in, Vinicius Jr thought he had won a penalty after being brought down by Yamal inside the area. But a lengthy check then followed as referee Soto Grado was called to the monitor. When he appeared to decide that Yamal had got a toe to the ball and been kicked by Vinicius Jr, familiar chants of “Negreira, Negreira!” and “Corruption in the federation” could be heard at the Bernabeu.
Ten minutes later, there was yet more controversy. Mbappe produced a thumping half-volley from outside the area to seemingly give his side the lead — before the France captain was ruled offside. The decision came down to whether Arda Guler or Fermin Lopez produced the final touch before the ball came to Mbappe. As the image from La Liga’s semi-automatic system shows, the margins for Mbappe’s offside were also incredibly tight…
So there was extra reason for Madrid fans to celebrate Mbappe’s eventual opener in the 22nd minute, with Bellingham playing a fine ball around Barca’s high line before the Frenchman finished past goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. No offside this time — cue a sigh of relief from the Bernabeu when Soto Grado finally blew for kick-off.
Madrid fans were far happier when their side were awarded a controversial penalty in the 51st minute. A low cross from Bellingham in the area ricocheted off Garcia and onto the Englishman’s knee, before the Barca defender moved his hand towards the ball. Soto Grado gave the spot kick following a VAR review, but Mbappe’s effort was saved by Szczesny.
Tomas Hill Lopez-Menchero
Yamal’s big talk blows up
Before Sunday’s kick-off, Yamal joked that Madrid were “moaners and robbers” during a livestream of Gerard Pique’s Kings League competition and then, on the eve of the game, he posted photos on Instagram of angry Madrid fans giving him stick after he scored at the Bernabeu in last season’s La Liga meeting.
There was nothing too serious in anything he said, but the 18-year-old had given some extra ammunition to the Bernabeu side, and it did not look too clever once the game began.
After just two minutes, Barcelona were easily cut open by a Madrid counter-attack, and Yamal himself was arguably very lucky that a penalty call against him personally was reversed after a VAR intervention.
There were regular whistles for Yamal from the Bernabeu crowd when he touched the ball, and huge cheers when he lost a battle for possession or misplaced a pass. Being the best player on a Spain team that won Euro 2024, and are among the favourites for next summer’s World Cup, did not stand for much compared to club loyalties.
(David Ramos/Getty Images)
Yamal had little impact on the game in an attacking sense. In the first half, he had one shot that sailed wide. He lost possession eight times and had just one successful take-on, with Madrid left-back Alvaro Carreras dealing with him very well. He made just four passes in the attacking third.
In the second half, a shot from outside the box that flew wildly over the bar gave more cause for celebration among the home fans.
Meanwhile, Madrid’s superstars Mbappe and Bellingham were putting in huge performances. Yamal remains an outstanding talent, with the potential to be the best player in the world. But this Clasico will go down as a learning experience, both for what happened before and during the 90 minutes.
Dermot Corrigan
Is Bellingham back?
Bellingham could not have picked a better stage on which to step up his Real Madrid revival.
In fairness to the England midfielder, his disappointing 2024-25 season was in keeping with an underwhelming one in general for the side then managed by Carlo Ancelotti. He could not have been expected to keep up his sensational scoring form from his debut campaign, in which he netted the winner in both La Liga Clasicos. It did not help that he was playing deeper and struggling with a shoulder injury which he finally had surgery on this summer.
(Oscar del Pozo/AFP via Getty Images)
But, after opening his account for the season in the midweek Champions League win against Juventus, the 22-year-old once again thrived against Barcelona.
His pass for Mbappe’s opener was inch-perfect, bringing to mind an assist he provided for Vinicius Jr in the 2024 Supercopa de Espana final. His goal was pure opportunism, exactly what we became used to seeing from Bellingham during that remarkable 23-goal campaign in 2023-24. And it was his work down the right that led to his side’s controversial 52nd-minute penalty, saved by Szczesny.
There was further proof of Bellingham’s confidence when he coolly dispatched a shot past Szczesny in the 68th minute after side-stepping Pau Cubarsi, but Barca’s offside trap had worked this time.
Either way, the contrast with his subdued display in the 5-2 loss against Atletico Madrid, his first start after his surgery, was stark — this was a big-game player stepping up when needed most by Alonso.
Tomas Hill Lopez-Menchero
Alonso’s clever Madrid midfield
Throughout the first half, Madrid positioned a player between the visitors’ backline and midfield line. Ahead of them, Mbappe occupied the centre-backs, while Vinicius Jr held his width on the left, with Bellingham initially operating on the right. Guler often joined the attack too to give Madrid several outlets.
For the first goal, Camavinga rotated to the right with Bellingham dropping into the gap between the lines. His turn away from pressure and pass to Mbappe were both perfect.
Problems out of possession have been a consistent theme of Barcelona’s start to the season and it showed up again on Sunday. The hosts repeatedly got Alejandro Balde to jump up from left-back and could either exploit that space or execute a quick switch of play to bypass most of Barcelona’s front six. The high positioning of Vinicius Jr, Mbappe and a midfielder meant they could bear down on Barcelona’s backline before they could adjust.
Madrid sat deeper in the second half, preferring to frustrate Barcelona and hit them on the counter — and it worked. Barca threw everything at the home side during nine minutes of time added on, including moving Ronald Araujo up front, but Alonso’s side were worthy winners.
Anantaajith Raghuraman
How bad is this for Barca?
With just over 15 minutes left to play, stand-in Barca coach Marcus Sorg made a double swap to try and pull the visitors into the game, replacing Ferran Torres and Garcia with Marc Casado and Ronald Araujo.
Sorg did not have many options to change things, given injuries to Robert Lewandowski, Dani Olmo and Raphinha, but even still it seemed a strange move.
It certainly surprised his own players, with Frenkie de Jong among those to scream at the bench to ask how the team were supposed to line up. Eventually, Rashford was sent to centre-forward, with Fermin Lopez on the wing, but it made little difference to how the game played out.
This was a poor all-round performance by Barca, with confusion on and off the pitch, and Madrid deserved their victory. But for those who are following Barca closely, the display was not really a surprise. They have not been playing with anything close to last year’s pace, zip and authority, and have been really poor, especially away from home.
(Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
It did not help that Flick was in the stands at the Bernabeu, following his sending-off last week at home to Girona (another game in which his team did not play well, and were fortunate to win 2-1 late on). Injuries are a factor, but something is not quite right at Barca, and a big turnaround is needed if they are going to defend their La Liga crown.
There was also some surprise at Alonso’s team selection and substitutions (especially from Vinicius Jr when he was subbed off) but all the new Bernabeu coach’s calls came off. Madrid were far superior, and this was a big boost to their new project (as Alonso likes to call it).
Alonso and his revitalised team are now five points ahead of the Flick’s unsettled side in the table, and big favourites to take the La Liga title.
Dermot Corrigan
What next for Madrid?
Saturday, November 1: Valencia (Home), La Liga, 8pm UK, 4pm ET
What next for Barcelona?
Sunday, November 2: Elche (Home), La Liga, 5.30pm UK, 12.30pm ET
