Barcelona put four goals past Real Madrid in consecutive matches for the first time in Clasico history, lifting the Supercopa de Espana with a 5-2 rout of their arch-rivals.
Madrid took the lead through a fine Kylian Mbappe goal in the fifth minute — the Frenchman banishing memories of his eight offsides in that 4-0 defeat to Barca in October — before Lamine Yamal drew the sides level with a brilliant solo effort in the 22nd minute.
Carlo Ancelotti’s team then collapsed as Eduardo Camavinga gave away a penalty that was coolly converted by Robert Lewandowski in the 36th minute. Three minutes later, Raphinha ghosted in behind Madrid’s defence to head home an inch-perfect Jules Kounde cross. And Alejandro Balde scored the fourth in the 10th (yes, tenth) minute of stoppage time in a chaotic first half.
Things did not get any better for Madrid after the break. Raphinha twisted and turned before adding his second in the 48th minute. There was yet more drama as goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was sent off in the 56th minute for bringing down Mbappe just outside the area, with Rodrygo firing home the free-kick after a long wait — but this night belonged to Barca.
Here, Dermot Corrigan and Anantaajith Raghuraman analyse the key talking points.
Mbappe’s frustrated Clasico redemption
Whenever things seem to have finally clicked for Mbappe’s Madrid career, it soon starts to unravel again.
After just five minutes, Mbappe had his first Clasico goal. Madrid broke quickly from a Barca corner, with Vinicius Junior winning a challenge with Marc Casado, and setting the Frenchman running from half-way. Mbappe showed superb super technique and confidence to ease past the back-pedalling left-back Balde, and then clip the ball past Barca keeper Wojciech Szczesny to make it 1-0.
(Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)
Mbappe looked energised by the goal, and soon afterwards charged through challenges from Casado and Pau Cubarsi and Pedri near the halfway line. But as he twisted away from Jules Kounde he appeared to slip on the turf, and the right-back inadvertently caught him on his left ankle. A few minutes later, Mbappe received more attention on the pitch, with his ankle bandaged by club medics. All the momentum was gone from his performance, and Barca were soon racing away to win the game.
It was reminiscent of when Mbappe scored another superb goal against Atalanta in the Champions League in December, only to soon leave the pitch with a hamstring injury. This time Mbappe stayed on and ended up provoking Szczesny’s red card with a darting run — but Madrid’s defensive collapse brought more frustration for Los Blancos’ latest galactico. His Madrid career has yet to fully take off.
Dermot Corrigan
Yamal channels Messi
Smart positioning to latch on to a first-time pass, a slaloming run inside two defenders and a left-footed, reverse finish just out of reach of the goalkeeper. Yamal has not scored too many goals in this way, often preferring to curl his efforts into the far corner — but if anyone watching felt a sense of deja vu, it was well warranted.
Barcelona fans have seen this before. Against Real Madrid in their famous 3-2 Clasico win at the Bernabeu in 2017, a certain Lionel Messi received a pass from Ivan Rakitic, drifted past two challenges and slid the ball home past Keylor Navas to bring his side level.
Yamal recreated that finish in the exact same scenario, with the goal that set Barca on their way to a 4-1 lead by half-time. The comparisons with Messi have quickly become unavoidable for Yamal, but moments like these reaffirm that they will continue: this was Messi-esque in the best sense of the word.
Anantaajith Raghuraman
Madrid’s chaotic defending
The defending on both sides through the opening stages left a lot to be desired. Neither set of forwards were pressing with the intensity of a La Liga Clasico or a top Champions League night. That meant there were often big holes between the lines in the centre of the pitch — leading to a general sense of chaos and a feeling of an exhibition game at times.
Barca took advantage of the situation much better than Madrid. When the game was still in the balance, it was Camavinga’s extremely slack challenge on Gavi which handed Lewandowski the penalty for 2-1.
Things just kept getting worse from Madrid’s point of view. There was a huge gap between makeshift centre-back Aurelien Tchouameni and right-back Lucas Vazquez, exploited by Kounde’s superb.y drilled 50-yard pass and Raphinha’s excellent header.
Just before half-time, a botched short corner routine led to most of Madrid’s team being caught behind the ball as Balde raced clear to finish calmly.
Then, with Ancelotti’s team desperately trying to get back into the game after half-time, they were caught out again. Raphinha was once more freed behind Tchouameni and had little trouble in making it 5-1.
It was embarrassing by now and Madrid had nobody to blame but themselves. A lack of intensity and focus through the team was ruthlessly and gleefully punished as Barca built up a historic scoreline. A transfer policy which meant Tchouameni and Vazquez — a midfielder and winger — are now often key parts of their back four had also clearly contributed to the debacle.
Dermot Corrigan
What does this scoreline mean for both clubs?
This 5-2 scoreline was just the latest in a series of Clasicos which are getting increasingly surreal and often seem to be detached from the other games and happenings around them.
Each Clasico has always been its own world, and they are very rarely dull, with drama and controversy almost guaranteed each time these two teams play.
Coming into tonight’s game, the previous 10 meetings had brought five wins apiece, including two 4-0 Barcelona victories and Madrid wins by 4-0 and 4-1 scorelines.
The see-sawing mirrors an increasingly strange off-the-pitch relationship. Madrid and Barca are historic rivals and the games are often bitter battles. But the clubs are also increasingly intertwined given their shared support for the zombie Super League project, similar battles against La Liga and UEFA, and their reliance on the same US financiers.
Ancelotti’s side have now conceded at least four goals in back-to-back Clasicos for the first time in history (Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images)
It seems significant the Bernabeu outfit have not openly criticised the Spanish government’s intervention to allow Dani Olmo to be registered after La Liga and the Spanish Federation said he could not.
This result will still be hugely embarrassing for Madrid president Florentino Perez, especially coming after the 4-0 La Liga defeat in October, making it the worst set of back-to-back defeats in over a century of Clasicos.
Perez is less prone to reflex sackings these days, but Ancelotti should still be worried. Big Clasico defeats often have consequences, and the Italian is racking up too many of them.
Dermot Corrigan
What did Carlo Ancelotti say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What did Hansi Flick say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Madrid?
Thursday, January 16: Celta Vigo (H), Copa del Rey, 8.30pm (GMT), 3.30pm (ET)
What next for Barcelona?
Thursday, January 15: Real Betis (H), Copa del Rey, 8pm (GMT), 3pm (ET)
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(Top photo: Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
