Lewandowski and Yamal lead Barcelona as Catalans batter arch rivals Real Madrid
There were sub-plots aplenty heading into this intriguing first El Clasico of the season – the first for Kylian Mbappe and Hansi Flick on either side of the divide in Spanish football’s biggest rivalry.
Mbappe was striving to make an early impression, and Barca had their blushes twice spared by the linesman’s flag, as the Frenchman saw an effort skim the side netting before he teed up Jude Bellingham with a close-range effort which was clawed away by Inaki Pena in the opening exchanges.
The France captain also reacted to a Pau Cubarsí error with a long-range shot that just cleared the crossbar.
Flick had plenty of ammunition at his disposal too though, and La Masia prodigy Lamine Yamal was denied by Andriy Lunin in a one-on-one chance. This heavyweight clash continued to see both sides traded early blows, and Ballon d’Or favourite Vinicius Junior should have hit the target after weaving his way into the box before firing wide.
It looked like Mbappe had given Los Blancos the lead with a wonderful dinked finish just past the half-hour mark, but Flick’s high defensive line reaped dividends and was ruled out for offside.
However, to say it was all one-way traffic would be a disservice to Flick’s men, as Lunin parried away Pedri’s awkward long-range effort.
It was the Catalans who struck first courtesy of mercurial marksman Robert Lewandowski. The lethal Polish frontman was expertly spotted by Marc Casado and timed his run perfectly before he coolly dispatched a right-footed strike past Lunin in the 54th minute.
Lewandowski would stun the Bernabeu again a mere two minutes later with a superb header to meet Alejandro Balde’s excellent delivery, leaving Los Blancos on the canvas at 2-0 down.
The 36-year-old spurned two golden opportunities in quick succession to complete his hat-trick, as he firstly hit the post from Raphinha’s cut-back, before blazing an attempt over the bar from Yamal’s cross.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side huffed and puffed in a bid to gain a foothold in the match with another chance for Mbappe, but the contest was effectively over when Yamal added a third in the 77th minute. The 17-year-old ended a devastating break forward with a ferocious angled finish from Raphinha’s pass.
But the damage was not done there, and Raphina added a fourth with a sublimed dinked finish over Lunin seven minutes later. Ancelotti rarely gives much away with his poker-face demeanour, but one suspects the Italian was seething at the ease in which his defence was repeatedly torn to shreds by Flick’s ruthless forward line, as his side succumbed to a first home defeat since April 2023 – a run stretching back 40 games.
Meanwhile, this is Barcelona’s 14th win in their last 15 league games, ending a sobering run of five consecutive H2H defeats to their fiercest rivals.
