Bellingham brace secures El Clasico as Real Madrid come back to beat Barcelona
On a day where the Rolling Stones were in attendance as Barcelona fans, this fixture was always going to be won by those with confidence and expertise.
Ilkay Gundogan is no stranger to big fixtures, netting inside 15 seconds of the FA Cup final Manchester derby in June, and he didn’t have to wait much longer to leave his mark on this blockbuster.
With less than six minutes on the clock, Aurelien Tchouameni’s attempt to intercept possession on the edge of his own area led to disaster, as the Frenchman inadvertently released Gundogan to slot home the opener.
Real desperately needed to sharpen up, especially around their own box as was demonstrated when Toni Kroos had his pocket picked by the tenacious Gavi, allowing Fermin Lopez to steal in and rattle an effort against the post.
Los Blancos offered precious little attacking threat of their own in a cagey first half, failing to register a single shot on target before the break, leaving Carlo Ancelotti with plenty to ponder at the interval.
No improvement was immediately forthcoming after the restart, however, and Real were indebted to their goalkeeper and the woodwork for the deficit remaining at one. Inigo Martinez became the second Barca player to strike the post before Ronald Araujo’s rebound was well stopped by Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Opposite number Marc-Andre ter Stegen finally found himself called into action in the 68th minute, producing a fine diving stop to deny Tchouameni.
There was nothing Ter Stegen could do moments later though, as the irrepressible Bellingham stamped his name all over club football’s biggest fixture. Recipient of a poor clearance outside the area, the Englishman unleashed an absolute rocket that rifled into the net and levelled the scoreline.
The visitors now looked confident of snatching victory, and though they had to wait for it, the winner tasted sweeter than brown sugar, you could say.
Daniel Carvajal’s cross was touched on by Luka Modric into the path of Bellingham, who slotted home his 13th goal in as many appearances for Real as they secured victory in dramatic circumstances.
Ancelotti’s men return to the La Liga summit too, inflicting a first home league defeat of the season on Barcelona as Los Blancos’ stunning start to the season continued.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
