Real Madrid left Camp Nou on Sunday with a 2-1 win and a title race that is suddenly open again. Mbappé’s brace, in the 41st and 87th minutes, took him to 100 goals for Real Madrid and handed José Mourinho a sixth Clasico win across his two spells in charge.
Barcelona had come into matchday 10 with nine straight league wins and a six-point lead. They now sit three clear of Mourinho’s side with 27 points to Real Madrid’s 24.
The opening goal was more accident than design. Yan Diomande’s low ball into the box took a heavy deflection off Gerard Martín and bounced in off Mbappé just before half time. Raphinha levelled just past the hour, meeting a Pedri through-ball and finishing left-footed.
The winner was the one Madrid fans will replay. Jude Bellingham slipped a backheel to Eduardo Camavinga down the right, and the midfielder’s low cross found Mbappé for a tap-in into an empty net.
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Mourinho plays down the win
Mourinho played down the result at his post-match press conference.
“Real Madrid do not play to win at the Camp Nou. Real Madrid play to win LaLiga,” he told reporters, as World Soccer Talk reported.
He also complained that João Cancelo should have been sent off for a challenge on Diomande, and that VAR had not intervened.
Madrid came through without several first-choice players. Vinícius Júnior was suspended and Thibaut Courtois pulled out ill, with Andriy Lunin deputising in goal.
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Barcelona’s unbeaten run ends
Barcelona had a chance to stretch their lead to nine points, and were punished for a flat first half. Lamine Yamal had a glaring one-on-one chance that would have levelled the match before the break, and his five shots delivered Barcelona’s highest xG without producing a goal.
Pedri said his team had been off the pace, as The Analyst reported.
“In general, we didn’t have a great game. In the first half, we weren’t ourselves; there were a lot of things we could have done better.”
Mbappé now has five goals in his two Camp Nou visits as a Real Madrid player, the most by any Madrid player at Barcelona’s ground since the start of the 2013-14 season, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. Hansi Flick’s side are back in action in matchday 11 after the international break.
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