Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona
Barcelona will finish Matchday 11 with at least a six-point advantage at the top of the La Liga standings after they crushed their El Clasico rivals, Real Madrid, with a score of 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday night.
After a scoreless first half, Barcelona kicked things up a notch in the second half, as Real Madrid’s defence was flummoxed with a barrage of goals. Robert Lewandowski scored a brace, while Lamine Yamal and Raphinha recorded one goal each to put the game beyond doubt.
Because of the victory, Barcelona’s La Liga 2024 odds of winning this year’s Spanish top-flight championship have drastically improved, even if my SBOTOP colleague James said that Real Madrid were the better long-term bet.
Just in case you missed it, worry not, as we are here to recap last night’s La Liga 2024 highlights.
Highlights of the game
Barcelona came into this game with high spirits, as they just thrashed Bayern Munich 4-1 in their previous match, so Hansi Flick didn’t make any changes to his starting XI.
Real Madrid also came into this game on the back off a huge Champions League victory over Borussia Dortmund (5-2), but Carlo Ancelotti rotated his side, switching from Thibaut Courtois, Luka Modric, and Rodrygo to Andriy Lunin, Aurelien Tchouameni, and Eduardo Camavinga to form a 4-4-2.
Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. wreaked havoc in the final third for Real Madrid. However, they were either wasteful or were caught offside.
Mbappe thought he had a goal during the 32nd minute after a pass from Lucas Vazquez, but his body was slightly in front of Inigo Martinez, hence the offside flag.
Barcelona looked much better in the second half, especially after Hansi Flick subbed in Frenkie de Jong to replace Fermin Lopez to gain more control of the ball.
Because the Blaugrana’s possession percentage improved, they had their breakthrough moment near the hour mark, courtesy of Robert Lewandowski.
Marc Casado pierced Real Madrid’s midfield with a slicing pass to Robert Lewandowski, who broke away and drew first blood for the Blaugrana. Lewandowski completed his brace in the 56th minute after heading the ball in from Alex Balde’s sumptuous cross.
Real Madrid looked for a quick response, and Kylian Mbappe had a chance to score but was denied by Inaki Pena using his foot.
Robert Lewandowski then almost completed a hat-trick but somehow missed two easy chances before the game reached the 70th-minute mark.
Lamine Yamal tripled Barcelona’s lead by firing the ball into the roof of the net following a one-two sequence with Raphinha during the 77th minute.
Raphinha put the final nail in the coffin seven minutes later by chipping the ball over Andriy Lunin after a deft pass from Inigo Martinez.
Key statistics
A quick look at the team stats indicates that Barcelona absolutely dominated Real Madrid in this contest, as they had more total shots (15 to nine), shots on target (seven to four), possession (59-per cent to 41-per cent), and passes (452 to 311).
Barcelona’s strategy to deploy a high backline has helped them a lot, as Real Madrid had been called for numerous offsides, with Kylian Mbappe being the serial offender. The former PSG striker has been caught for eight offsides last night, which is the most in a single match since the start of the 2017-18 campaign, per Sofascore.
Hansi Flick continues to trust his kids, as he started six players under the age of 22 for the first time in El Clasico’s 108-year history.
At 17 years and 105 days, Lamine Yamal became the youngest goalscorer ever in El Clasico history, breaking the record previously held by Ansu Fati (17 years and 359 days).
What’s next?
After the first El Clasico matchup of the year, Barcelona and Real Madrid will go their separate ways and prepare for another busy week ahead.
Barcelona will host Espanyol on Sunday in a bid to get three more points before they’ll go to the Rajko Mitic Stadium to take on Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday for their fourth Champions League match of 2024-25.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, will go to the Mestalla to square off against bottom feeders Valencia before they host AC Milan at the Santiago Bernabeu for their next Champions League contest on Wednesday night.
The Blaugrana and Los Blancos are not far off from each other in the Champions League because they are both level in points with six each. Hansi Flick’s men are in 10th place, while Carlo Ancelotti’s side is the 12th seed.
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