Agency, October 27: Real Madrid emerged victorious in the season’s first ‘El Clásico’ of the Spanish La Liga. In a thrilling encounter at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on Sunday night, Madrid defeated Barcelona 2–1 despite finishing the game with ten men.
Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham were on target for Real Madrid, while Fermín López scored the lone goal for Barcelona.
Madrid took an early lead in the 22nd minute when Mbappé converted from Bellingham’s assist. Earlier, Mbappé’s goal had been disallowed by VAR for offside just ten minutes before the opener.
Barcelona equalized in the 38th minute as López found the net following a pass from Marcus Rashford. However, Madrid quickly restored their advantage five minutes later when Bellingham scored from an Éder Militão assist, sending the hosts into halftime with a 2–1 lead.
Mbappé had a chance to extend Madrid’s lead in the 52nd minute but failed to convert a penalty. The game grew tense in the closing stages, with Barcelona’s Pedri sent off after receiving two yellow cards and Madrid’s substitute goalkeeper Andriy Lunin also shown red from the bench.
Neither side could add to the scoreline in the second half, sealing a 2–1 win for Real Madrid.
With this victory, Madrid climbed to the top of the league table with 27 points from 10 matches, while Barcelona remain second with 22 points from the same number of games.
