There was no fifth consecutive victory for Hansi Flick's FC Barcelona against Real Madrid. On matchday 10 of LaLiga, the 'merengue' team won by the narrowest of margins (2-1) with goals from Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham, both in the first half of a match full of controversy with a very poor refereeing performance from César Soto Grado.
The referee from La Rioja awarded two nonexistent penalties (one corrected by VAR) and ended up sending off Pedri González near the end. In addition, he let several fouls by the Whites go unpunished and caused a regrettable fracas at the end.
Hansi Flick, suspended for the Clásico, opted for Jules Koundé and Ferran Torres in his lineup, both recovered in time from their muscular problems. Xabi Alonso, meanwhile, also recovered Dean Huijsen and reinforced his midfield with the entry of Eduardo Camavinga.
In the first half, the 'merengues' were superior thanks to effective pressure in the center of the field. In the second half, the process was much more balanced, with possession returning to Barcelona's control. However, the 'culés' lacked depth and ideas to even salvage a draw in Chamartín.
Barça Suffered Real Madrid's Pressure in the First Half
The match began with very high decibels, with a nonexistent penalty by Lamine Yamal on Vinicius corrected by VAR. After reviewing the play on the monitor, César Soto Grado corrected his initial decision, as Vini was the one who hit the foot of the '10' from Barça to fall inside the area.
Javier Iglesias Villanueva, with his call from the VOR room, saved Barça from an invented penalty. In the 13th minute, the VAR was once again key, this time to disallow a great goal by Kylian Mbappé due to a previous offside by the Frenchman.
'Kiki' would have his revenge in the 22nd minute, taking advantage of a through ball from Jude Bellingham to break the Barça line and finish with a shot across goal past Szczesny. Cubarsí, this time, was caught out, playing the Madrid '10' onside.
Barça had a tough time in the first half hour of the game. Pedri and Frenkie de Jong had problems with Tchouaméni and Camavinga's strong marking to give the team a clean outlet. Only in the 33rd minute, Ferran Torres forced Courtois to make a save with a good shot from the edge of the area. Szczesny, despite conceding, did his part with remarkable saves against Dean Huijsen, Vinicius and Bellingham.
Fermín reappeared in the Clásico, but Barça went into halftime losing
When Madrid seemed to have the pace of the game under control, an error by Arda Güler in the buildup opened the door for Barça's equalizer. Pedri stole the ball, appearing behind the Turk, passed to Balde and he to Rashford. The Englishman waited for the precise moment to send the pass to the middle, where Fermín López arrived unmarked to blast it past Courtois in the 38th minute.
The man from Huelva almost scored again a couple of minutes later, with a header, but his shot didn't have enough power. Right after that, Madrid regained the lead, with a goal from Bellingham preceded by a clear elbow from Huijsen on Cubarsí. Vinicius sent a pass to the far post, where Militao appeared to return the ball to the heart of the area.
Jude only had to push it into an empty net, taking advantage of Cubarsí being knocked down, who ended up lying on the green. This time there was no VAR call and, in 43 minutes, the Clásico was 2-1. Barça had some approaches in the discount time of the first half, but the score did not suffer any more alterations.
Szczesny Saved Barça from a Non-Existent Penalty
Both teams kept their lineups intact after halftime. Barça threatened in the 47th minute with a weak shot from Fermín, after Rashford broke down the left. Two minutes later, a corner in favor of Real Madrid resulted in a handball penalty by Eric García when disputing a ball on the end line with Bellingham.
The handball was fortuitous, but Iglesias Villanueva, from VAR, called Soto Grado and the referee from La Rioja awarded the penalty. Luckily, Szczesny saved Mbappé's shot, with a crucial slap to the Frenchman's crossed shot.
From there, Barça began to find spaces in the Real Madrid defense. Fermín, in the 53rd minute, shook off three opponents and, despite having two passing options, preferred to shoot straight on at Courtois, who saved it. It was the second warning from Barça in a crazy start to the second half.
The changes had no weight in the Clásico result
Xabi Alonso refreshed his midfield with the entry of Brahim Díaz for Arda Güler, after a stretch of the match dominated by Barcelona. Bellingham scored in the 68th minute, but assisted by a Brahim who was clearly offside at the start of the play. Later, in the 72nd minute, Valverde and Vinicius would come off, the latter incensed against the coach from Tolosa.
The '7', in fact, went straight to the locker room, while Rodrygo entered in his place alongside Dani Carvajal. Marcus Sorg also moved the bench with the entry of Ronald Araujo and Marc Casadó for Eric García and Ferran Torres. This caused Rashford to move to the center of the area, while Pedri advanced meters so that Fermín occupied the left side.
Pedri Was Sent Off in a Finale That Included a Melee
In the final stretch, Ronald Araujo, as against Girona, once again appeared several times as a '9'. But this time there was no epic comeback from a Barça side that missed names like Raphinha, Lewandowski and Olmo, all injured for matchday 10 of LaLiga.
Soto Grado added 9 minutes and, although Madrid had a couple of opportunities led by Rodrygo, there was no major commotion in the areas. Near the end, Pedri, who was already cautioned, received a second yellow card for a tackle on Camavinga.
After the red card to Barça's '8', a brawl broke out between the benches. Vinicius provoked with some phrase directed at Lamine Yamal and things got really messy, even leading to the intervention of the Bernabéu police. Lunin was the only one cautioned in the middle of the brawl, which extended until after the final whistle.
Beyond the controversies, Hansi Flick's Barça leaves the Bernabéu empty-handed and will have to come back in LaLiga. Now the difference is 5 points with the 'Casa Blanca', but the tournament is just beginning. Next week, the 'culés' host Elche and Madrid will do the same with Valencia.
Match stats: Real Madrid 2-1 FC Barcelona
- Real Madrid, 2: Courtois; Valverde (Carvajal, min. 72), Militao, Huijsen, Carreras; Tchouaméni, Camavinga, Bellingham (Ceballos, min. 90), Güler (Brahim, min. 65); Vinicius (Rodrygo, min. 72) and Mbappé (Gonzalo, min. 90).
- FC Barcelona, 1: Szczesny; Koundé, Cubarsí (Roony, min. 84), Eric (Araujo, min. 74), Balde (Gerard Martín, min. 90+6); De Jong, Pedri; Lamine Yamal, Fermín, Rashford; Ferran Torres (Casadó, min. 74).
- Goals: 1-0, Kylian Mbappé, min. 22; 1-1, Fermín López (min. 38); 2-1, Jude Bellingham (min. 43)
- Referee: César Soto Grado. He cautioned Fede Valverde, Dean Huijsen and Lunin for Real Madrid. For Barça, he cautioned Pedri and Fermín López. Near the end, he sent off Pedri for a second caution. He overturned a penalty by Lamine on Vinicius after VAR review. He disallowed a goal by Mbappé for a prior offside by the Frenchman. He overlooked a clear elbow by Huijsen on Cubarsí before Bellingham's goal. He whistled a handball penalty by Eric García, after the call from VAR in the second half.
- Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid.
- Incidents: match corresponding to matchday 10 of LaLiga EA Sports 2025/26.