FC Barcelona was saved from a very dubious penalty after a handball by Eric García inside the area thanks to Wojciech Szczesny. In the 52nd minute, the Pole stopped the shot taken by Kylian Mbappé with a spectacular swat, guessing the side chosen by Real Madrid's '10'.

The Frenchman had taken advantage of the two penalties he had previously been awarded in the tournament. However, this time his usual crossed shot was authoritatively saved by 'Tek'. The experienced goalkeeper had not saved a penalty since March 2024, with Juventus, and had already suffered a 'Kiki' penalty in the last Clásico played in Montjuïc.

Szczesny's great match without reward against Real Madrid

Although he couldn't keep a clean sheet, Szczesny completed a great match at the Bernabéu, with 9 saves that prevented a greater difference in the result. In the first half, the '25' appeared to neutralize shots from Dean Huijsen, Vinicius, and Bellingham. Towards the end, he also contained two shots from Rodrygo without problems.

Unfortunately, the Pole's good performance was not enough to prevent Barcelona's defeat in the Clásico (2-1). The absences due to injury (7) and the controversial refereeing, as expected, by César Soto Grado, cleared the way to victory for a Madrid that is now 5 points ahead of the 'culés'.

Real Madrid Benefited from Penalties Again in El Clásico

The penalty for Eric García's handball, moreover, was the 43rd awarded to the 'Casa Blanca' in Clásicos. Of these, the Madridistas only missed 6, a record that makes Szczesny's save even more remarkable. In fact, since 2008 (Samuel Eto'o), no player had missed a penalty in a Barça-Madrid match.

The Catalans, on the other hand, have had 31 penalties in their favor against 'Los Blancos', with only 4 misses (the last one, by the Cameroonian forward). In fact, of the last 8 penalties awarded in Clásicos, only 1 was in favor of the 'Culés' (scored by Lewandowski in the 2025 Spanish Super Cup).

Before the match against Barça, the last Real player to miss a penalty kick had been Emilio Butragueño, on June 8, 1991. Andoni Zubizarreta saved 'El Buitre's' shot that day at the Bernabéu. That day there was also a narrow victory for the Whites (1-0) with a goal from Adolfo Aldana in the 47th minute.