Barcelona mounted a thrilling comeback to defeat Real Madrid 4-3 in La Liga on Sunday, moving within touching distance of the title after a stunning response to Kylian Mbappé’s hat-trick.
Despite a fierce challenge from the France striker, who threatened to drag Madrid back into the title race, Barcelona's Raphinha scored twice, while Lamine Yamal and Eric Garcia also found the net to give the Catalans a commanding seven-point lead over the reigning champions with just three matches remaining.
Hansi Flick's side had faced a significant blow in the Champions League, having been knocked out by Inter Milan in the semi-finals on Tuesday, leaving them at risk of seeing their season fall apart should they suffer defeat to Madrid. However, despite Mbappé's early brace, Barcelona stood firm and demonstrated their dominance, claiming their fourth Clasico win of the season.
"We've opened up an important gap, it was key to win this game after the Champions League (defeat), the fans have forgotten it and so have we, let's enjoy this," said Yamal, speaking to Movistar after the match. "It was important to win today to bring the league title closer, and it went very well, we're very happy."
Real Madrid, on the other hand, now face the prospect of finishing the season without a major trophy. Madrid’s head coach, Carlo Ancelotti, acknowledged the defensive issues that contributed to his side's defeat. "We have to defend better, that is quite evident from today's game, we defended badly and that's that," Ancelotti said. "Mbappé did well... in an attacking sense the team had clear ideas, but we could have defended better."
The match began perfectly for Madrid as Mbappé earned an early penalty after being fouled by Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. The Catalan side argued that Mbappé was offside in the build-up, but the penalty stood, and the Frenchman converted past Szczesny, who dived the right way but couldn’t prevent the goal.
In the 14th minute, Mbappé doubled Madrid’s advantage with a clinical finish after a precise pass from Vinicius Junior, despite Barcelona’s protests over a perceived foul on Yamal earlier in the move. The goal marked his 26th La Liga strike of the season, surpassing Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, who had scored 25, and was also his 38th goal across all competitions, breaking Ivan Zamorano’s club record of 37 in his first season with Los Blancos.
But Barcelona quickly rallied, as Garcia scored from a corner delivered by Ferran Torres to halve the deficit. Yamal then brought the teams level with a composed curling shot beyond Thibaut Courtois after a neat assist from Torres. Two minutes later, Raphinha put Barcelona ahead after being set up by Pedri.
Mbappé thought he had earned another penalty when he was brought down by Frenkie de Jong, but after a VAR review, the decision was overturned for an offside in the build-up. Moments later, Raphinha added his second goal, dispossessing Lucas Vazquez before exchanging passes with Torres and firing past Courtois.
Mbappé thought he had scored once more before the break, but his effort was ruled out for offside, bringing a thrilling first half to a close.
In the second half, Yamal had a goal disallowed for offside as Barcelona pushed to extend their lead. However, Vinicius Junior broke through Barcelona's high defensive line and set up Mbappé for his hat-trick, restoring hope for Madrid.
Barcelona appealed for a penalty after Aurelien Tchouameni blocked a shot from Torres with his arm, but the referee, after a VAR review, decided not to award a penalty. Madrid substitute Victor Munoz had a chance to score but fired high and wide, while Szczesny denied Mbappé, who had another goal ruled out for offside.
"For me it's not always fun, sometimes I really suffer a lot," admitted Flick, reflecting on his team's defensive mistakes. Barcelona thought they had sealed the win with a brilliant solo effort from Fermin Lopez, but it was harshly disallowed for handball.
With no time remaining for Madrid to mount a comeback, Barcelona stood poised to claim their first La Liga title since 2023. They could seal the championship as early as Wednesday, should Real Madrid falter against Mallorca. If Madrid avoided defeat, Barcelona would still be able to claim the title with a victory over Espanyol the following day.
"We'll seal it on Thursday and that's all," said Torres, his focus now firmly on finishing the job.
