By Mohamed Almou
Real Madrid secured a valuable 2–1 victory over host Barcelona in the El Clásico match held on Sunday evening at the Spotify Camp Nou Stadium, as part of the tenth round of the Spanish Football League (La Liga), thanks to a brace from French star Kylian Mbappé.
Los Blancos entered the match with a clear determination to achieve a positive result, imposing attacking pressure on Barcelona’s defense before Mbappé managed to open the scoring in the 40th minute, capitalizing on a ball deflected off a Catalan defender, allowing Real Madrid to end the first half leading 1–0.
At the start of the second half, Barcelona intensified its attacking attempts in search of an equalizer. Brazilian winger Raphinha succeeded in restoring parity in the 60th minute, exploiting a pass from his teammate Pedri to slot the ball past goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, bringing the match back to square one.
The remaining minutes witnessed back-and-forth attacking efforts from both sides before Mbappé struck the winning goal for Real Madrid in the 89th minute following a well-organized attack that culminated in a cross from Eduardo Camavinga, which the French striker turned into the net, granting the Royal Club a precious victory in their traditional rival’s stronghold.
With this victory, Real Madrid raised its tally to 24 points, narrowing the gap with Barcelona to three points. Meanwhile, the Catalan club’s points froze at 27, enabling them to maintain top spot in the La Liga standings despite the loss to their traditional rival in the tenth round.
