FC Barcelona pulled off an incredible comeback on Sunday to edge past Real Madrid 4-3, putting themselves on the cusp of clinching La Liga title. The win pushes the Catalan club to 82 points, seven ahead of the defending champions with just three games left to play.
Despite a stunning hat-trick from Kylian Mbappé for Los Blancos, Barça responded through a brace from Raphinha and goals by Lamine Yamal, Eric Garcia, and Fermin Lopez.
Having been eliminated from the Champions League semi-finals by Inter Milan earlier in the week, Hansi Flick’s squad were under pressure to salvage their season. However, they delivered under duress, holding their ground after Mbappé’s early double put Madrid in the driver’s seat.
The Catalan side displayed resilience to secure a fourth consecutive ‘El Clásico’ win this season, underlining their dominance over Carlo Ancelotti’s team.
Mbappé opened the scoring from the penalty spot after he was brought down by Barcelona keeper Wojciech Szczesny. Though Barcelona protested the decision, arguing the French star had been offside beforehand, the call stood. Mbappé calmly converted the penalty, even as Szczesny guessed correctly and got a touch. ALSO READ: Real Madrid hit back after Copa del Rey referee’s tears over criticism on club’s TV channel.
Just minutes later, in the 14th, Mbappé struck again with a clinical finish after a set-up from Vinicius Junior, though Barcelona again cried foul, claiming Yamal was taken down earlier in the play.
That goal marked his 26th in La Liga, propelling him past Robert Lewandowski’s tally of 25, and his 38th across all competitions — surpassing Ivan Zamorano’s record for goals in a debut season for Madrid.
Yet again this season, Flick’s youthful Barcelona side showed remarkable grit, clawing their way back into the contest.
Thibaut Courtois parried a strike from Gerard Martin, leading to a corner from which Eric Garcia nodded in after Ferran Torres flicked the ball on.
Soon afterwards, the 17-year-old Yamal curled a composed effort past Courtois after Torres set him up inside the area to draw Barcelona level.
Only two minutes later, Raphinha put Barça in front for the first time, drilling home after being played in by Pedri.
Mbappé thought he had won a second penalty after a tussle with Frenkie de Jong, but VAR intervened to confirm an offside in the buildup. Shortly after, Raphinha capitalised on a defensive lapse by Lucas Vazquez, combining with Torres before slotting past Courtois for his second of the match.
Mbappé found the net again before halftime, but it was chalked off for offside, bringing a breathless opening half to an end.
Barça continued pressing after the restart and saw another Yamal goal ruled out for offside. Flick made tactical changes, introducing Alejandro Balde and Andreas Christensen, with the latter stopping a threatening pass from Vinicius to Mbappé.
The next time, Vinicius connected with Mbappé cleanly, and the Frenchman completed his hat-trick by exploiting Barcelona’s high defensive line.
Barcelona demanded a penalty when Aurelien Tchouameni blocked a Torres shot with his arm, but the referee waved away the appeals after a second look.
Barcelona fans then thought their team had sealed the win 5-3 when Fermin Lopez finished a brilliant solo run, but the goal was controversially ruled out for handball.
Time had ran out for Madrid, and Barcelona — who last captured the league crown in 2023 — now stand just one step away from reclaiming it, potentially as soon as Wednesday if Madrid slip up against Mallorca.
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