The El Classico clashes between Real Madrid and Barcelona have always been a treat to watch for the entire football community as the dominance in this epic rivalry has always gone back-and-forth between the two sides. In the recent encounter between the two teams, Real Madrid was able to fight back to a 2-1 victory over Barcelona at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on Saturday courtesy of a double by Jude Bellingham.
Playing at Barca’s home ground, Real Madrid battled back to win in a nervy encounter after falling behind in the early minutes of the match after the hosts scored the opening goal just 6 minutes into the first half. The goal was a result of some bad defensive mistake by the visitors that allowed Barca midfielder Ilkay Gundogan to take advantage and score the first one for his side.
The first half saw Barca control, and after Real defender Aurelien Tchouameni passed backwards to center back David Alaba, who could hardly reach the ball, Gundogan found the ball at his feet for an easy tap-in. Real Madrid was unlucky to trail by just one goal at halftime due to persistent attacks by forward Joao Felix and midfielder Fermin Lopez, who struck the crossbar in the fifteenth minute.
After the break, keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga produced a fantastic stop to deny Barca from a close-range Ronald Araujo shot, and Andreas Christiansen headed onto the post. After manager Carlo Ancelotti benched Eduardo Camavinga and Modric, Real Madrid began to click, and Bellingham was the centre of attention once more.
Barca indeed made a promising start to the match and looked to have a wonderful win following the early opening goal by Gundogan, but as the game progressed, were punished by not turning their superiority into more goals, as Bellingham capitalized on his two second-half opportunities. In stoppage time, he scored the game-winning goal after grabbing a pass from Luka Modric inside the box. In the 68th minute, he struck an incredible long-range goal into the upper left corner.
The victory has allowed Real Madrid to jump to the the top of the La Liga standings with 28 points and are now levelled level with Girona. Barcelona is in the third place with 24 points, two ahead of Atletico Madrid, who have still have two games in hand.
