Real Madrid Stuns Barcelona in Clasico Comeback
Oct 28, 2023, 01:00 PM ET
BARCELONA, Spain
Real Madrid emerged as the comeback winners of Saturday’s Clasico against Barcelona thanks to the heroics of Jude Bellingham, whose two goals canceled out an early Barca goal at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.
With the result, Barcelona have their first loss of the LaLiga season and fall to third on the league table as Real Madrid leapfrog their way to first. Real Madrid’s comeback from being down a goal at halftime is the first such rally in El Clasico since 1988.
Barcelona looked at first to be cruising in front of a home crowd, taking an early lead through a sixth-minute Ilkay Gündogan goal. But then The Jude Bellingham Show began.
Real Madrid were quiet — up until Bellingham wasn’t
In the end, of course it was all about Jude Bellingham. The best player in LaLiga this season had been quiet in El Clasico — his individual performance reflective of Real Madrid’s subdued collective — but when his moment came, he delivered in the most emphatic way possible.
In the 68th minute, with Madrid 1-0 down, Gavi’s header fell to Bellingham outside the Barcelona box. He took two touches, one to control the ball on the turn, the next to get it out from under his feet, before unleashing a vicious shot past Ter Stegen. It was his ninth LaLiga goal — his 12th in all competitions for Madrid — and it was his best, in the biggest game of all.
Barca’s collapse after strong start shows work left to do
Barcelona will be wondering how this one slipped through their fingers.
They were the better side early on, with Xavi’s decision to play three central defenders and wing-backs working well. The Barça coach would have taken great satisfaction from his side’s first-half performance, with Vinicius and Bellingham well-shackled and Gundogan’s goal giving the home team a deserved lead.
However, Xavi will be frustrated at how Barça let Madrid back into the game after the break as they were beaten for the first time in LaLiga this season, leaving them four points behind co-leaders Madrid and Girona.
Fitness issues had dominated Barca’s build-up to the first Clásico of the season. In the end, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Koundé were deemed fit enough to return to the bench, but it came too soon for Frenkie de Jong, Pedri and Sergi Roberto.
Despite that, Barça impressed early on. Gundogan’s goal gave them a sixth-minute lead, and they should have added a second. Fermín López, one of the revelations of the season so far, hit the post. João Félix then dallied on the ball after producing a superb nutmeg on Rüdiger, allowing Carvajal to make a brilliant challenge.
More chances came after the break. Iñigo Martínez headed Fermín’s cross against the post, and goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga saved the rebound from Araújo. On the hour mark, Lewandowski was introduced as Xavi looked to kill the game and leapfrog Madrid in the table. João Cancelo then saw a deflected effort loop wide before Los Blancos began to ask some questions of Barça.
Tchouaméni’s long-ranger, tipped wide by Ter Stegen, served as a warning, and minutes later Bellingham drew Madrid level from distance. Lewandowski came close to restoring Barça’s lead but, as the game looked destined to be drawn, Bellingham popped up again, converting Carvajal’s cross in stoppage time.
This was supposed to be the Clásico of the Rolling Stones. Their logo adorned Barça’s shirts as part of the club’s sponsorship agreement with Spotify, and Mick Jagger and Ronnie Wood were seated in the directors’ box. The soundtrack, though, as has so often been the case for Madrid this season, was provided by a Beatles track in the end: “Hey Jude.”
The defeat will hurt for Barça, but it should not derail their season. It came in trying circumstances, with several players missing or not fit, and a four-point gap to the leaders after 11 games is not a catastrophe. However, it also highlighted that there is still work to be done at both ends of the pitch after they failed to add a second before wilting in the final 20 minutes.
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