Barca Destroys Real in One Half

Lewandowski scores twice in two minutes, and Yamal nets his first goal in El Clasico.

The long-awaited day has come. The time has arrived for the greatest rivalry in football history. Eternal rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona faced off in the much-loved El Clasico. Naturally, they entered this match as the top teams in La Liga, with the Catalans leading by three points over Madrid. Carlo Ancelotti’s team was also three points ahead of Villarreal.

Both Barca and Real had brilliant midweek performances. In the Champions League, the two giants defeated German teams with a three-goal margin. And not just any teams — they beat Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. Barca's match against Bayern was calmer compared to the other. Raphinha scored in the first minute, completed a hat-trick, and led Barcelona to a 4-1 victory.

Meanwhile, Real’s game against Borussia was far wilder. Madrid was down 0-2 by the 34th minute but began their comeback at the 60-minute mark, ending with a stunning 5-2 win. Vinicius answered Raphinha's hat-trick with one of his own.

Just two minutes into El Clasico, Mbappe had a chance to score. He raced towards the keeper but missed the near post and was flagged for offside. Ten minutes later, he tried to catch Inaki Pena off guard with a high chip, but the ball sailed over the goal. In response, Yamal threatened Real’s goal, but Ferland Mendy blocked his shot.

In the 15th minute, nothing seemed to stop the ball from crossing Pena's line. Mbappe crossed to Bellingham at the far post, but the keeper made a miraculous save — and, once again, Mbappe was offside. The game was very open. Later, Vinicius and Camavinga had near-post shots, much like Mbappe earlier, but without success.

In the 29th minute, Pedri tested Lunin with a powerful shot from outside the box, which the Ukrainian handled well. Then, Mbappe finally scored. But guess what? Offside again. Real "outplayed" Barcelona in offsides in the first half by 8-1. The lively football of these 45 minutes deserved at least one legitimate goal, but the teams went into the break scoreless.

At the start of the second half, the scoring began. Casado split Real’s defense with a pass, and Lewandowski timed his run to avoid offside and beat Lunin. The 36-year-old Polish machine doubled his tally, heading in Balde’s cross from the left. It took the striker just two minutes to score twice.

Mbappe continued breaking through to Pena but again scored from an offside position. Midway through the half, Lewandowski missed two great chances to complete his hat-trick. Luck wasn’t on his side in those moments. But Barca’s young star, Lamine Yamal, had no such issues. In the 77th minute, the prodigy slammed in his debut El Clasico goal, bringing the score to a rout. Shortly after, Raphinha chipped Lunin to seal the final score at 4-0. Mbappe never managed a legitimate goal.

A crushing defeat for Real and a spectacular triumph for Barcelona.

Published by Patrick Jane
27.10.2024