Real Madrid extended their lead at the top of the LaLiga table to five points by beating Barcelona 2-1 in the first El Clasico of the season. Goals from Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham were enough for Los Blancos to win at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday 26 October. Barcelona were reduced to 10 men in the final moments of the match as Pedri received a second yellow.
Real Madrid lead LaLiga with 27 points from 10 games, while Barca are second with 22. It was Xabi Alonso’s men who started the match on the front foot as Vinicius Jr. won a penalty in the third minute before VAR intervened to overturn the decision. Mbappe thought he had put himself through in the first ten minutes but it was ruled offside. However, the Frenchman got the opener in the 22nd minute when he latched on to a Bellingham set-piece and fired the ball into the bottom corner.
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Barcelona got back on level terms later in the half when Fermin Lopez pounced on Marcus Rashford’s cross at the near post in the 38th minute. However, Bellingham restored Madrid’s lead in the 43rd minute when he pounced on a Vini Jr. cross. and sent the ball into the net.
In the second half, Madrid got an early chance to make it 3-1 when Eric Garcia’s handball in the box was penalized. But Wojciech Szczesny coped with this task and saved Mbappe’s penalty. Lamine Yamal came close to equalizing for the visitors in the 63rd minute, but his curler went over the bar. Barca continued to press, Thibaut Courtouis worked in goal, but the Madrid keeper managed it.
However, discipline in the final minutes dogged Barca as they lost Pedri to a red card while chasing the game. This led to some tension between the two benches, but Los Blancos held on for the win to cement their place at the top.
Madrid face Valencia next Sunday, while Barcelona face Elche on the same day.
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Published on:
October 26, 2025
