Real Madrid took an early blow in the Spanish league title race in the first Clasico of the season, as they were handily beaten 4-0 by a rampant Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu.
A Robert Lewandowski’s second-half double, followed by Lamine Yamal’s fine finish and Raphinha’s deft chip, saw Los Blancos seen off at home – and fall six points behind their bitter rivals in La Liga.
Madrid repeatedly tried to exploit Barca’s high-line, but had little to show for it. Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr found themselves caught offside time-and-time again, succumbing to the Blaugrana’s well-executed offside trap. The Frenchman had the ball in the net after 31 minutes, but saw the flag go up after a mistimed run.
Madrid were made to pay for their lack of cutting edge early in the second half, when Lewandowski ran through on goal to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. He added a second two minutes later, ghosting between Madrid’s centre-backs before heading into the bottom corner.
And Lamine Yamal offered the killer blow, smashing into the roof of Andriy Lunin’s net from a tight angle as a scattered Madrid defence was left searching for answers. Raphinha offered an all-too-easy fourth five minutes from time. This was a humbling.
GOAL rates Real Madrid’s players from the Santiago Bernabeu…