Saturday evening brought the first El Clasico of the 2024-25 campaign between LaLiga rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona. While this clash is typically exciting, it was completely lopsided. Barca ran out as 4-0 winners at the Santiago Bernabeu, humiliating the title-holders on home soil.
Following the gut-wrenching defeat, Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti didn’t hold back his feelings on how things unfolded.
Via Fabrizio Romano:
“We missed many chances, we lost our energy when they scored…”.
“We’re hurt, yes… difficult moment. But we will not give up, the season is long.”
Yes, the season is long, and Real Madrid is just six points behind Barca, who are dominating so far. The hosts had their fair share of opportunities but were toothless in the final third, failing to beat keeper Inaki Pena. Summer signing Kylian Mbappe had a phenomenal chance to bag his first El Clasico goal after receiving a picture perfect outside of the boot pass from Vinicius Junior, but Pena denied him with a brilliant save.
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Robert Lewandowski put a damper on the mood early in the second half with a brace within just three minutes. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha then added two more late in the second period.
Losses like this aren’t normal for Real Madrid, who are not only the defending LaLiga winners but also the current Champions League holders. With such a powerful attack consisting of players like Mbappe, Vinicius, Rodrygo, and Jude Bellingham, there’s really no excuse to not score in such a crucial fixture. However, Rodrygo didn’t feature due to injury.
Needless to say, Los Blancos can’t afford any more slip-ups if they’re going to win the Spanish top flight again. The focus will shift to next weekend’s encounter with Valencia, who are currently in dead last amid their horrific campaign. After that, it’s a Champions League game against AC Milan at the Bernabeu.