Real Madrid’s 3-2 Victory Over Barcelona Strengthens Grip on La Liga Title Race
Real Madrid emerged victorious in a pulsating Clasico encounter against Barcelona as they strive for La Liga glory.
At Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Barcelona led twice, but Real Madrid came back to win and take a commanding 11-point lead. Jude Bellingham’s late goal gave Real Madrid a significant boost in their pursuit of the Spanish league title. After joining Madrid last year, Bellingham swiftly rose to prominence. He most likely cemented the championship on Sunday when he scored the game-winning goal in stoppage time of Sunday’s 3-2 Clasico triumph over Barcelona.
At the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Madrid overcame two leads from Barcelona to win the match, giving them a healthy 11-point advantage over their adversary for second place going into the last six rounds.
After Lucas Vazquez crossed the ball toward the far post, Bellingham scored the game-winning goal from an awkward angle one minute into stoppage time. Vazquez also assisted Vinicius Junior in scoring.
The 20-year-old midfielder’s goal might be vital for Madrid to win the Spanish championship, according to Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, who also noted that he hadn’t scored in a while.
In his last six games across all competitions for Madrid, Bellingham had failed to score. In the opening league clasico of the season, Madrid defeated Barcelona 2-1, with the England international scoring both goals for the team.
This season, Madrid had defeated Barcelona three times in a row. After losing to Atletico Madrid in September, Madrid has gone undefeated in their last 26 league games.
The title is now much more accurate. We had to win that match; it was crucial, and we did,” Ancelotti stated. “The game was evenly matched, with a formidable rival striving to regain its position in the championship race.”
Four days prior, Madrid had advanced to the Champions League semifinals by defeating Manchester City in England on penalties. The league remained Barcelona’s only chance to win the championship this season after the Catalan squad was eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain the day before following a defeat at home.
In Barcelona’s first goal, goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, who saved Madrid in the shootout against City, misread a cross into the area, and in the second goal, he did not completely clear a ball in front of the goal.
Six minutes into the game, Andreas Christensen’s header gave Barcelona, the reigning league winner, an early lead. The team traveled to the Spanish capital in an attempt to resurrect its title hopes.
Before Barcelona took the lead again in the 69th minute through a close-range goal from Fermin Lopez, the hosts equalized through a penalty kick converted by Vinicius in the 18th. After running inside the box and being fouled, Vazquez’s penalty was converted by Vinicius. In the 73rd minute, the Brazil striker crossed the ball to tie the game once more.
Vazquez was one of the players Ancelotti added to the squad following the City encounter. Alongside Toni Kroos in midfield, he also utilized Luka Modric and Aurelien Tchouameni in defense.
After a challenge on Lopez in the second half, Barcelona angrily protested about the penalty given to Madrid and demanded one for themselves. In the first half, it also protested over a possible goal where it was unclear if the ball passed the goal line before Lunin swatted it away. It took a few moments for the video analysis to conclude that it was not the intended outcome.
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After announcing his departure from the team at the end of the season, Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez claimed his team deserved to win and that they performed better. This was probably his final clasico participation.
“I expressed my hope yesterday that the referee wouldn’t make any errors and would go unnoticed, but none of that materialized,” Xavi stated. It’s unfortunate. The outcome was not equitable. Everyone was able to witness it.
While acknowledging that the league was all but finished and that Madrid should be commended for their campaign, Xavi indicated that Barcelona would not give up on the championship just yet.
After sustaining a right leg injury in a collision with Madrid player Federico Valverde late in the first half, Barcelona midfielder Frenkie De Jong was taken off the field on a stretcher. The newly installed, cutting-edge 360-degree TV scoreboard at the rebuilt Bernabeu made its debut during the game.
Actor Andy Garcia, former NFL player Tom Brady, and tennis great Novak Djokovic were among those present at the Bernabeu.
Atletico Madrid Struggles
After being eliminated from the Champions League, Atletico Madrid lost 2-0 to Alaves in the Spanish league, losing the opportunity to tighten its grip on fourth position.
With the loss against 13th-place Alaves, Atletico still trailed Athletic Bilbao by just three points in the race for a Champions League berth for the following campaign. Athletic was forced to a 1-1 draw at home on Friday against Granada, who are in danger of relegation.
After falling to Borussia Dortmund 5-4 on aggregate after a 4-2 loss in Germany on Tuesday, Atletico was unable to progress in the Champions League.
After dropping their previous three league games, Alaves triumphed thanks to goals from Carlos Benavidez in the fifteenth minute and Luis Rioja in stoppage time in the second half. In other games, ninth-place Villarreal defeated last-place Almeria 2-1, while sixth-place Real Sociedad was held 1-1 at midtable Getafe.
