Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 4–3 in a dramatic La Liga match on Sunday, May 11, moving one step closer to winning the league title.
The match, played at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, saw Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe score a hat-trick, but it was not enough to stop the Catalan side from winning the final El Clasico of the season.
Barcelona now lead the table by seven points with only three games left. If Real Madrid lose or draw their next game against Mallorca, Barcelona could be crowned champions as early as Thursday with a win over Espanyol.
Speaking after the game, Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal said, “It was important to win today to bring the league title closer, and it went very well. We’re very happy.”
Real Madrid took an early 2–0 lead thanks to Mbappe, who scored a penalty and a quick second goal within the first 14 minutes. The French striker now leads the La Liga goal chart with 26 goals.
Barcelona then began their comeback. Eric Garcia scored with a header from a corner to make it 2–1. Yamal made it 2–2 with a beautiful curling shot. Just minutes later, Raphinha put Barcelona ahead 3–2 after a smart pass from Pedri.
Mbappe thought he had won another penalty, but VAR ruled it out for offside. Raphinha then scored his second goal of the night, stealing the ball from Lucas Vazquez and finishing past goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Mbappe completed his hat-trick later in the match after an assist from Vinicius Junior, but it was not enough. Barcelona had a fifth goal ruled out for handball, and Real Madrid failed to score again before full-time.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick praised his team’s fighting spirit but admitted, “Sometimes I suffer a lot. We made too many mistakes in defence.”
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said the loss was hard to take. “We have to defend better, that is quite evident from today’s game,” he said. “Mbappe did well in attack, but we could have defended better.”
With the win, Barcelona have beaten Real Madrid in all four of their meetings this season and are now just one step away from winning their first league title since 2023.
