Real Madrid suffered an embarrassing 4-0 defeat at home to arch- rivals Barcelona on Saturday. The first leg of this Clasico match played at the Santiago Bernabeu was a draw and the score was 0-0. However, two quick goals from Robert Lewandowski early in the second half put Barcelona on course for victory.
17- year- old Lamine Yamal scored the third goal midway through the match, becoming the youngest goalscorer in a Clásico at the age of just 17 years and 106 days. Rafinha scored the fourth goal in the last minute of the match to completely defeat Real Madrid.
After the match, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said “I always enjoy work and life at Barcelona,” speaking to Diario AS. He was asked if this was his best moment as a coach. Flick said, “It’s a wonderful task and a new part of my life. I’m very proud of the team … it gives confidence. The players celebrated in the dressing room and I was very happy to see that.”
The defeat ended Real Madrid’s 42- match unbeaten streak in La Liga. It stopped one match short of Barcelona’s record 43- match streak from 2017-2018. Barcelona’s win extended their lead over Real Madrid to six points in La Liga.
Although doubts have been raised about the quality of players from Barcelona’s famed ‘La Masia’ academy over the years, five of Barcelona’s players in this match came through the club’s training. They included two 17- year- old players, Lamine Yamal and Pau Kubarsi.
It turned out to be a particularly difficult match for Real Madrid, especially for their new superstar Kylian Mbappe. It was his first Clásico, but he failed to make an impact in the match. French forward Mbappe missed two good chances and was offside eight times in total.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, however, took a balanced view of the defeat and made it clear that the result would not be the defeat of their season. “We don’t have to throw everything away because there is nothing to throw away,” Ancelotti said. “We have to forget the last 30 minutes. The season is long, we don’t have to give up. We have to learn. We learned a lot from the last defeat and it will be the same this time. The team can do better and we will.
“I’m worried about the defeat, but we have to wake up early. We did well until the end but mistakes in the second half cost us. We are ready to compete and fight. We lost 0-4 to Barca here before and then we won the league and the Champions League. . We will compete at that level again.”
“I’m worried about the defeat, but we have to wake up early. We did well until the end but mistakes in the second half cost us. We are ready to compete and fight. We lost 0-4 to Barca here before and then we won the league and the Champions League. . We will compete at that level again.”
After the match, Real Madrid announced an investigation after videos of alleged racial abuse against Yamal circulated on social media. “Real Madrid abhors any form of racial, xenophobic or violence in football and sports, and strongly condemns the derogatory remarks made by some fans during yesterday’s match,” a club statement said. Real Madrid has opened an investigation to take disciplinary and judicial action.”