Jude Bellingham delivered the goods in stoppage time for Real Madrid for a second La Liga El Clásico in a row as Los Blancos defeated arch-rivals Barcelona 3-2 at the death to extend their lead at the summit to a borderline unassailable 11 points.A proper rocket of a goal deepens Atletico’s misery – Alaves help Bilbao by beating Cholo & CoThe tremendous anticipation that precedes Spain’s most celebrated fixture was amplified for Barcelona, who knew that success here was vital if they were to stand any realistic chance of a late title surge, and they converted that motivation into a sixth minute opener for the second league Clásico running. A corner was looped over to the far post by Raphinha, catching Andriy Lunin in no man’s land and finding the head of Andreas Christensen, who headed into the empty net for his first league goal since April last year.
The hosts’ response made Barça’s early goal look something of a bolt from the red and blue, and their domination led to a swift equaliser. Lucas Vázquez left João Cancelo in his wake and coaxed Pau Cubarsí into taking him down in the area, setting the stage for Vinícius Júnior to bury it to Marc-André ter Stegen’s left from 12 yards and end Barcelona’s six-match run without conceding. A fair dose of controversy followed that leveller, with VAR seemingly unable to find a conclusive angle to decide whether or not Lamine Yamal’s flick had crossed the line, while Real Madrid wasted chances of their own towards the end of the first half.
The withdrawal of the hugely influential Frenkie de Jong with injury just prior to the break coincided with an opening up of play in midfield, but the 78,000 strong crowd in the capital were forced to wait until the final 20 minutes for the match to explode back into life. The lead was suddenly back in the visitors’ hands when 20-year-old Fermín López finished into an open net after Lunin failed to deal with Yamal’s effort, but they were pegged back once again just moments later. Vinícius whipped in a wicked low cross to the back post, where Vázquez came steaming in to fire it beyond reach of Ter Stegen.
In much greater need of a win than their opponents, Barcelona worked hard for an equaliser, but a familiar foe rose to take advantage of their resulting defensive frailties. Bellingham, scorer of a last-gasp winner in the reverse fixture, latched onto Vázquez’s sweeping ball at the far post to smash into the roof of the net to cap off a famous victory. A 10-match unbeaten run comes to an end for Barça, who now need a miracle if they are to allow hopes of defending their La Liga title to creep in.
LA LIGA – MATCHDAY 32FridayAth.Bilbao – Granada 1-1 (1-1)/Guruzeta 24 – I. Williams 6 og/SaturdayCelta – Las Palmas 4-1 (2-1)/Aspas 31, 76, Swedberg 39, Douvikas 71 – Herzog 11/Rayo Vallecano – Osasuna 2-1 (0-1)/Chavarria 80, Palazon 84 – Gomez 29/Valencia – Betis 1-2 (0-1)/Pepelu 66 pen – Perez 19, 77/Girona – Cadiz 4-1 (2-0)/Garcia 9, Martin 22, Dovbyk 71, Portu 82 – Escalante 81/SundayGetafe – Sociedad 1-1 (1-1)/Latasa 29 – Barrenetxea 13/Almeria – Villareal 1-2 (0-1)/Lozano 30 – Akhomach 25, Sorloth 90+2/Alaves – Atl.Madrid 2-0 (1-0)/Benavidez 15, Rioja 90+2/Real Madrid – Barcelona 3-2 (1-1)/Vinicius Jr 18 pen, Vasquez 73, Bellingham 90+1 – Christensen 6, Lopez 69/Monday22:00: (2.00) Sevilla (3.05) Mallorca (3.90)***odds are subject to change***