Jude Bellingham gave Real Madrid a dramatic 3-2 Clásico victory over champions Barcelona on Sunday, leaving them 11 points clear at the top of La Liga with six games remaining.
Los Blancos twice came from behind, with Vinicius Junior and Lucas Vazquez scoring to equalize goals from Andreas Christensen and Fermin Lopez, before Bellingham scored the winner in stoppage time to all but guarantee his side the title.
Barcelona, in second place, bounced back with a strong performance following their Champions League elimination at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain, but their last stand was demolished by Bellingham.
Real Madrid showed the same courage to stay in the game as they did in midweek against Manchester City on their way to the European quarter-finals, before Bellingham’s knock left the Santiago Bernabéu fans spellbound.
The England international, Real Madrid’s top scorer with 21 goals in all competitions, scored twice in Real Madrid’s Clasico victory over Barcelona in October and is shining in his first season in Spain.
“We had a great night with our fans, something we all deserved, we took a big step towards La Liga,” Vázquez, scorer of Real Madrid’s three goals, told Real Madrid TV.
“We had a very good season, we are on a very good path, now we just have to finish and we will try everything.”
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti made three changes to the team that beat City, with Eduardo Camavinga moving to left-back to replace Ferland Mendy, while Luka Modric started in midfield.
Real Madrid’s penalty save hero against City, goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, made an early error to give Barcelona the lead.
The Ukrainian moved off the line to try to save a corner, but he didn’t get anywhere near the ball and Christensen headed it into the empty net.
However, Real Madrid quickly equalized through Vinicius, who fired in a good opportunity before equalizing from the penalty spot.
The sensational Vázquez escaped João Cancelo very easily and was brought down in the box by 17-year-old Barça defender Pau Cubarsi.
Vinicius scored from the penalty spot to score his 19th goal of the season in all competitions.
Barcelona were not intimidated and advanced down the right flank, with Lamine Yamal giving Camavinga a difficult time.
– ‘Disgrace’ –
The 16-year-old star thought he had struck a clever shot from a corner but Lunin pushed the ball to safety, with Barcelona arguing it had already crossed the line.
La Liga does not employ goal-line technology and, using VAR, the referees were unable to confirm whether the ball had gone completely into the goal, so the Catalans were left frustrated.
“We deserved a lot more with the way we played, but there’s not much we can do,” said Xavi.
“(Not having goal-line technology) is a disgrace.”
Yamal appealed for a penalty minutes later when Camavinga caught him in the box, but the referee ignored the screams.
Raphinha and Ilkay Gundogan both narrowly missed free-kicks, with Barcelona converting just one since Lionel Messi’s departure in 2021.
Barcelona suffered a heavy blow late in the first half when midfielder Frenkie de Jong was taken off on a stretcher after injuring his ankle following a tackle by Fede Valverde.
Xavi also brought on López for Christensen at half-time and that paid dividends for the coach after a slower start to the second half.
The midfielder was in the right place at the right time to finish in the 69th minute when Lunin could only deflect Yamal’s low shot into danger.
However, Real Madrid, looking for their fifth La Liga and Champions League double, quickly counterattacked when Vinicius crossed to the far post and Vázquez arrived to finish after losing his marker Cancelo.
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen made a brilliant save to thwart Vinicius at the near post as the forward fired home as Real Madrid looked to score and all but secure the La Liga title.
Bellingham delivered the killer blow despite being kept silent by the Catalans until he appeared to emphatically decide the match in stoppage time from Vazquez’s cross.
“We fought until the end and never accepted that we were defeated,” added Vazquez.
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