- Real Madrid – Barcelona 3 – 2 (1 – 1), the match is on!
Real Madrid and Barcelona will meet in the 257th Clásico at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, on Sunday evening.
It was a dramatic battle between the two giants.
Five goals, VAR drama, penalties and an ugly injury were among the talking points presented during the 90 minutes in the Spanish capital.
RBK butcher benches
In extra time, Jude Bellingham, as has happened so many times before, was in the right place at the right time and sealed the Clásico at home in Madrid.
Three points mean Real Madrid are heading towards another league title with just six games to go. Barcelona is 11 points ahead of its competitors.
Bad pictures
Before the end of the first half, Barcelona fans saw ugly pictures when their Dutch midfield star, Frenkie de Jong (26 years old), fell during the count.
The 26-year-old was clearly in pain and buried his face in his hands as medical staff entered the field.
– It doesn't look good for Frenkie de Jong, because it's the same ankle he suffered from this season. We'll see what it is, but from his reaction, I think it's something serious. It's unfortunate, writes Toni Juanmarte, Spanish sports journalist Twitter/X.
Pain: Frenkie de Jong. Photograph: Javier Soriano/AFP/NTP
Show more
The same man comes with another message a few minutes later.
– Frenkie de Jong suffers from a serious sprain. We'll see what happens when the tests are finished.
– This is the third injury that Frenkie de Jong has suffered in his right ankle this season, Spanish journalist Helena Condes Edu wrote on Twitter/X.
“Frankie warning: the season may be over,” the Spaniard wrote like.
The beginning of the dream
Barcelona got off to a great start when Andreas Christensen took charge of the visitors.
There are mistakes after mistakes at Real Madrid, as TV 2 commentator Peder Mordtvedt points out.
– It's a goalkeeping error and nothing else, TV 2's Simin Stamsø Müller watches it live.
Dream start: Andreas Christensen scored 1-0 early in the game. Photograph: Thomas Kueks/AFP/NTB
Show more
But the joy did not last long.
A few minutes later, Real Madrid won a penalty kick after Lucas Vazquez showed great detail inside the penalty area.
– They are back, and it didn't take long, commented Peder Mortvedt from TV 2.
Brazilian star striker Vinicius Junior executed the penalty kick safely into the goal.
SAFE AS A BANK: Vinicius Junior equalized in the first half. Photograph: Reuters/Susana Vera/NTB
Show more
Then it got dramatic again later in the first half. The video assistant referee was forced to intervene when Barcelona players thought the ball had crossed the goal line.
La Liga does not have goal-line marking technology, so there were some dramatic moments when the ball danced along the goal line after a corner kick.
Andrey Lunin cleared the ball and the TV images did not show the ball crossing the goal line, so the score was 1-1 at half-time.
In the second half, youngster Fermin Lopez put the visitors back in front after rebounding a shot from Lamine Yamal.
But this time the joy was short-lived.
A few minutes later, Lucas Vázquez equalized for Real Madrid, and in extra time Jude Bellingham scored a 3-2 winner to secure Real Madrid's La Liga gold medal.
“Infuriatingly humble internet trailblazer. Twitter buff. Beer nerd. Bacon scholar. Coffee practitioner.”
