barcelona Player Ratings vs. Real Madrid: Lamine Yamal Fails to Walkโข the Walk as Flick’s Side Fall inโข Clasico
Barcelona sufferedโ a damaging 2-1 defeat to โReal Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday, falling five points behind Los Blancos in theโ La Liga title race. Goals from Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham secured the victory for Madrid, while Barcelona’sโ attacking threat, spearheaded by a quiet Lamine Yamal, failed to consistentlyโค trouble Thibaut Courtois. Hansi Flick’s side also saw Pedri receive a late red card, compounding a frustrating evening.
The matchโข began with controversy as Real Madrid โappealed for a penalty when Vinicius Jr. went down under a challenge from Lamine Yamal, but VAR overturned the decision. Shortly after,โ Mbappe thought he’d opened the scoring with a long-range strike โคfollowing a Fermin Lopez turnover, onyl to be โคruled fractionally offside.
Mbappe didโ eventually break the deadlock, latching onto a brilliant through-ball from Bellingham and finishing with precision.Barcelona goalkeeper wojciech Szczesny was then forced into crucial saves to deny both Mbappe and Dean Huijsen, keeping the Blaugrana within reach. They capitalized on an Arda Gulerโค error near the Madrid box, withโ Marcus Rashford setting up Fermin Lopez for the equalizer.
However,โข Madrid regained the lead before halftime, Bellingham tapping in from a header across theโ face of goal by Eder Militao. Early โขin the second half, Eric Garcia conceded a penalty for a handball, but szczesny again proved hisโ worth, saving Mbappe’s spot-kick.
Despite a steadfast effort to find a second equalizer,Barcelona’s limited options from the bench were evident. They struggled to create clear-cut chances to test Courtois,and their mounting frustrations culminated in stoppage time with Pedri’s dismissal after receiving a second yellow card.
GOAL provides a ratingโข of Barcelona’s players โfrom the Santiago Bernabeu: (ratingsโข to follow, asโฃ the original articleโ indicates this is where they would be)