Barcelona vs Real Madrid: A Fierce Rivalry Rekindled on the Grand Stage

 Barcelona make history with four straight Clásico triumphs, matching a rare feat achieved only once before

Barcelona Fight Back in Epic Clásico Comeback to Close in on La Liga Title

Barcelona moved to within touching distance of the La Liga title after staging a sensational comeback to beat Real Madrid 4-3 in a thrilling Clásico, despite a hat-trick from Kylian Mbappé.

Real Madrid surged ahead with two early goals from Mbappé inside the opening 14 minutes, but Barcelona responded with a blistering first-half turnaround. Eric Garcia and teenage star Lamine Yamal found the net, while Raphinha struck twice to complete an astonishing four-goal salvo before the break.

Mbappé completed his hat-trick with 20 minutes remaining—his 39th goal of the season in all competitions, setting a new record for a Real Madrid debut campaign—but it wasn’t enough. Fermin López thought he had added a fifth for Barcelona, only for VAR to rule it out for handball.

The win lifts Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of their arch-rivals with just three matches remaining. Barcelona can now clinch the title with a win against Espanyol on Thursday or if Real Madrid fail to beat Mallorca on Wednesday.

Flick named an unchanged XI from the side that lost to Inter Milan in the Champions League semi-final, and his players initially showed signs of fatigue. Mbappé opened the scoring from the spot after being brought down by goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny, and he doubled the lead moments later with a cool finish following Vinícius Júnior’s incisive pass.

But what followed stunned the visitors. Garcia nodded in from a corner to halve the deficit, before Yamal, quiet until then, lit up the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium with a stunning strike into the bottom corner. Two minutes later, Raphinha capitalized on a defensive mix-up to fire Barca ahead, and the Brazilian added his second just before the break after a slick move involving Ferran Torres and Yamal.

Real Madrid’s fightback faltered despite Mbappé's third goal. Raphinha squandered a golden chance to seal his hat-trick, and substitute Víctor Muñoz fired over in the dying moments. Mbappé forced a sharp stop from Szczęsny, but Madrid couldn’t find an equaliser.

Barcelona’s dominance in this season’s Clásicos—having also defeated Madrid in La Liga, the Spanish Super Cup final, and the Copa del Rey final—sees them equal a record set in 1982–83 for four Clásico wins in a single campaign. Madrid, meanwhile, have now conceded 16 goals across those four meetings, highlighting their defensive fragility and Barcelona’s resurgence under Flick.