Jude Bellingham propelled Real Madrid to a thrilling 3-2 victory over reigning champions Barcelona on Sunday, extending their lead to 11 points at the summit of La Liga with six matches left.
In a back-and-forth encounter, Los Blancos twice clawed back from deficits, with Vinicius Junior and Lucas Vazquez finding the net to cancel out strikes from Andreas Christensen and Fermin Lopez. Bellingham then sealed the win in stoppage time, all but securing the title for his side.
Despite a resilient performance from Barcelona following their midweek Champions League exit at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain, Bellingham’s heroics dashed their hopes of a comeback.
Real Madrid showcased their resilience reminiscent of their midweek battle against Manchester City en route to the Champions League semifinals, before Bellingham’s decisive strike sent the Santiago Bernabeu faithful into jubilation.
The English prodigy, Madrid’s leading scorer with 21 goals across all competitions, once again proved his mettle in the Clasico, adding to his brace from October’s encounter and shining brightly in his debut season in Spain.
“We had a great night with our fans, something we all deserved, we took a huge step towards La Liga,” Vazquez, key in all three Madrid goals, told Real Madrid TV.
“We’ve had a very good season, we’re on a very good path, now we just have to polish it off and we’ll go for everything,” he added.
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti opted for three changes from the lineup that defeated City, shifting Eduardo Camavinga to left-back in place of Ferland Mendy, while Luka Modric returned to midfield.
Despite being the penalty-saving hero against City, goalkeeper Andriy Lunin committed an early error, allowing Barcelona to take the lead. A misjudged attempt to deal with a corner left the Ukrainian stranded, and Andreas Christensen capitalized with a header into the empty net.
However, Madrid quickly equalized through Vinicius, who, after missing a golden opportunity, made no mistake from the penalty spot. Lucas Vazquez earned the penalty after evading Joao Cancelo and being brought down in the box by 17-year-old Barcelona center-back Pau Cubarsi.
Barcelona remained undeterred and found openings down their right flank, with Lamine Yamal causing problems for Camavinga. Nonetheless a clever flick from a corner by the 16-year-old prodigy, Lunin denied the effort, though Barcelona disputed that the ball had crossed the line.
As La Liga doesn’t employ goal-line technology and VAR couldn’t definitively confirm the ball’s complete entry into the goal, Barcelona’s frustration mounted.
“We deserved much more given the way we played but there’s not much we can do.
“(Not having goal-line technology) is a disgrace,” Xavi said
Minutes later, Yamal appealed for a penalty after being clipped by Camavinga in the area, but the referee dismissed their claims.
Both Raphinha and Ilkay Gundogan narrowly missed free-kick opportunities, highlighting Barcelona’s struggles in converting such chances since Lionel Messi’s departure in 2021.
Barcelona suffered a setback just before halftime when midfielder Frenkie de Jong was stretchered off after injuring his ankle in a challenge by Fede Valverde.
At halftime, Xavi made a tactical substitution, bringing on Lopez for Christensen, which proved beneficial as Barcelona started the second half with more momentum.
Lopez capitalized on Lunin’s parry of Yamal’s shot in the 69th minute, slotting the ball into the net from close range.
However, Madrid quickly responded as Vinicius delivered a cross to Vazquez, who found the back of the net after shaking off his marker Cancelo.
Notwithstanding a brilliant save by Marc-Andre Ter Stegen to deny Vinicius, Madrid continued to press for another goal to secure their La Liga title.
Bellingham, who had been relatively quiet throughout the match, delivered the decisive blow in stoppage time, emphatically sealing the victory from Vazquez’s cross.
“We fight until the end and we never accept we’re beaten,” Vazquez remarked.
