La Liga: Barcelona thump Real Madrid 4-0 in El Clasico
Barcelona maintained their strong start to the 2024-25 season as they thumped sorry Real Madrid 4-0 in a crunch La Liga clash at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. The El Clasico saw Robert Lewandowski scored a quickfire brace in the 2nd half before teenager Lamine Yamal made it 3-0. Raphinha scored late on. In front of over 78.000 fans, Barcelona gained the bragging rights.
Barca keep Real at bay with their high defensive line
Both sides went into half-time with the score at 0-0. Barca didn't provide much spark in the final third despite some good work. Kylian Mbappe, who made his El Clasico debut, thought he'd put Real ahead but had his chip ruled out by VAR for offside. Barca got the offside trap set to perfection as Real clocked as many as eight offsides.
Match stats from the first half
Barca had six attempts with two shots on target. Real didn't have a shot on target from a solitary attempt. However, Real had 10 touches in the opposition box to Barca's 7. Barca had over 58% possession.
Lewy scores brace before host of chances go begging
Real's offside trap failed as Lewandowski stayed level and scored (54'). The flag stayed down as Marc Casado played the ball in behind. Two minutes later, Lewandowski made it 2-0, nodding the ball in from Alejandro Balde's cross. Mbappe had another goal ruled out for offside and he missed several chances. Lewandowski missed two big moments before Jude Bellingham spurned a massive chance.
Yamal and Raphinha make it 4-0
After a host of missed chances from both sides, Yamal scored a stunning goal. This came after Lewandowski flicked Pena's long ball onto Raphinha. The Brazilian drove in the middle of the pitch and fed Yamal on the right wing. And then in the 84th minute, A long ball over the top saw Raphinha score with a delicate chip.
Lewandowski has scored 14 league goals this season
Lewandowski has scored 14 league goals in 11 games this season in La Liga. Overall, he has 17 goals in 14 matches across competitions this season. In 80 La Liga matches, the Polish forward owns 56 goals. In 109 matches across competitions, Lewandowski has bagged 76 goals.
Barca march on in La Liga this season
After 11 matches, Barca have 10 wins and one defeat. They have raced to 30 points. Barca have scored 37 goals and own a goal difference of +30. Real remain second. They have 24 points from 11 matches (W7 D3 L1). Barcelona's fearsome attacking trio of Yamal, Lewandowski and Raphinha have scored 25 of the team's 37 La Liga goals this season.
Raphinha and Yamal's crunch stats
Raphinha has sparkled under manager Hansi Flick with 10 goals and six assists in all competitions this season. For the third successive season, he has netted 10 goals each. Meanwhile, Yamal has been involved in 11 La Liga goals (G5 A6) this season. Overall, he has 13 goals for the club in all competitions (A14). Yamal became the youngest scorer in El Clasico history.
Real's 42-game unbeaten run in La Liga ends
Carlo Ancelotti's men failed to equal La Liga's longest unbeaten run. Real were beaten 3-1 by Atletico Madrid on September 24, 2023. Since then, they managed 31 wins, 11 draws and zero defeats before this 4-0 defeat.
Here are the match stats
Real managed nine attempts with four shots on target. Barca had 15 attempts with 7 shots on target. Flick's side owned 59% ball possession and an 84% pass accuracy. Notably, Real clocked 12 offsides to Barca's one.
Flick makes history
As per Opta, Flick is the first Barca coach to make their debut in El Clasico at Santiago Bernabeu in any competition and win the game since Terry Venables on September 2, 1984 (0-3).
