The classic usually a tight and exciting affair, but it was more of the latter and less of the former as Barcelona earned a dizzying 4-0 victory over Real Madrid on Saturday night.
Good things are clearly brewing in Catalonia and the skills of their young players have been clear The Champions League hits Bayern Munich in midweek, but the gauntlet has been thrown down very well after Madrid were wiped out at the Bernabéu.
Los Blancos and Kylian Mbappe in particular were wasteful in the first half and were made to pay in the second period when Robert Lewandowski scored a quick-fire brace to completely stun the home crowd, who prayed for one of the comebacks magic from Madrid save the day.
No revival came, however, with Lamine Yamal and Raphinha both adding to the score and causing utter confusion both in the Spanish capital and on social media, where supporters and onlookers shared their thoughts on a ridiculous classic.
Sorry about the Coldplay referencethere’s not much we can do about it.
It was a very tough night for Mbappe. The France captain struggled to stay in the side all night with his classic debut, with a strike rightly flagged by the video assistant referee and a handful of shots turned away by substitution Barça goalkeeper Inaki Pena.
He was comfortably overtaken by Lewandowski, who now has 17 goals in all competitions this season. The Poland international was frequently linked with a move away during the summer, but Barca are reaping the rewards of keeping him around despite turning 36 in August.
We also have to acknowledge Lamine Yamal. The wonder child of Spain is now the youngest goalscorer in classic history after scoring the third of Barça’s goals at the Bernabéu and it looks like there’s nothing that can stop him right now.
Barça has a six point lead Madrid in the race for the League title as they chase a first Spanish championship since 2022/23.