Barcelona 4 – 3 Real Madrid
After trailing 2-0 just 14 minutes into the game, Hansi Flick’s side produced an extraordinary comeback, scoring four times in the first half alone.
As the final whistle blew, chants of “Champions! Champions!” echoed from the stands. No, Barcelona haven’t officially secured the title yet—but in a thrilling seven-goal classic, they defeated Real Madrid and took a massive step toward reclaiming the La Liga crown.
In this high-stakes league showdown on Sunday, Barcelona edged out Real Madrid 4-3. Now, they need just one win from their remaining three matches to become champions.
Even a brilliant hat-trick from Kylian Mbappe couldn’t save Madrid from falling to Barcelona for the fourth time this season. Raphinha netted twice for Barça, while Lamine Yamal and Eric García added one each. All four goals came in the first half after Barça had fallen two behind.
With 26 wins and 4 draws from 35 matches, Barcelona now sit atop the table with 82 points—solidifying their position. Madrid, seven points behind with three games left, face a near-impossible path to defend their title.
The scoreline doesn’t fully reflect Barcelona’s dominance. They controlled around 63% of possession and took 23 shots, 9 of them on target. Real Madrid managed only 9 shots, with 5 on target.
Real got off to a dream start at the opposition’s ground. In the 5th minute, Kylian Mbappe converted a penalty after Barça goalkeeper Wojciech Stansni fouled him inside the box—an error stemming from young defender Pau Cubarsí’s mistake. Though Stansni dived the right way, Mbappe’s pacey strike found the net.
Just three minutes later, Eric García tested Thibaut Courtois with a powerful effort from a tight angle, but the experienced Belgian keeper was equal to the challenge.
In the 14th minute, Mbappe doubled Madrid’s lead. Picking up a superb through ball from Vinícius Jr., he went one-on-one with Stansni and calmly slotted it home.
Despite this rough start and still hurting from a recent 4-3 loss to Inter Milan in the Champions League, Barcelona didn’t collapse. Instead, they ramped up the pressure.
In the 17th minute, Yamal’s fierce strike was palmed away by Courtois, and just a minute later, he denied Gerard Martin’s shot, conceding a corner.
That very corner led to Barça’s first goal. Ferran Torres’s delivery was flicked on by Real defender Fran García at the near post, and Eric García calmly headed it in from behind—Courtois had no chance.
Continuing to press, Barça equalized in the 32nd minute. Torres fed a perfectly weighted ball to Lamine Yamal inside the box, and the young Spaniard finished coolly across goal with no defender closing him down.
Just two minutes later, Barça took the lead. Mbappe lost the ball in midfield while trying to pass to Dani Ceballos. Pedri picked it up and sent it to Raphinha, who drove it across goal and into the net.
In the 42nd minute, Yamal whipped in a brilliant cross that Raphinha headed just wide from close range. A minute later, Madrid were awarded another penalty—but VAR ruled Jude Bellingham was offside, and the decision was overturned.
Right before halftime, Barça struck again. Near their own box, Raphinha robbed Lucas Vázquez, quickly passed it to Torres, and sprinted into the box. Torres returned the ball, and Raphinha blasted it into the net with a powerful strike to make it 4-2.
Mbappe found the net in the 8th minute of first-half stoppage time, but he was ruled offside.
The second half began with similar intensity. In the 53rd minute, Yamal scored again—only for the goal to be disallowed due to an offside call on Raphinha, who provided the assist.
Just three minutes later, Mbappe narrowly missed a chance to reduce the deficit, his shot drifting just past the far post.
Barcelona faced a setback when Pau Cubarsí went off injured. Andreas Christensen came on in his place, and Alejandro Balde also made his return after a long layoff.
In the 70th minute, Mbappe completed his hat-trick. Christensen couldn’t cover both Mbappe and Vinícius Jr. at once—Vinícius picked out Mbappe, who coolly slotted home his third of the night.
It was Mbappe’s 27th league goal of the season, taking him past Robert Lewandowski (25) to lead the scoring charts. With 39 goals in all competitions, he also set a new club record for most goals in a debut season, surpassing Iván Zamorano’s 37.
Just three minutes later, Courtois denied Yamal again. A minute after that, Raphinha missed a golden chance to complete his hat-trick—volleying Yamal’s cross wide from close range.
In the 79th minute, Courtois saved yet another Yamal shot. The rebound fell to Ferran Torres, whose shot hit Aurélien Tchouaméni’s outstretched hand. Despite strong appeals for handball, the referee waved play on and stuck to his decision even after a video review.
Ten minutes later, Real had a great chance to equalize. Victor Muñoz, who had just come on for Vinícius, missed the target from an excellent position.
In stoppage time, Mbappe had another shot blocked brilliantly by Stansni. He later found the net from a corner, but was flagged offside once again.
Barcelona almost made it 5-3 in the 95th minute when young midfielder Fermín López scored—but the goal was ruled out for a handball earlier in the move. Moments later, the referee blew the final whistle.
