Time to sign off – I’ll leave you with Sid Lowe’s report. Thanks for joining me; until next time, it’s adios.
Related: Mbappé double secures Real Madrid late victory at Barcelona after Raphinha leveller
Tomorrow night, the Ballon d’Or will be handed out in London. It’s long been framed as a race between Harry Kane and Lamine Yamal, but Kylian Mbappé’s odds have shortened today. He’s not going to win it this year, but if I could choose one player on earth to join my club, then on balance it would have to be Mbappé.
Here’s how the La Liga table stands – and it would be remiss of me not to mention Atlético, firmly in this title race after 10 games.
Full time: Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid
Barcelona’s perfect start ran for nine games, but it’s been shattered by – yes – a José Mourinho masterclass. Kylian Mbappé struck on the break in both halves to earn a statement victory for Real Madrid, who are now just three points behind the league leaders.
95 mins: We play on, and Lamine Yamal almost picks out Gabriel Jesus with a cross … but Real Madrid break away again and Balde is booked for a reckless foul on Mbappe.
94 mins: Cucurella and Mbappe are booked in quick succession, presumably for dissent. Juan Martinez is dishing out a few yellow cards after a relatively quiet game.
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93 mins: Two time-sapping substitutions from Mourinho, with Carlos Espi and Trent Alexander-Arnold replacing Diomande and Arda Guler.
92 mins: Lamine Yamal goes over under pressure from Cucurella on the edge of the area, but the referee waves him up. Adeyemi then powers in a cross which Lunin punches away from danger.
“I’m kicking myself for not putting ‘Performs knee slide’ on the Mou bingo card,” sighs Peter Oh.
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90 mins: The stadium PA announces five extra minutes as a shell-shocked Barcelona search for a second equaliser.
It’s a second goal for Kylian Mbappé, created by a superb piece of skill from Bellingham to set Camavinga away. He gets beyond the weary Cubarsi and cuts back beyond Garcia, allowing Mbappé to roll the ball into an empty net. Mourinho knee-slides down the touchline in jubilation. He’s back!
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GOAL! Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid (Mbappé 87')
With time running out, Real Madrid unleash a lethal counter attack – and they may have just snatched all three points here!
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85 mins: Karim Adeyemi and Gabriel Jesus are on, replacing Gordon and goalscorer Raphinha.
84 mins: Gordon tackles Guler to stop a potential Real Madrid break, and isn’t best pleased when he’s booked. A rare bad call from tonight’s referee.
83 mins: To return to my earlier, slightly tenuous boxing comparison, Real Madrid are on the ropes – but they could still find a knockout blow with Mbappe and Bellingham waiting to pounce on the break.
82 mins: Gordon plays a cute pass in to Lamine’s path, but his shot is blocked by Cucurella, who followed him for a good 20 yards there.
81 mins: Lamine Yamal, now suddenly everywhere, whips a shot across goal but it is blocked, inadvertently, by Dean Huijsen’s bonce.
80 mins: De Jong’s snap-shot is closed down, and Real Madrid deal with the subsequent corner. Bernardo Silva’s race is run; he’s replaced by Eduardo Camavinga.
78 mins: At the other end, Lamine Yamal goes close again, dancing beyond his marker and pounding an effort wide with the outside of his boot.
76 mins: Another Real break, although the first for a while, is led by Mbappe and ends with Gerard Martin expertly tackling Bellingham. He and Cubarsi have been left to fend for themselves in the heart of Barça’s defence.
An email from Colin Fordham, on this intriguing clash of styles. “After Mbappé’s rather lucky goal and the impressive Mourinho-inspired defensive effort of Real Madrid with everyone, Bellingham included, pressing Barca’s players to the nth degree, it was refreshing to see pure football. Pedri’s feint and pass for Rafinha, and the Brazilian’s finish, were sublime.”
75 mins: Dumfries looks for Mbappe over the top, but Garcia is off his line to deal with the through ball.
73 mins: Almost a moment of Lamine Yamal magic as he plays a cross-shot with the outside of his boot that just evades Raphinha at the far post. Barcelona make another change, with Frenkie De Jong replacing Fermin Lopez.
72 mins: Bernardo Silva is penalised for a foul in midfield. Barça looked the more leggy team for the first hour, but Real Madrid are beginning to tire.
71 mins: Arda Guler has another go from the edge of the area, a low fizzer that Garcia gets behind. I’m not sure if Guler is exciting, frustrating or a mixture of the two.
70 mins: Still, I reckon José might see it differently.
69 mins: Balde scrambles the corner away, but Mbappe appeals for handball. The ball definitely hit Balde’s arm, before passing under it, but it would be very harsh to give that with both players jostling each other.
68 mins: Dumfries steams down the right and his underhit cross towards Mbappe is cleared behind by Balde. Real Madrid get a corner …
66 mins: The xG for this game is currently at 0.96-0.86 in Barcelona’s favour. So, 1-1 seems a fair scoreline.
65 mins: Big save! Barça win another corner, met by Gerard Martin with a header six yards out – but Lunin claws it off the line to keep the scores level!
63 mins: A first change for the visitors, with Denzel Dumfries replacing Fede Valverde at right-back. Arda Guler takes aim from a distance, forcing Garcia into an awkward save-clearance combo.
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GOAL! Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid (Raphinha 61')
It’s played short, and Pedri plays a lovely reverse pass inside for Raphinha, who fires an effort through Bellingham’s legs. Lunin gets a hand to his effort, but it has too much power. After a torrid first hour, Barcelona are level!
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60 mins: Gordon pings a low ball across the area, which Cucurella clears behind with undue haste. And from the corner …
59 mins: It looks like Diomande’s calf problem may have been caused by Joao Cancelo’s challenge, which is better news than a muscle injury.
58 mins: Diomande is still wincing on the sideline, but does come back on to try and run it off. Raphinha’s cross is then cleared away by Konate in the Phil Jones style.
55 mins: Diomande leads the latest charge upfield and finds Bellingham on the left, but then goes down holding his calf. Bellingham bustles into the area but the ball ultimately bobbles out for a goal kick.
53 mins: Is this Camp Nou or Casa Amor? Because Barcelona are open. Bellingham has another chance to pick out Mbappe, and does a better job this time – but Balde gets across to clear with a well-timed flick of the boot.
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52 mins: Lamine finds a pocket of space but is robustly dealt with by Ibrahima Konaté. Moments later, Dean Huijsen makes another firm but fair challenge to deny Raphinha.
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50 mins: Another big chance for Real Madrid! Bellingham scoots past Cubarsi and Real are two-on-one, but he can’t find the pass beyond Martin that would have played Mbappe clean through.
49 mins: Signs that Lamine Yamal is starting to stir, as he gets in behind Cucurella and wins a corner off Huijsen. Again, though, the corner is easy for Real to deal with.
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47 mins: Lamine Yamal picks the ball up from Pedri but is dispossessed by Bellingham, and responds by kicking out and conceding a free kick.
46 mins: Tchouameni is the first name in the book for a clumsy foul on Pau Cubarsi.
Second half
The second half begins without any changes.
Real Madrid’s attack continues to run smoothly without the suspended Vinicius, while Bellingham and Cucurella have largely kept Rodri and Lamine Yamal out of the game. Pedri had a terrible first half, but Fermin and Gordon have looked likely going forward.
“Barcelona’s press isn’t working properly, they rarely manage to box their opponents in,” writes Kari Tulinius. “If it goes on like this, the match will keep drifting away from them. Real are able to run into acres of space again and again. Hansi Flick must be fuming.”
“Oh, and the Golf thing is because of a collaboration with Tyler the Creator’s Golf Wang clothing label.” Of course! I understand all of these words.
Another big derby earlier tonight, with Manchester United grabbing a late leveller against City.
Related: Terland strikes late as United end Manchester City’s winning start in WSL
Half time: Barcelona 0-1 Real Madrid
Is this … is this a Mourinho masterclass? It’s been a while. So far, Real Madrid’s game plan is working perfectly against an out-of-sorts Barcelona. More soon …
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47 mins: Double yikes! Diomande is onside and beats a nervous clutch of Barca defenders to the ball … then fires into the side netting. Barcelona are absolutely wide open, and Pedri keeps giving the ball away.
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46 mins: Yikes! In the first of two added minutes, Mbappe gets in behind again and smashes a shot against the post … but now the flag goes up.
45 mins: Signs of Barcelona warming up, with Rodri hitting a low effort that Lunin gets down to gather.
43 mins: Huge chance for Lamine Yamal! Fermin’s pass pings through a crowd and finds the No 10 on his own, but he miskicks it wide from a tight angle. We all expected better.
GOAL! Barcelona 0-1 Real Madrid (Mbappé 41')
Another Real Madrid break causes panic in the home defence, Cucurella sweeping it forward to Diomande whose cross is cleared by Gerard Martin but ricochets in off Kylian Mbappé! Fortunate, but deserved.
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39 mins: Another frustrating attack fizzles out for Hansi Flick’s side, who are having a hard time breaking down the banks of white shirts in front of them.
37 mins: Barcelona win a free kick as Cucurella grabs at Lamine Yamal’s sleeve. There are protests from Barça players, but that was never worth a booking.
36 mins: Real Madrid have a rare spell of possession in the Barcelona half, but Bernardo Silva sees Pedri nick the ball away from him.
34 mins: Gordon motors into space down the left and forces a near-post save from Lunin … but Lamine Yamal isn’t happy that the ball wasn’t squared in his direction.
33 mins: A chance for Mbappé! Straight away, Madrid charge downfield and he connects acrobatically with Guler’s cross – but the ball flies high over the bar.
32 mins: Real Madrid almost pay for switching off in defence, with Raphinha galloping forward from a quick free-kick and drilling it wide of the near post.
31 mins: It breaks down as Pedri misjudges another pass, allowing Guler to deflect it away. It’s been a nervy first half-hour for the hosts.
30 mins: Balde will slot in at left-back, with Joao Cancelo switching to right-back. Barcelona are now trying to keep the ball better …
28 mins: We pause for a breather after Xavi Espart goes down; the right-back hasn’t looked 100% for the last 10 minutes or so. He’s replaced by Alejandro Balde, while Mourinho offers some hurried advice to Bernardo Silva.
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27 mins: Garcia hares off his line to clear away with Mbappe lurking; he’ll need to do more of that with Barcelona’s high line almost in the other half.
26 mins: While I try and work out why Barcelona’s shirt just says ‘GOLF’ on it, Bellingham almost finds the on-rushing Huijsen with a pitch wedge of a pass.
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25 mins: At the other end, Guler has Espart isolated but opts for an ambitious shot, which is deflected behind. Barcelona clear the corner away.
24 mins: … Fermin backheels into the path of Raphinha, who fires low and just wide of the far post! End-to-end stuff, this.
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23 mins: Mbappe whirs beyond Cubarsi down the right but messes up the cut-back, admittedly without many options. Barcelona sweep downfield …
21 mins: Raphinha gets his first glimpse of goal when Pedri’s deflected pass bobbles into his path. The Barça captain fires just over from the edge of the box.
20 mins: Fermin tries to dribble through traffic but loses the ball. Real Madrid are pressing from the front and causing Barcelona real problems in the buildup.
18 mins: Real Madrid’s counterattacking setup is working well so far, and this time Mbappe bursts away down the left. Cubarsi does really well to stand him up, but the ball is worked to Arda Guler. His snap-shot is pushed out into danger by Joan Garcia. Thankfully for the hosts, nobody in white is there to meet it.
17 mins: Some man-marking tactics from Mourinho: Marc Cucurella is sticking very closely to Lamine Yamal, while Bellingham is tracking Rodri in midfield.
16 mins: Seven fouls already, with Barça committing four of them. It’s warming up nicely.
14 mins: Gordon! Gordon! The England winger has another go from distance, but Lunin is able to pluck it out of the air.
13 mins: Oof! Fermin toe-pokes the ball beyond Cucurella, who brings him down. It’s a textbook yellow card, but Juan Martinez gives a free kick only; safe to say the referee is letting this game flow.
11 mins: Diomande is tackled by Espart in the area, and gets neither a penalty nor a corner, despite his protestations.
9 mins: Grab your bingo cards, because Mourinho is wagging a finger at the referee. Not sure why, as he had just declined to show Tchouameni a yellow card for a mistimed challenge on Xavi Espart.
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8 mins: Another lightning passing move has Real Madrid looking stretched, before Bellingham carries it clear and is brought down.
6 mins: Anthony Gordon tests right-back Valverde, cutting inside and sending a shot wide of the far post. Usually in the midfield engine room, Valverde is preferred to Trent Alexander-Arnold and Denzel Dumfries at right-back tonight.
4 mins: Real Madrid show their threat on the break here, Arda Guler pouncing on Pedri’s poor pass, racing upfield and sending his effort over the bar from a tight angle.
3 mins: Lamine Yamal gets the first shot on target from Huijsen’s error, but it rolls through to Lunin.
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2 mins: Barcelona enjoy an early spell of possession, but Yan Diomande does well to nick the ball back under pressure.
1 min: Lamine Yamal sends a quick through ball forward to Raphinha, but Lunin races out of his area to hoof it downfield.
First half
We’re off!
Here we go, then. José Mourinho’s first clásico since 2013 is about to kick off. It could be a busy night for the referee, Juan Martínez.
“In preparation for today’s clásico, I watched the Liverpool-Brighton match,” writes Chris Amirault. “Happy to see Ronald Araújo storming around Anfield and getting some of the biggest cheers of the game. He’s a special player who struggled mentally last year (and bravely went public about it). One can’t help but smile seeing his loan away from Barça play out so successfully.”
Richard Hirst asks: “Can we add this to Peter’s bingo card? … Points out he’s only been the manager for 35 seconds.” A fair shout.
Peter Oh has prepared a José Mourinho bingo card for tonight’s game …
- Berates fourth official
- Kicks water bottle
- Pinches someone’s cheeks
- Pokes someone in a sneaky manner
- Applauds sarcastically
- Winks knowingly
- Runs down the touchline
- Claims to not want to talk about the referee
- Talks about the referee
This is the 265th clásico, and the all-time lead is up for grabs: Barcelona and Real Madrid have both won this fixture 106 times. There have also been 52 draws, but none since March 2020 – a record run of 21 games.
Form guide: Barcelona are seeking their 10th straight win to start the league season, which would eclipse Real Madrid’s record from 1968. Hansi Flick’s side are on a 23-game home winning run in La Liga, but did suffer defeat to PSG in the Champions League in midweek.
As for Real Madrid, they thumped Leipzig 4-1 at the Bernabéu but their problems in La Liga have come on the road, with defeats to Atlético and Betis. The clubs’ recent head-to-head record is very much in favour of Barça: they’ve won six of the last seven meetings.
Just over 30 minutes to go – here’s how the La Liga title race stands before kick-off.
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Some essential pre-match reading, from Sid Lowe.
Related: Older, calmer, but still playing the hits: Mourinho and Madrid primed for clásico
Team news
Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Joan García; João Cancelo, Pau Cubarsí, Gerard Martín, Xavi Espart; Rodri, Pedri; Lamine Yamal, Fermín López, Gordon; Raphinha (c).
Subs: Szczesny, Livakovic, Balde, Fariñas, Gavi, De Jong, Bernal, Adeyemi, Abdelkarim, Campos, Goren.
Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Lunin; Valverde (c), Konaté, Huijsen, Cucurella; Tchouameni, Bernardo Silva; Diomande, Bellingham, Arda Güler; Mbappé.
Subs: Mestre, Illia, Militão, Camavinga, Endrick, Alexander-Arnold, Carreras, Espí, Brahim Díaz, Rüdiger, Dumfries, Thiago.
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Tonight’s game also takes place against a weekend of unrest in Barcelona. There were 128 arrests overnight for acts of “vandalism, damage to public property and looting” in the city centre, according to the regional Catalan police.
The match is still going ahead, with an increased security presence already in place after the game was deemed “high-risk” by police last week. Back in 2019, this fixture was postponed due to protests in Barcelona.
We’ll have full team news shortly, but Real Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois has already been ruled out of tonight’s game due to illness. “Courtois is a last-minute withdrawal (from the squad) due to a bout of the flu,” Madrid said in a statement. The Ukrainian goalkeeper Andriy Lunin is set to step in for Mourinho’s side.
Preamble
Is the clásico making a comeback? A bitter rivalry that has raged for more than a century, Barcelona v Real Madrid may have been the world’s biggest sporting fixture during the era of Ronaldo and Messi, Mourinho and Guardiola. Incredibly skilful players dragged into extraordinarily spiteful on-pitch battles, each game felt like a heavyweight title fight.
These two teams remain the dominant forces in Spain, and their mutual hatred of one another is still very much intact. Still, the clásico has lost some of its intensity in recent years – but there are signs it may be coming back. Chief among those signs is Mourinho’s dramatic return to Real Madrid, where he is rebuilding the media war that wore both coaches out at the end of the rivalry’s unmissable age.
There is also, crucially, a touch of jeopardy about tonight’s game, particularly for the visitors. Hansi Flick’s Barcelona have started the league season with nine straight wins and are six points ahead of Madrid; that gap could be nine points, or three points, after tonight’s events at Camp Nou. The outcome may depend on Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé, two exceptional players poised to dominate this derby for the next decade.
In short, the biggest game in world football is back. Kick-off is at 8pm GMT, 9pm local time, so get comfortable.
