Alonso turns Clásico tide in Madrid's favor with statement win over Barça

MADRID -- Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham struck in the first half as Real Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu on Sunday to stretch their lead over their Clásico rivals at the top of LaLiga to five points.

Fermín López had briefly canceled out Mbappé's opener in the 38th minute of an incident-packed game only for Bellingham to net the winner five minutes later as Madrid ended as a four-match losing streak against Barça. It could have been more, too, with Wojciech Szczesny saving a second-half penalty from Mbappé, while Madrid also had three goals chalked off for offside.

Barça tried to rally late on but, other than a late Jules Koundé chance that he could not quite control, they never looked like troubling the home side. The game ended in a brawl between players and staff on and off the pitch after Pedri's late red card for a second booking sent temperatures soaring. -- Sam Marsden

Alonso turns Clásico tide with statement win

Xabi Alonso needed this. There have been plenty of signs of improvement since the coach took over from Carlo Ancelotti in the summer, but in the really high-profile games, Alonso's Real Madrid had fallen short: beaten 4-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup semifinals and 5-2 by Atlético Madrid a month ago in the Madrid derby.

Now, Alonso has his first signature win, and in the game that matters most to Madrid: the Clásico. Last season's quartet of defeats to Barça were the clearest signpost that the Ancelotti era was ending -- it wasn't just that Madrid lost all four, it was the scale of those losses, with an aggregate score of 16-7 -- and Sunday's result, and performance, is a statement of intent.

Madrid played here with intensity, aggression and cohesion, disrupting Barça's buildup as they frequently pressed goalkeeper Szczesny and center backs Pau Cubarsí and Eric García. Alonso's decision to pick an extra midfielder, sacrificing a wide player, worked, as Bellingham and Eduardo Camavinga joined Aurélien Tchouaméni and Arda Güler in a 4-4-2 when out of possession.

There are still challenges for Alonso to overcome, notably how to handle Vinícius Júnior, who reacted so vehemently to being substituted in the 72nd minute, in a very public show of dissent. And there were moments when Madrid's defense looked vulnerable, even if Barça struggled to create clear-cut chances.

Overall, this was the first performance -- on the biggest stage -- that Alonso can point to as concrete evidence of real progress, even though he'll insist that they're still just getting started. -- Alex Kirkland

Barça defense looks outclassed on biggest stage

The focus is often on Barça's high line, but if they can't defend seriously, it doesn't matter how far up the pitch the back four place themselves. The defending throughout this game was far too lackluster for a fixture of this intensity.

Alejandro Balde played Mbappé onside for the first goal and Bellingham was left unmarked to tap in the second after Balde had been beaten too easily in the air by Éder Militão. Beyond the goals, Koundé was too passive defending Vinícius one on one, and there are still question marks over the center-back pairing of García, who was unfortunate in giving away the penalty missed by Mbappé, and Cubarsí. It doesn't have the feel of a long-term partnership at this level.

Following the big loss of Iñigo Martínez in the summer, many thought Flick would go with Cubarsí and Ronald Araújo as his pairing in the middle of the backline. The selection of García, who has been good this season, here was further proof of the German coach's preferred partnership, though. The thinking is that they are the duo that give Barça the most on the ball, but the bigger question is whether they offer more than they take away when Barça have to defend against the very best forwards in the world. -- Marsden

Mbappé at the center of everything

Mbappé ended up scoring a respectable five Clásico goals last season, but he still needed to exorcise some demons from the game here at the Bernabéu, where his debut Clásico saw him caught offside a career-high eight times, without scoring, as Barça won 0-4. There's no doubt this was a significant improvement on that showing, even if it wasn't a perfect game from Mbappé, given his second-half penalty miss.

A dream start in the 12th minute -- thrashing the ball into the net from distance, with the sweetest of finishes -- was denied by a VAR check, which revealed Mbappé had been fractionally offside. Undeterred, he scored 10 minutes later, to make it 16 goals in all competitions this season, and 11 in LaLiga. There was no hesitation with the finish, and no doubt he'd find the net.

There was another offside goal later -- clearer this time -- and then a penalty, which Szczesny did extremely well to save. Mbappé was unreliable at times from the spot last season, saying he hit "rock bottom" after misses against Liverpool and Athletic Club. This campaign, he'd scored five penalties in a row, until now.

When he was substituted in the 91st minute, his stats suggested limited involvement, with the fewest touches of any player on the pitch. But the reality was very different. -- Kirkland

Yamal gives Madrid plenty of reason to talk

Lamine Yamal was public enemy No.1 at the Bernabéu after comments he made in midweek suggesting Madrid "get all the refereeing calls" and still "complain." The remarks did not go down well with Madrid fans and his name was fiercely jeered when read out before the game. Every touch was subsequently met with whistles, from the first minute to the last.

Some of the biggest cheers came when Álvaro Carreras, who defended him well, got the better of him, or when he fired a second-half shot comfortably over the bar.

Yamal has often produced his best performances when the spotlight is most on him. Barça assistant coach Marcus Sorg said before the game "the criticism motivates him," but this time he could not dig Barça out of a hole just a week after returning from a groin injury. He was shifted into a central role late on, moving him away from Carreras, but it was a move that probably came a little too late.

"While I'm winning they can't say anything," Yamal purred as Barça enjoyed Clásico domination last season. There will be plenty of talking in Madrid on Sunday night. -- Marsden

Bellingham looking back to his best in Madrid

Bellingham built his Madrid reputation on defining moments in Clásicos: scoring famous, match-winning goals in both dramatic games with Barça in his debut campaign, 2023-24. Last season was more difficult, failing to score in any of Madrid's four heavy defeats, his form matching the team's struggles.

But here, there was another match-winning goal, and it was Bellingham's second in a week, following the only goal of the game against Juventus on Wednesday. It was one of most straightforward goals Bellingham will ever score, a close-range tap-in, but as ever the midfielder's knack of being in the right place at the right time shone through. Before that, there was an assist for Mbappé, too, with a trademark, perfectly executed through ball.

For Madrid to be at their best -- and to compete at the highest level, in Europe as well as LaLiga -- they need their best, star players to deliver. Here, Mbappé, Bellingham and Vinícius were all important, even if Vinícius sullied that with his reaction to being substituted. There's work to do on exactly where Bellingham fits into Alonso's Madrid, but here -- in a midfield four, sometimes outside, sometimes switching infield -- he looked comfortable.

Bellingham's return from shoulder surgery in July has been slow and steady, and he was rushed back ahead of schedule. But now, in the past week, we're seeing the Bellingham of his first season in Spain, and that's very good news for Madrid. -- Kirkland

Barça's absentees doom any hope of a comeback

Fermín was on target again after netting a hat trick in the midweek UEFA Champions League win over Olympiacos. He has a knack, not dissimilar to Frank Lampard, of arriving in the box just at the right time. That was the case here as he timed his run perfectly to meet Marcus Rashford's pass and level the game. His intensity is also something Barça missed when he sat out a stretch of the season through injury earlier in the campaign.

However, his desire and thirst for goals, so often a positive for Barça, also cost his team in the second half. On two occasions, around the edge of the area, instead of passing, he took on the shot. Both times, Thiubaut Courtois saved comfortably.

Ultimately, though, it was Barça's lack of bodies that haunted them late on. They had to wait until the final 15 minutes to make a change due to a lack of attacking options on the bench. And with Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Gavi and Dani Olmo among those missing, it was and Araújo and Marc Casadó who were tasked with trying to turn this game around. -- Marsden