Osamagbe Imadiyi
Barcelona staged an incredible comeback to defeat Real Madrid 4-3 on Sunday, putting them on the verge of winning La Liga. With three games left, Barcelona led the defending champions by seven points thanks to goals from Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, and Eric Garcia, while Kylian Mbappe of Real Madrid scored a hat trick. Inter Milan eliminated Hansi Flick’s team from the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday, and a loss to Real Madrid would have ended their season, but they fought back after Mbappe’s early brace. Barcelona fought back to win their fourth Clasico in four meetings this season, demonstrating their dominance over Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
Mbappe earned a penalty when he was brought down by Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, although the Catalans complained in vain the French forward was offside in the build-up. Despite diving to his right and reaching for it, Szczesny was unable to stop the striker’s goal. After Vinicius Junior played him through, Mbappe doubled Madrid’s lead with a deadly finish in the 14th minute. Barcelona then complained once more about what they believed to be a foul on Yamal earlier in the play. It was his 38th goal of the season in all competitions, surpassing Ivan Zamorano’s club record of 37 in his debut season with Los Blancos, and his 26th goal in La Liga, moving him up to the top of the scoring charts ahead of Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski, who has 25 goals.
Fermin Lopez’s incredible solo attempt gave Barcelona the impression that they had won the match, but it was harshly disallowed for handball against the midfielder. Madrid had no time to rally, though, and if Los Blancos faltered against Mallorca, Barcelona—who last won the league in 2023—could win the championship as early as Wednesday.
