The first Clasico of the season brought exactly what was promised – mayhem and madness through the 90 minutes of football it presented.
Both teams had the ball in relatively equal measure, but Real Madrid seemingly made more of their possession than Barcelona. Their defence was relatively more stable, and Barcelona’s defence presented them with a chance for every possession lost.
The Whites looked to be the more attacking side throughout as Barcelona hesitated time and time again to commit forward.
Despite having a penalty ruled out, one saved and being caught offside for multiple goals, Real Madrid edged Barcelona to a 2-1 win at the Santiago Bernabeu thanks to goals from Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham.
Barça Universal brings you the player ratings from Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona.
Wojciech Szczesny: 8
The Polish goalkeeper was left exposed by the lacklustre defence time and time again but did well to keep out some huge chances for Real Madrid.
Not much he could do about Mbappe’s clinical finishes but he did sensationally well to save Mbappe’s penalty.
Alejandro Balde: 7
The left-back pushed high in attack and was caught out of position defensively on numerous occasions. However, he was one of the better Barcelona defenders on the night who offered some productivity.
Pau Cubarsi: 6
The youngster struggled to hold his own against Mbappe and was left chasing the Frenchman who was left in acres of space on multiple occasions.
His distribution was good and his composure under pressure was decent, but the defensive line including him was left red-faced far too often.
Eric Garcia: 6
While Garcia did pull off some massive recoveries to deny Mbappe. From scoring, the fact of the matter remains that he too struggled to hold off Real Madrid’s runs from deep and was part of the dysfunctional defence on the night.
Jules Kounde: 5.5
The Frenchman looked more concentrated than he did in recent games but was still far from convincing in holding off Vinicius Jr, often giving way too easily to the Brazilian.
He should have done much better to hold off the Brazilian from sending in the cross that eventually gave Real Madrid the lead before half-time. Missed a gem of a chance in the dying minutes with awful control.
Frenkie de Jong: 7
The Dutchman was reassuring in possession and helped Barcelona retain control of the game when the ball was in their control. His buildup, however, was simply too slow to create any openings.
He was decent as a controlling presence but his delayed passes and slow movement killed the team’s tempo in the buildup.
Pedro: 7.5
The Canary Islander pressed like his life depended on it and was one of the only Barcelona players who was completely switched on for the opening 45 minutes.
He looked to push forward carrying the ball himself and even came close to single-handedly breaking Real Madrid’s defence on a couple of occasions, only to be let down by a lack of support. Was unfortunately sent off in the dying minutes.
Fermin Lopez: 7.5
Fermin was a constant menace for Real Madrid, both with his press and his runs in the final third but he too did not create too many attacking chances.
Scored Barcelona’s first goal of the evening with a well-worked finish from inside. The box, hitting the ball first time off Rashford’s assist.
Yamal lamina: 6
After all his social media campaign, Yamal was unfortunately missing for most of the first half and his presence was barely felt in the attack.
His combination play was decent in one-twos and he did well in retaining possession but the player took no risks and hesitated to even attempt dribbles on the night.
He was not much better in the second half and capped a very unusual outing.
Marcus Rashford: 7
Rashford was perhaps Barcelona’s most inspired attacker on the night and the new signing was constantly looking for attacking outlets on the wing. Combined well with Balde and looked to break on the counter whenever the chance arose.
Earned the assist for Fermin’s equaliser with a ball played perfectly into the youngster’s path.
Ferran Torres: 6.5
The Spaniard made his return from injury and directly entered the starting XI on the night. His contribution to the press, however, was minimal and he looked understandably rusty with some of his finishes.
Had a glorious chance that he should have converted in the first half.
