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Real Madrid have moved to the top of the La Liga table after winning the first El Clasico of the season against Barcelona. Los Blancos had to come from a goal down to overcome their great rivals and rode their luck at times, however, two second half goals from Jude Bellingham flipped the game on its head and gave Ancelottis’ side the three points.
In a match played at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona due to ongoing renovation work at the Camp Nou, the home side took the lead after just five minutes. Ilkay Gundogan found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper after a poor tackle from David Alaba and the German coolly slotted the ball past Kepa in the Real Madrid goal.
Barcelona had several opportunities to put the game to bed but failed to convert which kept Real Madrid interested. Then, in the 67th minute, Jude Bellingham found the top corner with an incredible strike from distance to level the game. Bellingham then won the game in stoppage time from much closer range after a Carvajal cross deflected into his path inside the six-yard box.
Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid player ratings
Contents
Match timeline
5′ – GOAL: Ilkay Gundogan gives Barcelona an early lead with a nice finish following some clumsy defending from David Alaba.
16′ – Lopez has a great chance to make it 2-0 to Barcelona but his effort rattles the post.
52′ – Araujo meets a cross with a glancing header but Kepa gets across well to tip it around the post for a corner.
65′ – Joao Cancelo finds himself behind the Real Madrid defence but he lifts his effort over the crossbar.
67′ GOAL: What a strike from Jude Bellingham to level the scoreline. The 20-year-old picked the ball up 25 yards out and rifled it into the top corner.
92′ – GOAL: Bellingham wins the Clasico in stoppage time from close range following a cross from Carvajal.
Star man – Jude Bellingham – 9/10
While everyone had an idea of how good Jude Bellingham was prior to his move to Real Madrid, no one could have predicted how well the ex-Borussia Dortmund was going to do in the famous white shirt. His equaliser was probably his best goal for Real Madrid to date while his late winner will make him even more of an icon with the Real Madrid supporters given the importance and the opposition.
Following his double against Barcelona, Bellingham has now scored 13 goals and provided three assists for Real Madrid in 13 appearances across all competitions. Ancelotti’s decision to turn him into an advanced midfielder is one that is looking more like a stroke of genius by the week.
This is Real Madrid. pic.twitter.com/bb75BPktM2
— Jude Bellingham (@BellinghamJude) October 28, 2023
Barcelona player ratings
Marc-Andre ter Stegen 5/10 – Got a hand on Bellingham’s equaliser and may feel he should have saved it.
Joao Cancelo 6/10 – Should have made it 2-0 shortly before Bellingham equalised.
Ronald Araujo 7/10 – Rock solid at the back and didn’t give Vinicius or Rodrygo a sniff.
Andreas Christensen 6/10 – Looked slightly less assured than Araujo.
Inigo Martinez 6/10 – Lacked physicality at times but still didn’t have too many scares.
Alejandro Balde 7/10 – Showed great energy to get up and down the left flank and provided Barcelona with great width.
Gavi 7/10 – Controlled the midfield until Modric was introduced.
Ilkay Gundogan 7/10 – Kept the ball moving through midfield with purpose and took his goal well.
Fermin Lopez 5/10 – Very wasteful after getting into a couple of fantastic positions.
Joao Felix 6/10 – Wasn’t his day but looked the most likely of the Barcelona forwards to do anything.
Ferran Torres 5/10 – Largely marked out of the game by Rudiger who matched him stride for stride.
Substitutes
Robert Lewandowski 6/10 – Couldn’t get into the game.
Oriol Romeu 5/10 – Sloppy on the ball and came on at a time when Real Madrid were beginning to dominate.
Lamine Yamal N/A
Raphinha N/A
Real Madrid player ratings
Kepa 7/10 – Made a fine save from an Araujo header and looked at ease throughout.
Dani Carvajal 6/10 – Put in the ball for the Bellingham winner but is starting to look sluggish defensively.
Antonio Rudiger 7/10 – Dominant at the back and his recovery pace is a huge asset.
David Alaba 5/10 – Gundogan’s goal was almost entirely his fault but he recovered well afterwards.
Ferland Mendy 5/10 – Struggled to keep the ball under pressure and was rightfully replaced by Camavinga.
Aurelien Tchouameni 6/10 – Looked better when Modric came on but struggled to keep track of Gundogan.
Federico Valverde 7/10 – Showed great energy and he came into his own in the second half as his opponents began to tire.
Toni Kroos 5/10 – Looked off the pace and can have no complaints about being taken off.
Jude Bellingham 9/10 – Another majestic display from Bellingham who rounded his performance off with two goals.
ElClásico glory belongs to Jude Bellingham and Real Madrid! ⚪
In club football’s biggest fixture, the Englishman:
– scored his best goal yet for Real Madrid
– scored a 92nd minute winner
He is SPECIAL 😤😤 pic.twitter.com/BJ3k8e6Bpe
— Viaplay Sports UK (@ViaplaySportsUK) October 28, 2023
Rodrygo 5/10 – Isn’t a natural striker and it showed against a top-class defence.
Vinicius Jr 5/10 – Struggled to get into the game and also looks worse off for no longer being on the wing.
Substitutes
Eduardo Camavinga 7/10 – Provided Real Madrid with more composure on the ball.
Luka Modric 8/10 – Wresteld control of the midfield away from Gundogan and Gavi. His introduction was key to the game flipping on its head.
Joselu 6/10 – It wasn’t a game for strikers.
Lucas Vazquez N/A
Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid player ratings: The final word
Despite dominating the vast majority of the game, Barcelona still managed to find a way to lose a home Clasico. Jude Bellingham has single-handedly made them regret being so wasteful in front of goal and Xavi will now need to fire his players up if they are to bounce and back defend their La Liga title. For Real Madrid, while they have Jude Bellingham on the pitch anything is possible.
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