FC Barcelona still overturns Real Madrid in the Clasico, despite a hat -trick by Kylian Mbappé

By winning for the fourth time, in as many games played this season-all competitions-Sunday, May 11, against Real Madrid (4-3), FC Barcelona has ratified its recent domination over its biggest rival. He especially took a considerable, even irreversible advantage, in the race for the title of Spanish football champion.

However, the case had started well for Madrilenians, Kylian Mbappé, author of a double (5^e on penalty, 14^e) allowing them to quickly widen the gap on the Catalans lawn at the Lluis-Concomes stadium in Montjuic. But as was already the case in the King’s Cup final, where he had ended up winning at the end of April (3-2, AP), Barça replied. With a similar, even more frenzied scenario.

Eric Garcia first allowed Blaugrana to revive (19^e). Then, pushed by the clamors of Montjuic, the Lamine Yamal prodigy (32^e) and an unstoppable raphinha (34^e45^e) overturned the trend, taking advantage of a Madrid defensive line as decimated as it is disorganized. Even Thibaut Courtois, the Belgian goalkeeper of the Merengue, so often quoted as the best at his post, could not weigh in the course of the game.

Kylian Mbappé’s passion and dribbles, determined to save a collective dull season, will not have been enough either. The number 9 Madrid nevertheless sounded the revolt of his family in the second half, signing on occasion a hat -trick (70^e) and he could undoubtedly increase this total if he had not been reported in the offside position on multiple times (45^{e+ 8}90^{e+ 2}).

Mbappé in the running for the “Pichichi”

The fact remains that in the race for “Pichichi”, the trophy of best scorer of the Spanish championship, the Frenchman carried out a beautiful operation of Sunday. He now exceeds the Polish center-center from Barça, Robert Lewandowski, with 27 achievements against 25 for his rival. The 26-year-old Bondynois also broke the record for the number of goals scored for a first season in Madrid, hitherto owned by Chilean Ivan Zamorano.

But on the accounting level, this is now the Catalan training comfortably installed at the head of the Liga (82 pts), relegating to seven units apart the Real (75 pts), and to twelve Atlético de Madrid (70 pts), its dolphins in the ranking. If the title is not acquired, three days remain to be played, the Blaugrana would nevertheless take care of it in their next match, in the event of a victory against Espanyol Barcelona.

Carlo Ancelotti, the most successful coach in the history of Casa Blanca, will probably not offer the pleasure of a last trophy before his departure announced at the end of the season, a priori to the Brazilian selection. While FC Barcelona has already started a reconstruction process, well helped by the density and excellence of its training center, but also the arrival of the German tactician Hansi Flick, Real now knows that it will, once again, reinvent itself.

To do this, the Madrid club would have set its sights on one of its former residents, the former Spanish-Milieu Xabi Alonso, whose beginnings on a bench had been marked by an almost without fault by Bayer Leverkusen, Germany, with a title of national champion last year. A distinction that Real Madrid, which seems to be confined to the only podium for exercise 2024-2025, would like to be able to resume its rival next season.