El Clasico is usually a tight and enthralling affair, but it was more of the latter and less of the former as Barcelona earned a dizzying 4-0 victory over Real Madrid on Saturday night.
Good things are clearly brewing in Catalonia and their young players’ skills were clear to see in the Champions League thumping of Bayern Munich in midweek, but the gauntlet has been well and truly thrown down after Madrid were obliterated at the Bernabeu.
Los Blancos and Kylian Mbappe in particular were wasteful in the first half and were made to pay in the second period when Robert Lewandowski scored a quick brace to totally stun the home crowd, who prayed for one of Madrid’s magical comebacks to save the day.
No resurgence arrived, however, with Lamine Yamal and Raphinha instead adding to the scoring and prompting utter bedlam both in Spain’s capital and on social media, where fans and viewers shared their thoughts on a ridiculous Clasico.
VIVA LA VIDA!!!!! pic.twitter.com/wpzjZEYy6g
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) October 26, 2024
Sorry about the Coldplay reference, there’s not much we can do about that.
1984 – Hansi Flick is the first @FCBarcelona coach to make their debut in El Clásico at Santiago Bernabéu in any competition and win the game since Terry Venables on September 2, 1984 (0-3). Master. pic.twitter.com/a4GvaLjmdW
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) October 26, 2024
Real Madrid.
That stunk
— Poet (@poetscorneruk) October 26, 2024
Football won today. pic.twitter.com/b8tzEVixu8
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 26, 2024
What a statement at Bernabeu … wow #ForçaBarça #ElClásico
— Ilkay Gündogan (@IlkayGuendogan) October 26, 2024
4-1 vs Bayern and 4-0 vs Real Madrid in less than a week cannot be mere form.
A formidable side even under construction.
Babies with sharp feet.
— Saddick Adams (@SaddickAdams) October 26, 2024
It’s not new news, but Lewandowski is unbelievable
— Scott Saunders (@__scottsaunders) October 26, 2024
Demolished Bayern, demolished Real Madrid. Maybe a few people underestimated Hansi Flick a bit?
He has definitely done a great job with this roster. Even if I have massive concerns on how Barcelona are financing all this…
— Manuel Veth (@ManuelVeth) October 26, 2024
Barcelona have just won a Clásico 4-0, on enemy turf, while starting SIX players aged 21 or under. Two of them (Yamal and Cubarsí) are 17. Incredible.#ElClásico
— Sam Tighe (@stighefootball) October 26, 2024
Som únics. Mai podran ser com nosaltres. Amb tots els joves de la Masia. Quin recital. Quin orgull.
— Gerard Piqué (@3gerardpique) October 26, 2024
It was a really tough night for Mbappe. The France captain struggled to stay onside all evening on his Clasico debut, having a strike rightly chalked off by the video assistant referee, and had a handful of shots repelled by stand-in Barca goalkeeper Inaki Pena.
This is one of the worst defeats in Real Madrid’s history.
Madrid came into the year as La Liga and CL champions…and added Mbappé.
Barcelona said f*** the galacticos, let me hit you with good coaching and a good academy.
This is the new “Manita.”
Barcelona are SO back.
— EiF (@EiFSoccer) October 26, 2024
He was comfortably outshone by Lewandowski, who now has a whopping 17 goals in all competitions already this season. The Poland international was frequently linked with an exit over the summer but Barca are reaping the rewards of keeping him around despite hitting 36 years of age in August.
The Four Seasons — Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
The Four Elements — Earth, Water, Fire, Air
The Four Food Groups — Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, Protein
The Four Goals — Lewandowski, Lewandowski, Lamine, Raphinha
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 26, 2024
11 La Liga games. 14 goals, 2 assists.
Robert Lewandowski. BRACE. pic.twitter.com/9oO97YGdJC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 26, 2024
Someone better give Lewandowski his Ballon d’Or for 2020 on Monday.
Someone better apologise that it took this long.— Carl Anka (@Ankaman616) October 26, 2024
Lewandowski = Levels
— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) October 26, 2024
We also need to acknowledge Lamine Yamal. The Spain wonderkid is now the youngest scorer in Clasico history after he netted the third of Barca’s goals at the Bernabeu and there seems to be nothing that can stop him right now.
That Yamal goal
— Davido (@davido) October 26, 2024
No point in doing any mad analysis on Yamal, the kid is just ridiculous, flat out the best 17 year old I’ve seen in my lifetime. These levels aren’t normal. Weak foot near post
— h (@htomufc) October 26, 2024
Barca are now six points ahead of Madrid in the La Liga title race as they hunt a first Spanish championship since 2022/23.
