Barcelona mauls Madrid in tough El Clasico lesson
Robert Lewandowski scored a double while Lamine Yamal became the youngest goalscorer in El Clasico history as Barcelona handed Real Madrid a chastening defeat in LaLiga to go six points clear at the top of the table.
Madrid entered the match hoping to equal the longest unbeaten run in LaLiga history – a streak of 43 games set by Ernesto Valverde's Barcelona between 2017 and 2018.
But Carlo Ancelotti's side spent much of the first half getting frustrated by Barcelona's disciplined backline, not least when Kylian Mbappe found the back of the net on the half-hour mark only for his celebrations to mean nothing as the strike was chalked off for one of 12 offsides for his team in the match.
Vinicius Junior also missed an excellent chance to put the hosts ahead when he cut inside to baffle two Barcelona defenders, but dragged his shot wide of the left post from little more than six yards out.
Chances for Barcelona less frequent in the first period, but in the second half, Hansi Flick's side put the foot down and Lewandowski did what Mbappe couldn't when he broke Madrid's offside trap to slide home the opener on 54 minutes.
Two minutes later he was on the scoresheet again, climbing unmarked to head home a superb cross from the left wing by Alejandro Balde as Madrid's defence was found wanting again.
Lewandowski spurned two excellent chances to complete his hat-trick, hitting the post with one of them, but it mattered little when Yamal blasted in his goal in the 77th minute as once again Madrid's defenside line was broken.
Yamal, at 17 years and 106 days, became the youngest scorer in the fixture's history in the process.
Raphina provided the assist for Yamal's historic goal before the Brazilian himself netted with a neat chipped finish to round out the scoring on 84 minutes and put the final nail in Madrid's coffin.
The result sees Barca pull six points clear at the top of LaLiga with an impressive goal difference of 17 more than second-placed Madrid.
Madrid, which won both El Clasicos last season, looked well short of being able to match that here and will have to lick its wounds as the chase for another title became that little bit tougher.
This was Madrid's first league defeat since September 2023, while Flick's Barca recorded its 10th win in 11 games this campaign.
Each of Barca's past five head coaches had lost their first match in charge against Madrid – Xavi, Ronald Koeman, Quique Setien, Valverde and Luis Enrique – since Gerardo Martino oversaw a 2-1 win in his first Clasico in 2013.
However, Flick bucked that trend as Barca made it a perfect week, having also routed his former club Bayern Munich 4-1 in the UEFA Champions League last week.
With bottom club Valencia up next for Ancelotti's men, this felt like the final real obstacle between his side and the outright record unbeaten run in LaLiga.
However, just like Bayern in midweek, Madrid continually struggled to spring Barcelona's aggressive offside trap, with Flick's bold out-of-possession approach paying off again.
