Mbappé scores twice as Real Madrid win El Clásico 2-1 at Barcelona

Real Madrid went to Barcelona on Sunday facing a nine-point gap if they lost. They came home three points behind. Kylian Mbappé scored both goals in a 2-1 win at Spotify Camp Nou, and his late winner was his 100th for the club. It also ended Barcelona's perfect start to the LaLiga season.

The match was played before 62,055 spectators, according to LaLiga's official match centre, with Juan Martínez Munuera as referee. It was José Mourinho's first Clásico in 13 years, The Guardian noted, after his return to the Real Madrid bench.

How did the goals happen?

Mbappé, just before half-time (0-1). Diomande's low ball across the box was cleared by Barcelona defender Gerard Martín, but the clearance struck Mbappé and went in. LaLiga and both clubs credit the goal to Mbappé; Real Madrid's match report described the ball going in off the striker's right thigh. LaLiga's match centre puts it in the 41st minute, while Barcelona's report has it in the 43rd.

Raphinha, 61st minute (1-1). Barcelona's equalizer started at a corner. Lamine Yamal played it short to Pedri, whose reverse pass found Raphinha, who beat goalkeeper Andriy Lunin with a low left-footed shot, according to Barcelona's report.

Mbappé, three minutes from time (1-2). The winner came from a substitute's run. Eduardo Camavinga, who had come on for Bernardo Silva in the 80th minute, went past Pau Cubarsí and pulled the ball back for Mbappé to finish, according to Sky Sports and the Real Madrid report. Sky and The Guardian described Jude Bellingham's spin and Arda Güler's pass earlier in the move. LaLiga, Barcelona, Sky, ESPN and The Guardian time it in the 87th minute; Real Madrid's report says the 88th.

The Guardian reported that Mourinho celebrated the winner by sliding on his knees along the touchline, a scene that Sky and the BBC also described.

The celebration also brought a brief stoppage. In his official match report, as published by Marca, referee Martínez Munuera wrote that a water bottle and a drink can were thrown from the north stand, occupied mainly by home fans, while Real Madrid's players celebrated the 87th-minute goal. He wrote that neither object hit a player, that the protocol for thrown objects was activated with a warning over the stadium's public-address system, and that play was stopped for 1 minute and 20 seconds, with no further incidents.

What were the other key moments?

Real Madrid had the better first half on chances, according to several reports. Güler had chances inside the first five minutes and again around the 18th, LaLiga's commentary shows. Mbappé sent an acrobatic overhead attempt over the bar on the half hour.

Barcelona lost right back Xavi Espart to injury around the half-hour mark, and Alejandro Balde replaced him. On Monday, Barcelona said tests had confirmed an injury to the syndesmosis joint in Espart's right ankle, caused by a collision with an opposing player during the game, and that he will be out for around seven weeks. Just before half-time, Yamal missed a chance to level, and Diomande hit the side netting at the other end, according to LaLiga's commentary.

Mourinho later said on the Real Madrid website that his team had good chances to go 2-0 up before the break.

Barcelona pushed after the restart. Lunin stopped a header from Martín around the 65th minute, LaLiga's commentary shows, and Yamal shot just wide in the 78th. The Guardian wrote that Dean Huijsen blocked one Yamal effort with his face.

Real Madrid had their own setback. Captain Federico Valverde went off injured in the 62nd minute and was replaced by Denzel Dumfries. Mourinho praised him afterward for playing on hurt for more than 40 minutes. Marca reported Monday that Valverde has discomfort in his right hamstring and will undergo tests on Tuesday.

Lunin started because Thibaut Courtois was ill, according to Barcelona's report and Cadena SER. Real Madrid were also without Vinícius Júnior, who was suspended, Cadena SER reported. Barcelona were missing Jules Koundé, Eric García and Dani Olmo, according to the same report.

Why are people arguing about João Cancelo?

The main refereeing debate came in the 56th minute. Cancelo, chasing Diomande from behind, landed his studs on the Real Madrid winger's right calf. Martínez Munuera played advantage and did not show a card when play stopped. Marca, the Madrid sports daily, asked whether it should have been a red. It reported that Aurélien Tchouaméni, who was close by, threw his arms up right away.

Mourinho went further. On Real Madrid's website, he said he thought the referee had performed well overall, but that the video review team had failed to act on what he considered a clear red card for Cancelo's challenge on Diomande. Raphinha's equalizer came five minutes later.

Not everyone agreed it was a red. In ABC's weekly refereeing column, former referee Martínez Montoro gave the officials a pass overall, with one exception: the Cancelo play. In his view it deserved a yellow card that was never shown, not a red. He also said Balde's handball in the 69th minute, which Madrid players appealed for, was rightly not given as a penalty after the VAR check.

Barcelona's official report doesn't mention the play. As of late Monday morning, NewsCubby had not found a public comment on the challenge from Cancelo or from Spain's referees' committee.

What did Mourinho and the players say?

Mourinho said the match had been worth watching, suggesting that football fans around the world would have stopped to see it, according to The Guardian's translation. On Real Madrid's site, he said his team won calmly and fully deserved it, rather than relying on luck or defending deep.

He also tried to keep the result in proportion. According to the BBC, he said Real Madrid don't play to win at Camp Nou; they play to win LaLiga. The Guardian reported that he said he would keep his players' feet on the ground, and he pointed to Sunday's trip to Racing de Santander.

When asked whether the win belonged to the players or the coach, Mourinho said, as translated by the BBC, that when a team wins, the credit goes to the players, and when it loses, the coach takes the blame.

Mbappé said the team was the star. He told reporters it was a big game but was worth only three points, ESPN reported. ESPN also reported that he rejected suggestions that the squad lacks quality, saying people who claim that are not telling the truth. The club's site quoted him as calling it a team win.

What did Hansi Flick say?

Barcelona's coach did not hide his frustration. Flick said two defeats were too many, both for him and for Barcelona's fans, according to Sport, the Barcelona daily. Sport also reported that he said he would not make excuses, while mentioning the travel his team had done in recent days.

According to the BBC, Flick said his team lacked freshness and that small details decide big games. Sport reported that he also said Barcelona had been short of a bit of luck and that it was now time to reflect, and that the squad will get two days off and return to training on Wednesday.

What does this mean for the LaLiga table?

Barcelona remain top with 27 points from 10 games. Atlético Madrid moved second with 25, and Real Madrid are third with 24, according to standings published by El Debate after Sunday's games. Real Betis (20) and Real Sociedad (19) follow.

A Barcelona win would have put them nine points clear of Real Madrid, El Debate noted. Barcelona said a 10th straight league win would have set a club record for the start of a season. Sky Sports wrote that the result was Real Madrid's first win in Barcelona in three years.

Mourinho made the same point about the table on Real Madrid's site. He said the gap after the game could have ended up at three, six or nine points, and that leaving nine behind would have weighed on his players psychologically.

What records did Mbappé and Mourinho add?

ESPN reported that Mbappé is the 24th player to score 100 goals for Real Madrid, and the fourth fastest to get there. According to The Guardian, he now has 10 goals against Barcelona.

According to the BBC, Mourinho is the third Real Madrid coach to go six Clásicos in a row without losing, after Miguel Muñoz (1962–65) and Vicente del Bosque (2001–03). The BBC added that Real Madrid had won only two of their previous eight meetings with Barcelona. Mourinho told the club's site that his team has now won five games in a row.

What we know

• Final score: Barcelona 1, Real Madrid 2, LaLiga matchday 10, Sun., Oct. 25, at Spotify Camp Nou. Goals: Mbappé (41st minute per LaLiga, 43rd per Barcelona), Raphinha (61st), Mbappé (87th per LaLiga, 88th per Real Madrid).
• The loss ended Barcelona's 9-0 league start. Barcelona still lead with 27 points.
• The winner was Mbappé's 100th goal for Real Madrid.
• Barcelona's Xavi Espart will miss around seven weeks with a right ankle syndesmosis injury, the club said.

What we don't know yet

• How long Valverde will be out. Marca reported that he will be tested on Tuesday; as of late Monday morning, Real Madrid had not announced a diagnosis.
• Whether the Cancelo play gets any official review or comment from the referees' committee or the players involved.
• Whether the objects thrown, noted in the referee's report, lead to any disciplinary action. NewsCubby had not seen a decision from Spain's football federation as of late Monday morning.

What happens next

Mbappé is among the nominees at Monday's Ballon d'Or ceremony in London. NewsCubby's preview has the start time and how to watch.

Barcelona host Alavés at Spotify Camp Nou on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 21:00 in Spain (4 p.m. ET), according to FC Barcelona.

Real Madrid visit Racing de Santander at El Sardinero on Sunday, Nov. 1, at 16:15 in Spain, according to Real Madrid. US clocks fall back earlier that day, so that's 10:15 a.m. ET. Mourinho noted that his team then plays two more away games: at AEK Athens in the Champions League on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 18:45 in Spain (12:45 p.m. ET), and at Valencia on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 21:00 in Spain (3 p.m. ET), according to SI en Español's fixture list.

*Credits: reporting from LaLiga, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Sky Sports, The Guardian, BBC Sport, ESPN, Marca, ABC, Sport, Cadena SER, El Debate and SI en Español. Remarks originally in Spanish were paraphrased in English by NewsCubby unless an English outlet is credited. NewsCubby articles are produced with AI assistance and reviewed by humans.*

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