Barcelona have put themselves on the brink of the La Liga title with a victory in El Clasico, but it is more disappointment for Real Madrid this season as they lose to their bitter rivals for the fourth time in succession. Here’s how the players fared across the two teams at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.
Barcelona player ratings
Wojciech Szczesny – 5
Conceded another penalty, which he almost saved. Beaten rather easily for Real Madrid’s second, and had little to do outside of those moments.
Eric Garcia – 7
Kickstarted the comeback for Barcelona by heading home on 19 minutes. Despite not being a natural right-back, he dealt very well with Vinicius Junior for the most part.
Pau Cubarsi – 5
His mistake lead to Real Madrid’s opener, and also played Kylian Mbappe onside for Real Madrid’s second. He was forced off early in the second half with an injury.
Inigo Martinez – 6
Good on the ball, questionable defending at times. He was booked in the second half for a high challenge on Jude Bellingham.
Gerard Martin – 6
The best of a bad bunch in the opening stages as Real Madrid raced into a 2-0 lead, and always offered support on the left flank. He was taken off early in the second half for the returning Alejandro Balde.
Frenkie de Jong – 7
Struggled like so many of his teammates in the opening stages, but grew into the game. Alongside Pedri, he controlled proceedings, but he did concede a penalty that was eventually cancelled by VAR for an offside in the build-up.
Pedri – 7
He did not stand out as much as he has done in recent months, but still a cultured performance from the 22-year-old. He won the midfield battle against Federico Valverde, Dani Ceballos and later on, Luka Modric.
Dani Olmo – 6
Lively performance, albeit he was not overly involved – especially compared to his fellow Barcelona attackers.
Lamine Yamal – 9
So good once again. He talks the talk, and always seem to walk the walk. Curled home Barcelona’s equaliser, and although he was not involved in any other goals (although he should have had an assist or two), he was a constant threat on the right wing.
Raphinha – 9
Once again he shows up in a Clasico, scoring Barcelona’s third and fourth goals. He did miss a huge chance to score his hat-trick in the second half, but despite this and the Champions League exit, he still looks a very strong candidate to win the 2025 Ballon d’Or.
Ferran Torres – 8
Led the line brilliantly, and picked up three assists. He constantly made life difficult for Raul Asencio and Aurelien Tchouameni in the centre of Real Madrid’s defence.
Substitutes
Andreas Christensen – 6
Struggled at times to get up to the pace of the match, which is to be expected as he is still coming back from a long-term injury.
Alejandro Balde – 6
Looked good going forward when he came on.
Hector Fort – 6
Struggled when he came on, but did enough to help Barcelona get the win over the line.
Fermin Lopez – 7
As he always does, competed well. Scored a wonderful solo goal in stoppage time, but it was ruled out for handball in the build-up.
Gavi – 6
Pressed hard in the closing stages.
Real Madrid player ratings
Thibaut Courtois – 6
Could do little about Barcelona’s goals, and pulled off a couple of important saves in the second half to keep Real Madrid in the game.
Lucas Vazquez – 4
Had a difficult afternoon, struggled against Raphinha and made the error that led to Barcelona’s fourth goal.
Raul Asencio – 6
Real Madrid’s best defender, as he has so often been in recent months. Had to make a couple of last-ditch challenges.
Aurelien Tchouameni – 5
Has been excellent in recent weeks, but playing in defence exposed him again – which isn’t necessarily his fault. Almost gave away a penalty for handball, but despite being sent to the VAR monitor, referee Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez stuck with his original decision.
Fran Garcia – 5
Had the difficult task of going up against Lamine Yamal, and as expected, he struggled to nullify the Barcelona man.
Federico Valverde – 6
Struggled to compete with Frenkie de Jong and Pedri. He appeared to suffer a knee injury at the end of the first half, but battled on in the second.
Dani Ceballos – 4
Similar to Valverde, but also gifted the third goal to Barcelona after running into Kylian Mbappe. Taken off at half time.
Arda Guler – 6
Failed to live up to expectations. He had a quiet first half before being replaced by Brahim Diaz at the interval.
Jude Bellingham – 6
Did not manage to make much of an impact during the 90 minutes. He competed well, but did little.
Kylian Mbappe – 9
Easily Real Madrid’s best player, and that was amplified by scoring an excellent hat-trick. He caused so many problems for Barcelona’s defence despite having not much help. His goals have now taken him to the top of the Pichchi Trophy standings.
Vinicius Junior – 8
Racked up two assists, but did little else. But he was a threat in behind on occasion before picking up a knock and being taken off late on.
Substitutes
Luka Modric – 7
Impressed when he came on, and created Mbappe’s third goal with an excellent pass through to Vinicius Junior.
Brahim Diaz – 7
Did well in the second half, and was much more involved than Arda Guler.
Endrick – 6
Competed well, but without much success.
Victor Munoz – 6
Missed a huge chance to make it 4-4 on his debut after being played in by Kylian Mbappe.
