El Clasico: Barcelona push the knife further into Real Madrid, inch closer to 28th La Liga title
NEW DELHI: "Madrid... Saluda Al Campeon (Madrid... Say hello to the Champions)" read the front page of Barcelona-based daily SPORT. "A lo Campeon! (Like champions)", said Mundo Deportivo, the other big sports daily in
Barcelona
. "Barca abraza la liga (Barcelona hug La Liga)" flashed Madrid-based AS. "Barca 'gana' la 28 (Barcelona win their 28th)" stated Marca.
Mathematically, Barcelona have not won the Spanish league, but the writing is on the wall. With three matches remaining, they're seven points clear of arch rivals
Real Madrid
.
Barca have built a five-match winning streak and been unbeaten in 16 league games, going back to December, when Real Madrid were two points ahead of Barcelona.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel.
SUBSCRIBE NOW!
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Invest $200 in Amazon without buying stocks to earn a second salary
Marketsall
Sign Up
Undo
Over the following period, Real Madrid have collected 35 points, thanks to 11 wins, four defeats, and two draws. Barcelona, meanwhile, have racked up 44 points, owing to 14 wins and two draws.
The clincher, the proverbial nail in the coffin for Real Madrid, came on Sunday as Barcelona won 4-3.
Kylian Mbappe
scored a hat-trick, including two goals in the first 14 minutes. He took his tally this season to 39 goals and broke the record for the most goals scored in a debut season at Real Madrid, going past Ivan Zamorano, who had netted 37 times in 1992-93. Yet, Madrid lost and are on the cusp of finishing the season without a trophy.
What's worse from a Real Madrid perspective? Barcelona are on course to doing a domestic double, having beaten Real Madrid in the
Copa del Rey final
as well. The trophy count reads three if you also include the
Spanish Super Cup
, where, too, they beat Real Madrid in the title clash.
Like the Spanish Super Cup final, the Copa del Rey final and much of the league season, Real Madrid's defensive frailties were exposed at the Olympic Stadium. And much like recent fixtures, Barcelona came from behind to win.
The Catalans trailed 2-0 against Atletico Madrid and won 4-2. They were 1-3 behind versus Celta Vigo and won 4-3. They trailed 0-1 at Valladolid and won 2-1. In the Copa del Rey final, they were 1-2 down and won 3-2 in extra time. In the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg, they trailed Inter 0-2 to stand 3-3 at full time. And in the second leg, they were 0-2 down to make it 3-2 before the Italians triumphed in extra time.
These come-from-behind wins expose Barcelona's defensive issues, which didn't please Flick, but also pinpoint the massive turn in attacking structure and confidence compared to last season.
Last season, Barcelona lost 1-2, 2-3 and 1-4 to Real Madrid in the league and Spanish Super Cup. This season, they triumphed in all four of the fixtures between these two -- 4-0, 4-3, 5-0 and 3-2.
On Sunday, as Mbappe carried Los Blancos single-handedly, goals from Eric Garcia, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha denied him and Real Madrid a late chance in the title race.
For Barcelona, despite conceding goals aplenty recently and bowing out of Europe in heartbreaking fashion, this season has seen huge progress. A team that lacked cohesion last season has found a new breath of life under Yamal, Pedri, Ferran, Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski.
"They can't handle us this season," said Yamal two weeks ago. "Don't forget to 'like' this too," he mockingly posted on social media after this win, seemingly aimed at Jude Bellingham and former Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos, who had taken pleasure in Barcelona's Champions League exit.
Except for a run of four losses in seven matches in November and December, Barcelona have been the best team in Spain this season, and few can argue against them being deserved champions.
For Real Madrid, it is time to wipe the slate clean. Sure, they had their entire first-choice defensive lineup, with Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, Antonio Rudiger and Ferland Mendy missing for this Clasico.
Real's meek defence was summed up most brutally when makeshift full-back Lucas Vazquez was brushed off by Raphinha, went on to exchange passes with Ferran Torres before scoring to make it 4-2.
Despite pushing the title this far into the season, Real Madrid haven't looked like a complete package this year. From back to front,
Carlo Ancelotti
has struggled to find a structure for this team. Mbappe, Vinicius Jr. and Bellingham have not combined well, and the team has looked devoid of ideas -- none more than in their laboured exit against Arsenal in Europe.
From back to midfield, the gaps created by the goodbyes to Toni Kroos and Nacho Fernandez were not filled in the transfer window and it resulted in large gaps that have been brutally exposed by the opposition teams.
With Ancelotti confirmed as the Brazil manager and
Xabi Alonso
strongly tipped to take over, as soon as next week, the challenge will be in building a better structure with Trent Alexander-Arnold a near certainty to bolster the defence/wings. Because despite scoring 39 and shattering the club's goalscoring record, Mbappe, who has been Real's best player this year, has had a disappointing season -- much like the club.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
20 minutes ago
- India Today
MS Dhoni confirms CSK captain for IPL 2026, concedes major squad issues
Legendary Chennai Super Kings cricketer MS Dhoni confirmed the return of Ruturaj Gaikwad as the captain of the franchise in Indian Premier League 2026. Speaking on a private event in Chennai on Saturday, August 2, Dhoni said that CSK opener will return to the side and take over his usual Dhoni was forced to take over CSK's captaincy from Gaikwad due to the latter's injury in the IPL 2025. Gaikwad fractured his arm early in the tournament, one that went terribly for the Chennai-based at the event, Dhoni admitted to the team's issues from IPL 2025 and said that they were going to strengthen their batting order. The comment perhaps indicates that the franchise will be moving on from Rahul Tripathi and Deepak Hooda, who were woeful last season. 'We are slightly worried about our batting order. But I think our batting order is quite sorted out now. Rutu (Gaikwad) will be coming back. He got injured. But he will be coming back. So, we are quite sorted now,' said Dhoni during a private function in Chennai.'I won't say we (CSK) slacked off (in IPL 2025). But there were certain holes that we needed to plug in. A small auction is coming in December. Some loopholes are there, and we will try to plug those in,' he last competitive outing remains CSK's match against Punjab Kings at Mullanpur on April 8. The Maharashtrian had inked a deal with English county Yorkshire but withdrew from the deal citing personal reasons. However, he has been named in the West Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy, beginning later this admitted that the Super Kings have been well below-par over the last two seasons, but said it was important for the team to identify those grey areas.'Yes, the last couple of years have not been good for us. We have not been up to the mark. But what is important is for you to see the learnings. Yes, you had a bad season. But what went wrong? And that was the question for us last year also.'We were like, okay, there are some shortcomings. But first we needed to exactly figure out what were the shortcomings and then look at solutions,' he Dhoni Thanks Loyal FansDhoni profusely thanked the loyal CSK fans for their wholehearted support during the strife time, and promised to give a better account of themselves in the coming season.'I feel more often than not we have been able to figure out what exactly went wrong. In sports, you know you can have a very good time and at the same time there will be periods when you won't be performing well. In CSK, more often than not, we are on the higher we do talk about the processes. But at the same time we do want the result to come to our side. Last year it (result) wasn't there. But looking ahead, we will try to sort out most of the things and we will hopefully be at our best,' he 44-year-old then underlined the strong relationship he has fostered over the years with Chennai and the IPL team based in the city.'It's a very long relationship that we have had and it started much before the start of IPL... 2005 was the time when I made my Test debut which happened to be in Chennai. So, it started from that point of time. And yes, CSK helped in a big way because all of a sudden I'm spending 45-50 days here."'So, I feel the relationship over the years has grown. It helped me improve as a person. It helped me improve as a cricketer. So, CSK just happened. I think it's good for Chennai. So, today it's good for me also. Nowadays when we go and say CSK, it's not a brand only in India, but when we go to Australia, South Africa, or any of the cricket playing nations,' he noted.- EndsMust Watch
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Ferrari's Leclerc stuns the McLarens to take pole for F1's Hungarian Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc snatched a surprise first pole position of the year for Ferrari at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday, beating both McLarens. Leclerc punched the air in delight as he climbed out of the car after beating Oscar Piastri by 0.026 of a second and the other McLaren of Lando Norris by .041. Leclerc had consistently been the best of the rest behind the McLarens in practice but remained well off Piastri and Norris' pace. That changed in qualifying, with the help of conditions which gradually got gloomier and windier, working against the McLarens. Norris and Piastri were each about half a second slower per lap in the final part of qualifying, compared to the second segment. Still, pole came as a shock at a circuit which Leclerc had called 'by far the worst track of the season for me' on Thursday. 'What?' Leclerc exclaimed over the radio when he was told he'd qualified first. 'Honestly, I have no words. It's probably one of the best pole positions I've ever had because it's the most unexpected,' Leclerc added later. Pole position is usually a big advantage in Hungary, where overtaking is difficult, but Norris noted the chance that rain could spring some surprises for Sunday's race. 'I have no idea how it will go, but one thing for sure is that I will do absolutely everything in order to keep that first place,' said Leclerc, who's on pole for the 27th time in F1 but doesn't have the best record converting those starts into wins. He'll be seeking his ninth F1 victory Sunday. It was a stark contrast with yet another frustrating day for Lewis Hamilton in the other Ferrari. Hamilton has won the Hungarian Grand Prix a record eight times but qualified 12th as the seven-time champion's troubles in his first season with Ferrari continued. 'Every time, every time,' Hamilton told the team over the radio after he qualified outside the top 10 for the second straight race. That came after Ferrari's executive chairman John Elkann called it 'a rough season' in comments Saturday on the F1 website, and defended Ferrari's trust in team principal Fred Vasseur, whose contract extension was announced Thursday. Ferrari hasn't won a Grand Prix since Carlos Sainz, Jr.'s victory in Mexico in October, when the Spanish driver — now at Williams — also had the Italian team's last pole. Defending champion Max Verstappen was only eighth after struggling with the balance of his Red Bull, and his teammate Yuki Tsunoda was 16th. That piles more pressure on the Japanese driver, who hasn't scored a point in six races.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
6 hours ago
- First Post
Howe opens up on 'complex' situation after Newcastle reject Liverpool's £110m bid for Isak: ‘Situation far from ideal'
Eddie Howe added that Swedish striker Alexander Isak, the second-highest goal-scorer in the Premier League last season, still had Newcastle United's support despite expressing his desire to leave St James Park and join Arne Slot's side. read more Advertisement Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe insists Swedish striker Alexander Isak will be welcomed back at St James Park once he returns from his training trip in Spain. Reuters Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe insisted Alexander Isak had the support of the club despite the 'complex' situation surrounding his transfer after the Magpies rejected a £110 million ($146 million) bid from defending champions Liverpool for the Swedish striker. Isak had expressed his desire to leave St James Park and join Arne Slot's side , who had won their second Premier League title and their 20th English top-flight triumph overall earlier this summer. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD However, Newcastle, the team that had finished fifth last season, had valued Isak at £150 million ($199 million), and were not in the mood to negotiate over their star performer – who had finished as the second-highest goal scorer last season with 23 strikes. 'Signing players is always complex' Speaking to reporters at Seoul where the four-time English top-flight champions are set to face fellow Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur in a friendly, Howe insisted he wanted to see Isak continue wearing the club's colours – black and white for home games – despite the recent drama. 'I was made aware of a bid yesterday and that bid was turned down, all before I'd even heard about it. People back in England are dealing with the situation. I don't know what happens next. From our perspective, we still support Alex in every way and my wish is that we see him in a Newcastle shirt again,' former Bournemouth boss Hower, who had joined Newcastle in 2021, said. 'In terms of trying to upset players and all that kind of stuff, from my perspective, we can only talk about our conduct. We try to do things in the right way. Signing players is always complex. We just try to do what we think is right. I can't talk about other clubs, that's not for me to say,' he added. Howe added that he was aware of Isak training on his own in Spainafter being left out of the club's ongoing pre-season tour. 'I know where he is, really, through the media. From that perspective, it's difficult for me to go into any kind of detail. The situation is far from ideal and is quite complex,' he added. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Isak, who had joined Newcastle from Spanish top-division club Real Sociedad on a £60 million move in 2022, is set to link up with the rest of the Newcastle squad once they're back from their Asian pre-season trip. The 25-year-old has been training with his personal team at his former club's training ground rather than with the Newcastle staff at their Benton training ground. And despite Liverpool not making a second bid for Isak after Newcastle's rejection, Isak's desire to join the Reds might get fulfilled later in the transfer window with the Magpies having expressed interest in signing Slovenian forward Benjamin Sesko, who currently plays for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig. Newcastle securing Sesko, who is also being targeted by Manchester United, for the 2025-26 season and beyond might allow them to part ways with Isak.
