In this year’s El Clásico, there were three teams providing talking points. Real Madrid, F.C Barcelona, and the referees. The roof at the Bernabéu was closed, creating a boiling cauldron of fútbol fervor for 77,981 fans.
Barça struck first, scoring in the 8th minute through Andreas Christensen. Christensen did well to meet a cross from Raphinha, heading into an empty net after Andriy Lunin missed an attempt to clear the cross. Ten minutes later, Madrid tied the match via penalty, as Vinícius calmly scored. Upon close examination of the play that led to the penalty, one could make an argument that the contact between the player who was fouled, Lucas Vasquez, and the defender, Pau Cubarsí, was minimal.
In the 28th minute, it appeared that Lamine Yamal flicked a ball over the goal line following a corner, with Barça players crowding the referee to plead their case. The referee paused and seemed to listen to his colleagues in the VAR room. La Liga, unlike the other four top European leagues, (Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A, and Ligue 1) do not use goal line technology. Thus, referees have to use their eyes, and limited camera angles, to make these important decisions.
In the 69th minute, Fermín López scored by tapping in from close range, after Lunin spit a shot from Yamal. Then four minutes later, Madrid tied the game 2-2, when Lucas Vasquez meet a cross at the back post, hitting a first time shot past Marc-André ter Stegen.
Moments later, in the 78th minute, Lunin made an incredible pass to Vinícius, who bore down on goal and fired from close range. Ter Stegen blocked this effort, and that shot would be Vinícius’ last significant contribution of the game before being coming off in the 82 minute for Joselu.
In the dying embers of the game, substitute Brahim Díaz slalomed through midfield en route to Barça’s goal. Díaz then passed to his right, setting up Lucas Vasquez to serve an inch perfect cross to the back post. Finally, Jude Bellingham finished emphatically, slamming a left drive into the roof of the net. This brought the score to 3-2, with Madrid winning their third El Clásico this season.
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