Barcelona were beaten in the first El Clásico of 2025–26 as Real Madrid ran out 2–1 winners on Sunday afternoon.
The visitors remained depleted and were lethargic for much of the game, surrendering high-quality openings to their determined hosts, who were inefficient but still walked away with all three points.
Another incident-laden Clásico was won by a Jude Bellingham tap-in at the end of the first half, after Fermín López had cancelled out Kylian Mbappé’s opener. Wojciech Szczęsny’s penalty save at the start of the second period sparked some Catalan momentum, but Hansi Flick’s side ran out of steam towards the end of the contest with ended with a red card for Pedri.
The defeat leaves the La Liga champions five points adrift of Madrid through 10 outings.
Barcelona Player Ratings vs. Real Madrid (4-2-3-1)
GK: Wojciech Szczęsny—9.1: The veteran shot-stopper certainly played his part on Sunday afternoon, superbly denying Mbappé from the penalty spot. Szczęsny picked the ball out of his net four times, but only two counted.
RB: Jules Koundé—6.4: Xabi Alonso has started to deploy Vinícius Junior wide left again, and the Brazilian has benefited. He was excellent here, ensuring Koundé had a difficult afternoon.
CB: Pau Cubarsí—6.1: There’s no denying his genius in the build-up, but Cubarsí is suffering a little bit in Iñigo Martínez’s absence. He went down softly during the game-winning sequence.
CB: Eric García—6.1: Mbappé had plenty of joy running off García’s shoulder, with the Barcelona center back simply not having a chance of living with the Frenchman in this sort of mood.
LB: Alejandro Balde—6.4: Wasn’t able to fly forward at will and test out Federico Valverde. Often caught in no man’s land defensively, given that Madrid didn’t really play with a designated right winger.
DM: Frenkie de Jong—7.0: The Dutchman certainly helped Barcelona gain a foothold in proceedings, but their control was sterile for much of the contest. However, De Jong supplied the odd sequence of off-the-cuff magic to break open Madrid’s press.
DM: Pedri—6.4: Wasn’t at his most influential in the Clásico, with Madrid’s Bellingham stealing the show in the middle of the park. Pedri did play a key role in the equalising goal, though. Sent off at the last.
RW: Lamine Yamal—7.0: Subject to a “whistling campaign” at the Bernabéu, Yamal, who taunted his opponents on social media in the build-up to the game, was seemingly inhibited by the hostilities. The winger was on the periphery for much of the contest, only offering glimpses of what we know he’s capable of.
AM: Fermín López—7.3: Following his midweek heroics, Fermín drew the visitors level in the capital and was a live wire throughout. However, he was a little too trigger-happy.
LW: Marcus Rashford—7.4: Injecting some pace into a flat first-half Barcelona performance, he offered composure in the final third to tee up Fermín’s equaliser. Influence oddly waned as Barça improved in the second period.
ST: Ferran Torres—6.3: It was evident that the Barcelona striker wasn’t fully fit for the Clásico, and he perhaps should’ve been withdrawn earlier than he eventually was.
Subs not used: Diego Kochen (GK), Eder Aller (GK), Jofre Torrents, Toni Fernández, Xavi Espart, Marc Bernal, Dro Fernández.
Real Madrid (4-2-3-1)
Starting XI: Thibaut Courtois; Federico Valverde, Éder Militão, Dean Huijsen, Álvaro Carreras; Eduardo Camavinga, Aurélien Tchouaméni; Arda Güler; Jude Bellingham, Vinícius Júnior; Kylian Mbappé.
Subs used: Brahim Díaz, Rodryo, Dani Carvajal, Gonzalo García, Dani Ceballos.
Player of the Match: Wojciech Szczęsny
Real Madrid 2–1 Barcelona—How It Unfolded at the Santiago Bernabéu
Despite enjoying so much success in this fixture last season, Barcelona knew they were in for a slog in the capital on Sunday afternoon. The league leaders, emboldened by a fresh face in the home dugout, were out to avenge recent humiliations, and the Santiago Bernabéu faithful was desperate to inhibit the visiting team.
A cagey opening burst into life when Lamine Yamal was penalised for fouling Vinícius Júnior in the Barcelona box, and the extent to which some of the Madrid players celebrated the decision depicted the vengeful mood they were in.
However, intervention from the video assistant referee (VAR) offered Barça a lifeline, with the on-field decision being overturned. VAR was also on hand to rule out a stunning Kylian Mbappé opener from distance, as replays ruled the Madrid striker offside by the barest of margins.
Barça’s good fortune soon ran out, though, as Jude Bellingham and Mbappé combined ruthlessly for the opener. Bellingham pirouetted masterfully to avoid Pedri in the middle of the park before sliding a delightful through ball for Mbappé, who finished beyond Wojciech Szczęsny.
It must’ve felt like a cauldron for the Blaugrana, who were suffering from every turnover. Madrid burst into life in transition, with Mbappé’s movement and searing speed proving far too much for a Barça defense lacking power to handle.
Keep fighting, guys 👊 pic.twitter.com/GCsRhlHuGv
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 26, 2025
Nevertheless, Hansi Flick’s side managed to work their way back into the contest thanks to some good work without the ball from Pedri. The outstanding midfielder caught Arda Güler dallying with the ball on the edge of the Madrid box, and ignited the sequence which led to Fermín’s equaliser. After netting his first Champions League hat-trick in the week, he was never going to make a mistake with his first-time finish from close range.
Despite restoring parity, there was never a sense that the visitors were building any momentum, with Madrid remaining the more threatening side against a Barcelona back line that looked so vulnerable through its centre. Soon after Fermín struck, Madrid regained their advantage through Bellingham, who tapped home at the back post after Éder Militão headed Viní Jr’s hopeful cross across the box.
Barça got the rub of the green in terms of the referee’s decisions on Tuesday night against Olympiacos, but they were hard done by at the start of the second half. Eric García was harshly penalised for handball, gifting Madrid a spot-kick, but super Szczęsny was on hand to deny Mbappé from 12 yards.
The Pole’s heroics lit a fuse within his team, who emerged as the dominant force in the aftermath. Fermín surely should’ve passed to Marcus Rashford despite a promising shooting opportunity opening up, with his effort failing to properly test Thibaut Courtois.
Barça, however, were moving the ball with much more character and precision compared to the opening period, forcing Madrid to contain. Xabi Alonso was more than willing to oblige, curiously sacrificing Viní Jr, and Flick went all out, ending the game with Marc Casadó and Frenkie de Jong as his center backs.
Ronald Araujo moved up top in order to wreak a bit of havoc, and the visitors had nine stoppage-time minutes to work with. However, the only event of note was Pedri’s second yellow card at the last, as Madrid held onto their slender advantage.
Real Madrid vs. Barcelona Half-Time Stats
Real Madrid vs. Barcelona Full Time Stats
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Barcelona Player Ratings vs. Real Madrid: Blaugrana Slump to El Clasico Defeat.