Three takeaways from Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona | La Liga MD10 | OneFootball

The atmosphere at the Santiago Bernabeu last evening was electric, and rightfully so given that it was the first Clasico of the season.

Recent events in the buildup to the clash, in fact, only made the stadium more of a fortress and a daunting experience for Barcelona.

On the field, Real Madrid showed up with the same intensity as the fans in the stands and every player came out of the dressing room desperate to pull a win over the reigning champions.

And so they did, with some dominance.

The game had everything in it, from a penalty disallowed to offside goals and a penalty missed.

But all those instances involved Real Madrid in the attack, and it is clear that they had Barcelona by the collar from the get-go.

Kylian Mbappe eventually opened the score with a precise finish before Fermin Lopez pulled the Catalans level.

A Jude Bellingham goal late in the first half, however, turned out to be the winner for Real Madrid.

Madrid Universal brings you three takeaways from Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona.

Breaking the streak

Real Madrid have finally beaten Barcelona. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

A long wait came to an end on Sunday for Real Madrid, one that they had to wait for over a year. 

Last season was disastrous for Los Blancos in El Clasico as they slipped to four consecutive defeats to Barcelona across all competitions, allowing them to complete a clean sweep.

On Sunday, that streak finally broke and allowed Real Madrid to announce to the world that they are well and truly back.

After all, they not only won the game but deserved it in every sense of the word.

Real Madrid were comprehensively better than Barcelona in every respect with Xabi Alonso’s plan catching Hansi Flick and Co. completely by surprise. 

Their attack was simply too ruthless for Barcelona on the night and the scoreline could well have been far more dominant in their favour.

Meanwhile, their defence was rock solid and did not allow the visitors any inroads, capping off an all-round display.

The midfield delivers

Real Madrid midfield delivered against Barcelona. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

The midfield was always the department where the game was going to be won or lost at the Santiago Bernabeu last night, and that was indeed the case. Needless to say, Real Madrid came on top in that respect too.

Xabi Alonso pulled a masterstroke with his starting lineup, placing four midfielders on the field in Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga, Jude Bellingham and Arda Guler.

Including Federico Valverde who started at right-back, Real Madrid had five effective pressing players that suffocated Barcelona.

Alonso’s idea on the night was clear – to allow Barcelona to retain possession and to strategically deploy the press at the right moments to win the ball and transition to dangerous breaks.

That plan worked perfectly, and the effective pressing structure helped in its success.

Camavinga staying on the right side helped neutralise the threat of Balde and allowed Valverde to focus more on marking Marcus Rashford – taking away Barcelona’s biggest strength from them.

Lamine Yamal, meanwhile, was marked well by two men and the rest of the midfield outnumbered Pedri and Frenkie de Jong.

Jude Bellingham and Guler, in addition to shining off the ball, worked magic in breaking Barcelona’s lines when in possession and both players enjoyed good games

While the latter is indeed to blame for the goal conceded and thus did have a black spot, Bellingham’s game was simply flawless as he sliced through the defence for Mbappe’s opener and then stood at the right place at the right time to dispatch the winner.

The lead grows

Real Madrid have extended their lead to the top. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

The result is a magnanimous one for Real Madrid, not only in terms of their confidence and as a psychological boost but in terms of what it does for the league standings.

Real Madrid already boasted of a two-point lead over Barcelona before kick-off, and were thus playing to defend their lead and deny the Catalans their best chance to pull ahead.

However, they not only denied Barcelona their chance to go ahead but went on to extend their lead themselves as they took three points and now stand five points clear of Flick’s men.

The season ahead is long and only ten match-days have been played in La Liga so far. A five-point lead this early in the campaign may be far from decisive but it serves as a testament to Alonso’s project going the right way.