Barcelona Dominate Real Madrid: Mbappé Offside Nightmare in Clásico Humiliation

Barcelona demolished Real Madrid at the Bernabeu to take a six-point lead in La Liga, handing their rivals their first league defeat in over a year. Hansi Flick’s side were rampant at the home of their fierce rivals, frustrating Kylian Mbappe with their well-organised offside trap in the first half and then striking four times after the break.

Robert Lewandowski scored in the 54th and 56th minutes, his 13th and 14th goals in La Liga this season, to put Barcelona in control. Then Lamine Yamal scored his first Clasico goal in the 77th minute before the in-form Raphinha added a fourth with six minutes left to play.

The result takes Barcelona to 30 points at the top of the table, six clear of Madrid. Here, our writers analyse the key talking points.

Barcelona’s Offside Trap: A Blueprint for Frustration

As many expected, Barcelona’s offside trap was a key talking point in the first half.

Barca caught Bayern Munich offside just twice in the first half in midweek, but they quadrupled that number in the opening 45 minutes at the Bernabeu, with Kylian Mbappe contributing to six of those.

The first prominent offside came just two minutes in. As seen below, with Pau Cubarsi closing down Eduardo Camavinga and Jules Kounde worried about Vinicius Junior behind him, Mbappe found himself in acres of space but went just a fraction early.

The same duo combined again in the 14th minute, this time from further up the pitch. Mbappe found space between the Barca centre-backs, but mistimed his run again.

Five minutes later, it happened again. This time, Mbappe popped up on the other flank, with Alejandro Balde pushing up the pitch as he often does in Hansi Flick’s set-up, but the Frenchman was offside by some distance.

The final instance within the match’s opening 30 minutes was the most marginal of them all, as Mbappe raced through the gap between Inigo Martinez and Cubarsi again, but mistimed his run.

La Liga’s semi-automated system showed just how close the offside was.

The blueprint for Mbappe was his strike partner. When Vinicius Jr got in behind, he did it by using his pace, with astute awareness of where Barca’s high-line was. Real Madrid’s midfielders and centre-backs often found him with balls over the top, but also by playing through Barcelona’s press.

In the sequence below, Ferland Mendy finds Camavinga in space and he turns away from Marc Casado before passing to Vinicius Jr. He passes to Aurelien Tchouameni, completing a passing triangle Barca purists would be proud of, and runs from behind Kounde, knowing he will get on the end of the pass. He does just that and cuts inside but drags his shot wide.

Lewandowski’s Clinical Finishing Punishes Madrid’s Defensive Lapses

For most of the first half, Lewandowski was not so involved close to the Madrid goal, as the action was at the other end.

But when a first chance came, after Casado’s precise ball broke Madrid’s off-side trap, Lewandowski immediately latched onto the chance, firing early from the edge of the box before either Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, or his defenders, could do anything about it.

Lewandowski’s second goal was even better — the cross was excellent from Balde, and the marking poor from Madrid’s centre-backs. But the header was still expert, with the Pole twisting his body and arching his neck muscles to guide the ball powerfully to the corner, well out of Lunin’s reach.

It really should have been even better for Lewandowski. With Madrid’s defence broken open again, he had a much simpler chance to get a third, but somehow hit the post from close range. Yet another chance soon came from Lamine Yamal’s precise cross, but this time Antonio Rudiger was closer and Lewandowski shot over.

Finishing with just two made it 17 goals in 14 games across La Liga and the Champions League so far this season for the veteran. Those goals mean Lewandowski is already odds-on to win the La Liga top scorer award this year. And even more importantly, his crucial role tonight means Barca are now big favourites to win this season’s La Liga title.

A Breakdown in Defending: Madrid’s Back Four Succumb to Barca’s Prowess

After Barca’s defensive offside trap worked so well through the first half, the very first time Madrid’s was tested it broke down completely.

The home side’s back four were not well coordinated at all, with the main culprit being left-back Ferland Mendy. The Frenchman was a yard deeper than his colleagues, which was enough for Lewandowski to receive the ball in a legal position for the first goal and dispatch a low shot past goalkeeper Lunin.

The defending was even worse just a few moments later. After Lucas Vasquez was drawn out of position by Raphinha in the right-back position, Jude Bellingham attempted to track Alejandro Balde on the overlap but was unable to stop the cross. Then, centre-backs Eder Militao and Antonio Rudiger left Lewandowski in acres of space, just 10 yards from goal and, with the Barca centre-forward in such lethal form, that slackness was always likely to be punished.

De Jong’s Midfield Masterclass: A Half-Time Tweak That Changed the Game

This Barcelona side have been applauded for their direct play. But that changed in this Clasico.

After a first-half display where Barca were not at their best, Flick opted to make a surprise switch and bring on Frenkie de Jong. Fermin Lopez was replaced, which meant Pedri took a more advanced role, with De Jong and Casado acting as holding midfielders.

It’s been a tough start to the season for De Jong. After missing the European Championship through an ankle injury, that problem persisted and he could not make his return until this month. But that may change from now on.

His introduction to the game produced Barcelona’s best spell in the game — and that was due to them slowing the tempo. With Pedri more advanced, Barca got more time on the ball and Madrid’s counter-attacks were severely reduced. De Jong placed himself between the centre-backs to help his side’s build-up play, and Casado kept up his workrate and tidiness in midfield.

Barca overloaded midfield and that gave them the edge. Casado’s through-the-needle pass to Lewandowski for the first goal surprised Madrid’s defence after a good passing sequence.

That was applicable to the second goal as well, when Barcelona held possession in midfield to open up a pass to Balde on the left wing when the time was right. Lewandowski’s two brilliant finishes did the rest, but it all started with Flick’s half-time tweak.

Mbappe’s Offside Nightmare: A Night to Forget for the Frenchman

The first 45 minutes of Mbappe’s first Clasico since joining Madrid saw the Frenchman keep getting caught inches offside — culminating in the Frenchman’s disallowed effort around the half-hour mark.

There was also frustration when Vinicius Jr dribbled clear, opted to shoot himself and shot wide, with Mbappe screaming in anguish, unmarked in a central position close to goal.

Soon after half-time, Mbappe did get a pass inside the Barca area, but Cubarsi was across to nick the ball away from him. Then, at the other end, Lewandowski was given two clear chances to score, and expertly converted both to put Barca in control.

Mbappe finally got his first shot on target, but it was scuffed under pressure and easy for goalkeeper Inaki Pena to save. The best chance was still to come — now Mbappe was onside and clear through, but his low shot was too close to the feet of the Barcelona goalkeeper.

The frustration grew even more when Mbappe raced in behind yet again, and lashed a shot past Pena this time, only for the offside flag to be held up once again.

On the other side of Madrid’s attack, Vinicius Jr finished with zero shots on target all game. The comparison with the efficiency at the other end, with Yamal and Raphinha excellently converting chances which were not at all straightforward.

Madrid are now six points behind Barca in the La Liga table, and have scored 16 fewer times (Barcelona with 37 goals to Madrid’s 21) across 11 games so far. Not good numbers for Mbappe, Vinicius Jr or anyone at Madrid.

Ancelotti and Flick React: A Tale of Two Coaches

“I have no regrets,” Ancelotti told the post-match press conference. “We followed the line of the game against Dortmund. The approach was to press more. We did that for 60 minutes. It’s a tough moment.

“The result doesn’t reflect what happened on the pitch. They took advantage because of their confidence when they were ahead. Before that, we had a lot of chances.

“It’s a different defeat to the one against Lille (in the Champions League. We didn’t compete there, we played very badly. Last time we lost 4-0 to Barca (in March 2022), we won La Liga and the Champions League”

“When I started, we said we wanted to create an environment where the players could be at their best,” Flick said. “The mentality is brilliant. We can celebrate this victory — I have given (the players) two days off.

“All the players follow the game plan and I’m happy about that. The fans deserved today. The connection between the squad, the club and the fans is unbelievable.”