Mbappe's El Clasico debut is a disaster for Real Madrid as Barcelona youngsters step up

MADRID — Robert Lewandowski scored twice, Lamine Yamal and Rafinha each scored as Barcelona capped a remarkable week with a 4-0 thrashing of Real Madrid in Saturday's Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu. With the lopsided defeat, Real Madrid saw their 42-game unbeaten streak in La Liga snapped.

Veteran striker Lewandowski scored twice in three seconds-and-a-half minutes to put Barca on their way, Yamal's third into the roof of the net and Rafinha's fourth over the head of goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, who was filling in for the injured Thibaut. Courtois

The win came just three days after Barca beat Bayern Munich 4-1 in the Champions League and moved six points clear of rivals Madrid at the top of the La Liga table after 11 games.

Madrid haven't tasted defeat in the league since losing to Atletico Madrid earlier last season, and even a draw here could equal Barca's La Liga record 43-game unbeaten run.

However, after a goalless first half in which Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid wasted a number of chances, Carlo Ancelotti's side were dismantled by a ruthless Barca side, whose incredible start to the season under new coach Hansi Flick continued in their biggest game yet. rival

Here are the big talking points from El Clasico:

Mbappe had his Clasico debut to forget

It was supposed to be Mbappe's Clásico, his first in the biggest blockbuster move of the summer transfer window since joining Madrid from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer. He has always enjoyed playing for Barca, scoring six times against them in four games with the French side, but his luck ran out on Saturday.

An early miss, later ruled offside anyway, set the tone for an evening of misses and offsides. One of those offsides was given when he thought he had opened the scoring, dinking the ball past Inaki Pena, but VAR revealed he had made the mistake of running in behind Inigo Martinez.

In total, Mbappe was caught offside six times in the first half, before two more in the second half, more than he had been caught offside in any previous game in his career. His eight offside calls in a single game are tied for the most of any player in the last 15 La Liga seasons.

His first official shot on goal didn't come until the 61st minute. More followed, as well as another offside goal, but his finishing left something to be desired. Pena has denied him on every occasion. He could learn a thing or two from Lewandowski at the other end.

It was by no means a disastrous start to his Madrid career, but he was signed to have an impact on these games.

He has scored eight goals in all competitions so far, but the feeling is that Madrid fans are still waiting for a new-attack to click with Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham.

There was palpable frustration from the fans as more offsides followed in the second half and the game ended, perhaps fittingly, with another offside flag and another save from Pena as Mbappe raced through.

Lewandowski has anchored a youth revolution at Barcelona

Barca field their second-youngest team in a Clasico in 80 years and their youngest since 1956. The difference-maker though was 36-year-old Lewandowski, who wrestled the game away from Madrid and finished a masterclass at the start. of the second half.

The Poland international, playing alongside Farland Mendy, finished brilliantly in the 54th minute after playing through Mark Casado and then, three minutes later, headed Lunin past Alejandro Bald's left wing cross.

Lewandowski's form was criticized at times last season, but he has shone under his former Bayern boss Flick. He has now scored 14 goals in just 11 games this season in La Liga — and in 17 competitions. He benefits from being more central, getting more balls in and around the area and letting youngsters run around him.

It was one of the youngsters, 17-year-old Yamal, who took the game from Madrid late. Predominantly left-footed, he perhaps took an early chance on his right foot to catch Madrid out, the ball blazing past Lunin as a stunned silence fell on the Bernabeu. Thus, Yamal became the youngest goalscorer in the Clásico.

Rafinha, fresh from a midweek hat-trick, added a fourth and Barca will look back on the missed chances before Yamal's goal — particularly a brilliant miss from Lewandowski — and wonder if they could have scored more on the night.

Barca's high line reaps the rewards again

A theme of Barca's season has been their attacking high line, along with their relentless pressing. Before the Clásico, they had the highest defensive line in La Liga at 61 yards when the ball was in the opposition's half. As a result, they have drawn more than 70 offsides this season – more than twice as many as any other team in the top five European leagues.

With the Bayern test coming up in midweek, the big question was will they pull it off against Madrid, Mbappe and Vinicius?

the game

Moreno: We didn't know Barcelona was at this stage

Ale Moreno praised Hansi Flick and his young Barcelona side for their 4-0 demolition of rivals Real Madrid away from home.

There were some hairy moments in the first half, not least the disallowed goal from Mbappe, but Pau Cubersi and Martinez stuck to their duties, sticking as close to the halfway line as possible and repeatedly catching Madrid offside. in the end, white people There were 12 offsides in the game — and eight in the first half alone.

The offside trap aided relentless pressure in midfield and the likes of Casado, Fermin López and Rafinha further forward, the former rewarded with an assist for the opening goal. This team looks like it can go far now under Flick.

Ancelotti has superstars to work with in the Real Madrid team

Any way you look at it, it was a disastrous night for Madrid. Not only did they end their long unbeaten run and fall six points behind Barca in La Liga, but they suffered their third biggest ever defeat in La Liga. They have not suffered such a loss at home in the league since 1974.

It brings back to the surface many of the problems that have been present throughout this season, even if they have often been peppered by brilliant individual displays, such as Vinicius' hat-trick in the midweek return against Borussia Dortmund.

However, they miss Toni Kroos deeply. What will Mbappe and Vinicius do behind his pass? Despite the obvious quality, the attack still lacks something and Bellingham has issues. He has gone 11 games without a goal this season after registering a career-high 23 last term.

To top it all off, with Courtois and David Alaba missing, they collapsed defensively in the second half.

The season is still young, and Madrid have a habit of coming out on top when it matters, but Ancelotti has his work cut out for him.