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“Whenever I emerge victorious they are unable to say a word,” Lamine Yamal previously remarked, however on this occasion he came up short and they were coming for him. They said he spoke too much; they replied that, yeah, they were going to meet him outside; they told him words mean little. This included just the players: further remarks from the preachers in media platforms, men who always have opinions.

Just before the clásico, the teenager who claims he left fear back in Mataró suggested that the Madrid side benefit from decisions and moan, or so it goes. He also offered a recollection that the last time he stepped onto Madrid’s home ground – as a youngster with blaugrana braces, a glint in his gaze and his shooting ability was unexpected he possessed – he beat them 4-0. Yet that was past and this was now. Moreover, an adult now, precisely twelve months later, he was beaten back. He knew, they told him so.

Jude Bellingham nets clásico winner as the Madrid club open a gap of their rivals

As the final whistle sounded on a wild, heated 262nd Madrid-Barca match that felt somewhat like old times, the Barcelona winger walked towards Dani Carvajal, offering a handshake. Rather than taking it, Carvajal made the old jibber-jabber gesture. The match was challenging following with all the action that unfolded in the 105 minutes that preceded it, a match of 38 shots, three goals scored and three more ruled out; now it was too much.

All at once there were players all around, running back and forth of view and converging, police pulling people away from each other. In the middle the melee, Thibaut Courtois took up the offer to continue this in the dressing room area. Vinícius was being held back, him telling another player else they are too vocal. Barcelona’s winger was running to intervene with his compatriot, Antonio Rüdiger also present. “The scene resembled when we young,” the midfielder said.

Turning Point

In April, Tchouaméni posted: “They celebrate our losses as if we will never win again. We’ll be back.” Madrid had just lost a clásico Spanish Cup final 3-2 after additional minutes, a collective breakdown following the end, ice cubes flying. Two weeks afterwards, they suffered another loss. In four clásicos, the team had lost four times, La Liga, cup and Super Cup won by their rivals. Their defense allowed 4, 5, 3 and 4. However there is always the future and it turned out he was right.

On just one occasion had Barcelona previously secured five clásicos consecutively, Pep Guardiola’s record-breaking run ending with the famous 5-0 versus José Mourinho’s side, and it wouldn’t happen again. On Sunday, Madrid brought to a close the coach’s unbeaten start in charge, defeating Barcelona 2-1 to move five points ahead in first place of the table.

Significance

The Madrid squad required the victory. The celebration reflected this, players celebrating together. Likewise, the crowd’s roar, the Bernabéu louder and intense than on a clásico day for years: “incredible,” Jude Bellingham called it. Manager Xabi Alonso said so too. When questioned whether this was a weight off his shoulders, or existed a psychosis around important matches, a fixation, Xabi Alonso shot back: “That’s you lot’s thing.” Yet he did admit that this was “not just a win, but where we come from and its importance to us; the players required the experience of securing a victory in a major fixture.”

In the previous campaign they failed to secure a win any. Fourteen times they lost: Lille, Italian club, English team, Bilbao, city rivals, Sevilla-based, city foes, eastern side and Arsenal all beat them. They did not achieve a single win versus a top-tier opponent. Carlo Ancelotti departed and succeeded by Xabi Alonso but it continued. Madrid secured several victories in the global tournament, indications of tactical organization emerging, a game plan, but they faced Paris Saint Germain.

Current Campaign

That defeat is part of the prior year, the coach said. But the new campaign, his term, started with six wins in a row before city rivals visited and put five against them. The results were all well and good beating Oviedo, Mallorca and Osasuna but what about the big teams? Now at last they defeated one of them too. Moreover not only that Madrid triumphed, it was the way they won.

Barcelona were missing out: backup keeper, Gavi, Dani Olmo, star striker and Andreas Christensen were all missing. So too the winger, whose significance may at least be appreciated by his absence. Several players weren’t fully fit, defender and young forward among them. On the bench they had several individuals who hadn’t started a league game, others who featured just one time; two 17-year-olds, young talents and two who are nineteen. Plus a centre-back, Ronald Araújo, who finished the match up front again. Additionally head coach was missing, Hansi Flick suspended and stuck in a commentary box. His assistant, his assistant, was in the dugout three times: he suffered defeats in each one.

Game Breakdown

Much discussion focuses of Barcelona’s defensive setup, but their offense struggled well on Sunday. Among comments directed to Lamine Yamal that day, perhaps the most revealing came from the Brazilian during the game, taunting Yamal by saying: “Your play is retreating balls.” Regarding their defense, more porous than before with Iñigo Martínez leaving, the pressure on opponents decreasing and the timing off, one opponent made six clear chances versus Barcelona, another team five, Andalusian side 5, Catalan club 3. Previously they caught the French forward offside on multiple occasions in an open clásico; however, lost amid losses, is the fact in the last meeting he got three goals, Madrid consistently positioned to get opportunities currently.

Decisive Actions

With this approach, in particular. This was a beginning and also a significant result. “In the future we will require a lot of our performance today,” the manager commented. The team had the ball in the net five times – three ruled out for offside – failed to convert {a penalty|a spot-kick