Barcelona vs Real Madrid: Mbappé's 100th Stuns Camp Nou

For 86 minutes, Barcelona's perfect season bent without breaking. Then Kylian Mbappé rolled the ball into an empty net, José Mourinho slid on his knees along the touchline, and 62,055 people at the Spotify Camp Nou fell silent. Real Madrid won 2-1, ending Hansi Flick's nine-game winning start to the La Liga campaign.

The winner was Mbappé's second of the night and his 100th goal in all competitions for Real Madrid, reached in only 116 appearances. It also changed the title race. A home win would have put Barcelona nine points clear of their rivals. Instead, the gap is three.

Mourinho arrived in Barcelona with two major absentees. Vinícius Júnior was suspended, and Thibaut Courtois went down with the flu, which pushed Andriy Lunin into the starting lineup on the morning of the game. Mourinho responded with a technical midfield, Bernardo Silva directing play alongside Aurélien Tchouaméni. The Spanish press later hailed the selection as a tactical masterstroke.

Mbappé profits from Gerard Martín's clearance

The opener, on 41 minutes, owed more to fortune than craft. Marc Cucurella slipped Yan Diomande in down the left, and Gerard Martín tried to clear the low cross into the six-yard box. The ball struck Mbappé and went in.

It was a cruel goal for Barcelona, who had plenty of the ball but could not pull Madrid's shape apart. They had already lost right-back Xavi Espart, who was replaced after 30 minutes following a heavy collision with Tchouaméni. Madrid's plan to smother the press was working, and they went in 1-0 up.

Raphinha and Pedri drag Barcelona level

The equaliser came from invention rather than pressure. On 61 minutes, Lamine Yamal played a short corner to Pedri on the edge of the box. Pedri shaped to shoot, then slipped a reverse pass to Raphinha. His low left-footed shot went through Jude Bellingham's legs and past Lunin into the far corner.

That was Raphinha's 13th league goal in just nine appearances this season, and he has now scored in four of Barcelona's last six league games. His side have found the net in each of their last 10 league matches. For a spell, the numbers matched the mood. Barcelona finished with 62% possession and 18 shots to Madrid's 10.

The volume never became superiority, though. Only six of those shots hit the target, and Lunin saved five of them. Madrid managed five on target with far less of the ball, and two of them went in.

Camavinga and Mbappé silence the Camp Nou

The decisive goal came three minutes from time and began with a Barcelona turnover. Bellingham spun away with a roulette turn past halfway and released substitute Eduardo Camavinga down the right. Camavinga knocked the ball past Pau Cubarsí, ran to the byline and cut it across Joan García, leaving Mbappé to roll it into an empty net.

It was Mbappé's 11th league goal in 10 appearances, and he has now scored in four of Madrid's last six league outings. The win was Madrid's third straight in the league. Before kick-off, the stands had unveiled a "Batec Blaugrana" mosaic. After the winner, they watched Mourinho's knee slide in silence.

Tempers rose in stoppage time. Madrid's appeal for handball against Alejandro Balde in a duel with Mbappé was turned down. Balde, Karim Adeyemi and Mbappé were all booked before the end.

Mourinho's Madrid reopen the title race

Both camps had complaints about referee Juan Martínez Munuera and VAR official Javier Iglesias Villanueva. Catalan observers pointed to Cucurella repeatedly pulling and impeding Yamal without an early caution, while Anthony Gordon was booked for a soft duel. Madrid's side highlighted the 57th minute, when João Cancelo went unpunished for a studs-up challenge on Diomande's calf. Mourinho said afterwards that the VAR had been "asleep".

Otherwise, Mourinho was content to savour the win. "Ganar así es importante, no lo hicimos por suerte," he said, insisting luck had nothing to do with it. He also issued a warning: "No voy a dejar que la gente tenga la cabeza en la luna." Flick kept it short: "We're disappointed because we lacked freshness."

Freshness is now the question for Barcelona. The press doubted their physical sharpness and the risk of their high line. It also questioned how heavily they lean on individual moments after Yamal failed to convert his chances. The defeat ended a 23-game home winning run in the league.

Barcelona still top the table on 27 points, with Madrid third on 24. Barcelona had won the two previous Clásicos, in January and May. Tonight everything went Madrid's way, and the narrowing of a lead that briefly looked decisive has reopened the title race.