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“Whenever I win they can’t say a word,” Lamine Yamal once stated, but on this occasion he didn’t win and opponents closed in for him. They said he spoke too much; they replied that, indeed, they would meet him off the pitch; the message was talk is cheap. And that was just the players: further remarks from the preachers in their pulpits, individuals who always have opinions.

Just before the clásico, the teenager who claims he abandoned nervousness back in Mataró suggested that the Madrid side benefit from decisions and moan, or so it goes. Additionally, he offered a recollection that the last time he stepped onto the Santiago Bernabéu – as a youngster with blaugrana braces, a glint in his gaze and a right foot they didn’t know he possessed – his team triumphed 4-0. Yet that was past and the present differed. Moreover, more mature now, precisely twelve months later, he was beaten back. It was clear, they told him so.

Jude Bellingham scores derby winner as the Madrid club pull clear of Barcelona

As the final whistle went on an intense, intense 262nd Madrid-Barca match that felt a little like old times, Lamine Yamal approached in the direction of Madrid’s captain, hand out. Rather than taking it, Madrid’s captain made the old jibber-jabber motion. It had been hard enough keeping up with all the action that unfolded in over an hour and forty-five that preceded it, a match of numerous attempts, three goals scored and three more ruled out; at that moment it became impossible.

All at once there were footballers everywhere, racing in and out of view and piling in, security pulling people away from each other. In the middle the melee, Thibaut Courtois was accepting the offer to continue this down the tunnel. Vinícius was restrained, he telling another player as well they are too vocal. Barcelona’s winger hurried to intervene with his compatriot, the defender also present. “The scene resembled when we young,” the midfielder said.

Shift in Momentum

Earlier this year, the French star posted: “They rejoice in our defeats like we will never win again. We’ll be back.” Madrid had just lost a derby Spanish Cup showpiece 3-2 after additional minutes, a collective breakdown greeting the final whistle, ice cubes flying. Two weeks later, they were beaten again. Over four encounters, Madrid had lost four times, league, Copa del Rey and Super Cup won by their rivals. They had conceded four, five, three and 4. But there is always tomorrow and as it happened Tchouaméni was right.

On just one occasion have the Catalan side previously secured five clásicos in a row, Pep Guardiola’s record-breaking run ending with that 5-0 against Mourinho’s side, and it was not repeated. On Sunday, Real Madrid ended Hansi Flick’s perfect record as manager, beating Barcelona 2-1 to go five points clear at the top in La Liga.

What It Means

Madrid had needed this. Their post-match joy said so, players celebrating together. Likewise, the crowd’s roar, the Bernabéu more vocal and more edgy compared to for such matches for years: “incredible,” Jude Bellingham called it. The coach said so too. When questioned if the win represented a weight off his shoulders, if existed a psychosis around important matches, a fixation, he responded: “That is the media’s narrative.” But he did admit that this was “more than a win, but our recent history and its importance to us; the boys required that feeling of securing a victory in a major fixture.”

Last season Madrid failed to secure a win any. Fourteen times they were defeated: French side, Milan, Liverpool, Bilbao, city rivals, Sevilla-based, Atlético, Valencia and Arsenal each defeated them. They did not achieve one victory versus a truly big side. The previous manager departed and succeeded by Xabi Alonso yet the trend persisted. Madrid won five games in the global tournament, signs of tactical organization developing, an idea, but they faced PSG.

Current Campaign

That defeat belongs to last season, Alonso stated. But the next season, his term, started with six wins consecutively until city rivals came and put 5 past them. The results were positive beating Oviedo, island team and Pamplona side however, against elite opponents? Now at last they had beaten a major rival too. And it wasn’t just that Madrid won, but also the way they achieved it.

The opposition were missing unavailable: backup keeper, Gavi, Dani Olmo, star striker and defender were all missing. So too the winger, an important player might now be fully recognised by his absence. Several players were not at 100%, defender and young forward included. Among substitutes they had five players who not begun in La Liga, others who had started just one time; two 17-year-olds, four 18-year-olds and two who are nineteen. And a centre-back, Uruguayan star, who ended it in attack again. Additionally their manager was absent, Hansi Flick suspended and stuck in a radio cabin. His assistant, his assistant, has been in the dugout three times: he has lost each one.

Game Breakdown

Much discussion focuses of Barcelona’s defensive setup, but their offense struggled well during the match. Among the things that were said to Lamine Yamal on Sunday, perhaps the most revealing came from the Brazilian mid-match, mocking Yamal by saying: “You’re all backwards passes.” As for their defense, leakier than before after Iñigo Martínez departing, the pressure on opponents decreasing and coordination off, one opponent created multiple opportunities versus Barcelona, another team five, Sevilla 5, Girona 3. Previously they caught Kylian Mbappé in an offside position on multiple occasions in an open clásico; yet, lost amid losses, is the fact in their most recent match he scored a hat-trick, Madrid always positioned to create chances now.

Decisive Actions

Playing like this, especially. This was a start as well as an end in itself. “In the future we’re going to need a lot of our performance today,” the manager said. They put the ball in the net on five occasions – three efforts ruled out due to offside – failed to convert {a penalty|a spot-kick