Jude Bellingham’s late goal proved crucial for Real Madrid in their bid to win the Spanish league.
Bellingham, a key player for Madrid since joining last year, secured a vital victory with a stoppage-time goal against Barcelona in the latest “clasico” match.
Although Barcelona led twice at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid fought back and secured a 3-2 win, extending their lead over Barcelona to a comfortable 11 points with six games remaining.
Bellingham’s decisive goal came in the first minute of stoppage time, as he skillfully struck the ball with his left foot into the top corner following a cross from Lucas Vázquez, who also scored and assisted Vinícius Júnior’s goal.
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti praised Bellingham for his crucial contribution, emphasizing the importance of his goal in the title race. Despite not scoring in his previous six games, Bellingham had previously scored both goals in Madrid’s 2-1 victory at Barcelona earlier in the season.
This victory marked Madrid’s third consecutive win over Barcelona this season, maintaining their unbeaten streak in the league for 26 games.
Ancelotti highlighted the significance of the victory, particularly considering Barcelona’s strong efforts to challenge for the title.
The “clasico” followed Madrid’s triumph over Manchester City in the Champions League quarterfinals, while Barcelona had been eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain, leaving the league as their only remaining chance for silverware this season.
Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, who played a crucial role in the shootout against City, made errors leading to Barcelona’s goals in the match.
Barcelona, last year’s league winner, traveled to the Spanish capital hoping to boost its chances of winning the title again. They got off to a good start when Andreas Christensen scored with a header six minutes into the game.
Real Madrid equalized with Vinícius scoring from a penalty in the 18th minute. However, Barcelona regained the lead with Fermín López scoring from close range in the 69th minute.
Madrid leveled the score again, with Vázquez scoring in the 73rd minute, assisted by Vinícius. Madrid made some changes to their lineup after the previous match against City. Vázquez was one of the players brought in, along with Luka Modrić and Aurélien Tchouaméni.
Barcelona protested loudly about the penalty given to Madrid and felt they should have been awarded one themselves after a challenge on López.
There was also controversy over a possible goal for Barcelona in the first half, when it wasn’t clear if the ball crossed the goal line before Lunin saved it. It took some time for the video review to confirm that it was not a goal.
