Barcelona vs Real Madrid: 5 Classic La Liga Matches
There is an air of déjà vu surrounding this Sunday’s El Clasico, with both Barcelona and Real Madrid fighting it out at the top of the table - and the title could still conceivably go either way. Last year, Madrid all but wrapped up the league with a victory over Barcelona, and it’s hard to argue against the fact that if Barcelona wins here, La Liga is theirs to lose.
If Madrid can do something similar in Barcelona to what they did last year, it could go either way, as Madrid would have the momentum. Barcelona may be rocked by a defeat, especially after losing in the Champions League this week following a brilliant tie against Inter Milan.
With one of the most exciting rivalries in football about to write its next chapter, let’s take a look back at some of the most memorable matches so far.
April 21, 2024: Real Madrid 3-2 Barcelona
With the La Liga title more or less on the line heading into this crunch clash at the back end of the 2023-24 season, it was do or die for Madrid. They went behind early on when Andreas Christensen scored, but were level inside the first half when Vinicius Jr. converted his penalty.
Young midfielder Ferran Lopez gave Barcelona the lead again with just over 20 minutes left to play - but as the phrase goes, 90 minutes at the Bernabeu is a very long time!
Lucas Vázquez equalised four minutes after Lopez had scored. In the first minute of injury time, Vazquez claimed a vital assist, driving the ball low across the box where it was duly swept home by a sliding Jude Bellingham - and the noise inside the Bernabeu was deafening. Madrid had more or less put the title race to bed thanks to one kick of a football from the boy from Birmingham.
October 28, 2023: Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid
October 28, 2023, is a date that’ll live long in Jude Bellingham’s memory. His first La Liga Clasico, and he marked it in some style. Ilkay Gundogan gave Barcelona the lead after just six minutes, smashing in from close range. Barca held the lead for just over an hour - in the 68th minute, Bellingham scored an absolute screamer, finding the top corner from 30 yards. A sensational goal, but the best was yet to come.
Bellingham was first to a loose ball in the box in time added on, and prodded home a last-minute winner for Madrid at the home of their arch-rivals. Croatian genius Luka Modric put the ball in, and Bellingham did the rest.
April 2, 2016: Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a late winner for 10-man Madrid in this historic Clasico, as Madrid won away from home and ended Barcelona‘s 39-match unbeaten run. Gerard Piqué initially made it 1-0 to the hosts, before Karim Benzema levelled things up with a brilliantly taken scissor kick.
Sergio Ramos was dismissed for a second booking just minutes before Ronaldo scored to wrap the points up for Los Blancos against the odds. It had been an emotional night for Barcelona as they mourned the passing of legendary ex-player and manager Johan Cruyff. Still, Madrid rose above the occasion with a drop of that coolness amongst the heat that they’ve become associated with over the years.
March 1, 2020: Real Madrid 2-0 Barcelona
Real Madrid triumphed over Barcelona in one of the last games at the Bernabeu before COVID brought match-going crowds to a stop in Spain and elsewhere worldwide for a while.
Madrid’s goals came from Vinicius Jr. and Mariano Diaz, who was making his first appearance of the season. His goal in the last minute ensured Real moved a point ahead of Barca in the La Liga standings before things went a bit haywire. As it was, Madrid won the league title, finishing with 87 points to Barcelona’s 82.
May 7, 2008: Real Madrid 4-1 Barcelona
In 2008, Real Madrid celebrated wrapping up the La Liga title with a few games to spare by hammering Barcelona at the Bernabeu. Barcelona gave the champions a guard of honour as they entered the pitch, and that was just about as good as their night got.
Goals from Raul, Gonzalo Higuain, and the Dutch pair of Arjen Robben and Ruud Van Nistelrooy sealed Barcelona’s fate, who scored a consolation through Thierry Henry and had Xavi sent off in what was a miserable game for the Blaugrana.
Real had wrapped up the La Liga title the previous Sunday with a win over Osasuna and the party got off to the perfect start here.
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Dylan has been a sports journalist for over four years, working in both print and digital. He also works as a stadium announcer for Crawley Town FC in the United Kingdom. He covers Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and PSG On SI.
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