Real Madrid defeated FC Barcelona 2-1 in a Clásico filled with intensity, VAR reviews, and post-match tensions. Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé shone for the whites, while the injury-hit Barça briefly equalized through Fermín López. Xabi Alonso claimed his first win in this fixture as Madrid coach.
The October 26, 2025, match at Santiago Bernabéu marked Xabi Alonso's first Clásico as Real Madrid coach, following four straight defeats, including a 5-2 loss to Atlético. Madrid, lining up Eduardo Camavinga on the right wing and Arda Güler centrally, pressed high and controlled midfield, restricting an injury-plagued Barcelona missing Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha.
Kylian Mbappé opened scoring in the 21st minute with a legal goal from Jude Bellingham's through ball, his 11th in La Liga this season. An earlier strike was disallowed by VAR for a millimeter offside. Fermín López equalized by capitalizing on Güler's error near Thibaut Courtois' area. Bellingham headed the 2-1 winner off a Vinícius Júnior cross, shining again as in past Clásicos.
Mbappé missed a second-half penalty, saved by Wojciech Szczesny, his first failure since May. VAR intervened multiple times: overturning an initial Madrid penalty for Vinícius' foul on Lamine Yamal, and awarding another for Eric García's handball. Vinícius, instrumental in the second goal, reacted angrily to his 72nd-minute substitution for Rodrygo, skipping a handshake with Alonso and heading to the locker room.
The game ended in scuffles: one between benches leading to Andriy Lunin's expulsion, and a post-match brawl started by Dani Carvajal's gesture to Yamal, involving Courtois and Vinícius, broken up by police. Yamal, booed by the crowd and marked by Álvaro Carreras, had a subdued outing. Alonso said: “The team needed the feeling of winning a big match.” The win puts Madrid five points clear at the top of La Liga.
