Mbappe double fires Real Madrid to 2-1 win over Barcelona at Camp Nou
Kylian Mbappe scored twice as Real Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1 in the La Liga Clasico at Camp Nou on October 25, 2026, cutting the gap to three points. The French forward opened the scoring before half-time and then netted a late winner after Raphinha had levelled for the hosts.
Barcelona entered the match top of La Liga having won their first nine league games, and the defeat was their first in the domestic campaign; they had also lost to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on October 19, 2026. Real Madrid sit third in the table behind Atletico Madrid and Barcelona and claimed their fifth straight victory across all competitions despite being without suspended winger Vinicius Junior. The game was Jose Mourinho’s first Clasico since returning to manage Madrid.
The opening phase was cautious with few clear chances; Barca defender Pau Cubarsi twice blocked Mbappe while Marc Cucurella repeatedly grabbed at Lamine Yamal’s shirt. Barcelona made an early change when Xavi Espart pulled up injured and was replaced by Alejandro Balde before the half-hour mark. Andriy Lunin, drafted into the squad after Thibaut Courtois pulled out with flu, made a near-post save from Anthony Gordon before Real took the lead.
Mbappe scored what the report described as his 10th league goal of the season when Gerard Martin cleared a cross straight to the Frenchman and he deflected it into the net. Barcelona stirred a chance to equalise when Yamal misfired in front of goal, and Yan Diomande nearly doubled Madrid’s advantage by drilling into the side-netting before half-time. Early in the second period Martin denied Jude Bellingham and momentarily snuffed Madrid’s attacking threat.
Raphinha, identified in the report as La Liga’s top goalscorer with 13, pulled Barcelona level just after the hour mark after a feed from Pedri and a shot that went through Bellingham’s legs and past Lunin. Lunin later produced a superb save to deny Martin from a corner as Barcelona pressed for a winner, while Yamal bent an effort wide and substitute Frenkie de Jong saw a shot blocked by Dean Huijsen.
The decisive move came after Barcelona substitute Gabriel Jesus lost possession; Eduardo Camavinga beat Cubarsi and cut the ball back for Mbappe, who tucked the finish into an empty net with Joan Garcia drawn out of position. It brought up a century of goals since Mbappe joined Madrid from PSG in 2024, although the trophies to match have not yet followed.
"My team had an extraordinary game, very organised, good concentration, with courage to play out from the back against a team that presses you a lot," Mourinho told reporters. "We had chances for the second goal... obviously Barca had a strong reaction but we were calm and organised and at 1-1 we never lost our tranquility."
"You saw today, we lacked freshness," Hansi Flick said of Barcelona’s performance. "It’s the first defeat in La Liga, we won nine in a row. This is what we have to see. Defeats are a part of the game. We have to analyse, we have to make things better. Now it’s important that we make a reaction."
"(Winning) is a good message today, but we can’t think the season is done -- next week (at Racing) Santander we have to put in the same intensity," Mbappe told Real Madrid TV.
