Madrids

Real won their fifth straight game across all competitions and are finding their footing under veteran Jose Mourinho.

A Kylian Mbappe double, three vital points and bragging rights.

Sunday night could not get any better for Real Madrid fans.

When the action kicked off under the lights at Camp Nou for the Clasico, Jose Mourinho’s side were far from the favourites. But after 90 minutes of drama and fiery football, Real had the last laugh, beating rivals Barcelona 2-1 in a tantalising match.

The victory has renewed belief among the Bernabeu faithful, who are counting on Mourinho to lead them back to glory days.

Here are the key takeaways from Real’s El Clasico win against Barcelona:

Real earn bragging rights and snap Barca’s perfect record

Mbappe’s brace – which took his tally to 14 goals this season – was enough to silence the tens of thousands of Barcelona supporters at Camp Nou.

With that, Los Blancos became the first side to beat Barcelona in the league this season, ending the Catalan club’s nine-game winning streak in the top flight. Had Barcelona won, they would have broken Real’s 1968-69 record for a best-ever start in the Spanish top flight.

It also marked a second straight defeat for Hansi Flick’s side, coming only days after they fell to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

As for Real, victory brought home bragging rights. Real now lead the head-to-head record with 107 wins to Barca’s 106 in their all-time Clasico record.

Mbappe hits a century of Real goals

A day before the world tunes in to watch the Ballon d’Or ceremony for the best player of the 2025-26 season, Mbappe achieved another milestone.

The French forward’s brace brought up his 100th goal for Real across all competitions since joining in 2024 from PSG.

The 27-year-old, the second-best La Liga scorer this season, is building on a remarkable performance last campaign, which saw him finish as La Liga and the Champions League’s top scorer, the World Cup Golden Boot winner and the all-time leading World Cup scorer.

Those statistics have made him one of the frontrunners for the Ballon d’Or ahead of Monday’s gala in London.

Real are slowly closing the gap on Barcelona

Defeats to Real Betis and Atletico Madrid last month shook Real’s top-flight campaign, but recent results reflect stability.

Real have now won five matches in a row – three in La Liga and two in the UCL – and seem to be coming into strong form.

Even though Sunday’s victory was just a second in eight games against Barcelona, Real are slowly reducing the gap on Barca this season, with just over a quarter of the season played.

After 10 matches, they are third in the league standings on 24 points, three points behind Barcelona, while Atletico are sandwiched in between, sitting second with 25 points.

Can Mourinho bring Real back to glory days?

The improvement in form suggests Mourinho’s Real can challenge Barcelona’s recent La Liga dominance in his first season back in Spain.

After two seasons without trophies, Real turned to old boss Mourinho to find a way to stop Barca’s dominance.

Although Mourinho has not won a league title since guiding Chelsea to the Premier League crown in 2014-15, his record as one of football’s most decorated managers remains formidable.

Thirteen years after his first spell at Real ended, Mourinho’s return to the Clasico offered a chance to make an immediate statement, and victory over Barcelona made it all the sweeter.

The result should also help to boost morale and build unity within the Real squad. ‌‌‌‌More importantly, Mourinho now has evidence that his methods can help return Real to the summit of Spanish football.

“If we win today but lose at El Sardinero, it counts for nothing, because Madrid isn’t ‌‌‌‌playing ‌‌‌‌to win at the Camp Nou,” Mourinho said. “They’re playing to win the championship.”

Mourinho has made his intentions clear.

After celebrating Sunday’s Clasico win with his trademark knee slide, the 63-year-old manager knows his job is far from over.

Having led Real to three trophies during his first spell, including a record-breaking La Liga ⁠⁠⁠⁠triumph, Mourinho knows best what Real are capable of achieving.

Vinicius will miss El Clasico on October 25, the first of his four-match ban for pulling Saliba’s hair in La Liga.

Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior will miss the upcoming match against Barcelona in the Spanish league after being issued a four-match suspension for pulling an opponent’s hair during a La Liga game last week.

The Brazilian forward will miss Madrid’s next four league fixtures, including the highly anticipated October 25 El Clasico against fierce rivals and league champions Barcelona.

The Spanish federation’s disciplinary committee announced the ban on Wednesday after Vinicius received the red card against Villarreal last week.

The number seven thought he had scored Real’s second goal in the match on Saturday, but his effort was disallowed after a video assistant referee (VAR) review found he should be dismissed for pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair in the build-up.

The Spanish football federation’s disciplinary committee confirmed the Brazilian will be banned for several matches, including the visit to face league leaders Barca, because of both the red card and his subsequent protests.

After the match, Vinicius, ⁠⁠⁠⁠who came on in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠52nd minute and was red-carded 20 minutes later, posted on social media, saying, “sorry to the team and the ⁠⁠⁠⁠fans”.

Vinicius was celebrating after scoring when referee Isidro Diaz de Mera was called by the VAR to review the moments before his goal. The referee waved off the goal and pulled out a red card for Vinicius, who also goes by his nickname Vini Jr.

When he thought Vinicius had doubled the lead, Real manager Jose Mourinho ran to join the celebrations with his players.

But moments later, Vinicius was left livid by the referee’s decision. He screamed at Diaz de Mera while his teammates tried to calm him down as he left the field.

Striker takes fire for where and how he has chosen to recover from a knee injury as his return to play could come as early as Saturday.

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has slammed criticism of star striker Kylian Mbappe, calling the attacks “ridiculous”.

The French captain has come under fire for spending his time recovering from a left knee injury in France and Switzerland rather than Madrid. He suffered a hyperextension of the joint while playing in a Nations League match against Turkiye on September 25.

The 27-year-old was also pictured at the entrance of a Parisian nightclub and photographed on a bicycle when he was in Switzerland.

Some fans claimed it was a deliberate snubbing of Mourinho, who only days before had said players should avoid skiing or riding bicycles to avoid injury.

“Are these criticisms over the top? They are ridiculous,” Mourinho said at a news conference on Friday on the eve of Real’s La Liga home match with Villarreal.

“All the players who were obliged to be present every day for their recovery were here.

“Mbappe came, like the others, to undergo scans in order to be diagnosed.

“He then went to see a specialist in France because he has history with his knee, which we cannot ignore.”

Mourinho, whose side lost to Atletico Madrid in their last match and already lag six points behind bitter rivals Barcelona, is never one to shy away from a confrontation and tackled each of the criticisms against Mbappe.

“Problems involving football are not sufficient for you,” the 63-year-old Portuguese coach told reporters.

“Therefore, you have raised the issue of the discotheque, which in fact was not one because it was used for a private event for Fashion Week.

“As for the bicycle in Switzerland, it was in a hotel made up of small houses which makes them available so guests can ride to the communal areas, and you would have us believe he was competing in the Tour of Switzerland.”

Mbappe, who returned to training on Wednesday, could feature on the pitch as early as Saturday. Mourinho shrugged off the potential of a hostile reception for Mbappe against Villarreal, reiterating that he was “certain” the all-time World Cup record goal scorer has fulfilled “his obligations to Real Madrid”.

It is not the first time this season that Mbappe has been subjected to attacks by fans.

The Ultras Sur, a Real Madrid supporters group linked to the far right and banned from the Santiago Bernabeu, took issue with him last month.

They were furious that before a Real Madrid match, Mbappe, alongside Vinicius Jr and fellow Frenchman Ibrahima Konate, partially rolled up T-shirts bearing the words “We are all Ceutans“, which was intended to be a message of support for people in the Spanish territory bordering Morocco.

Ceuta, a Spanish North African exclave, has been grappling with a migration crisis.

Mbappe was also criticised earlier this season over his choice of a location for recovery from a previous injury, which led to an online “Mbappe Out” campaign by some Real fans.