Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 4–3 in a wild final El Clásico of the season to essentially cling the La Liga title for the Catalans.

Los Blancos took an early two goal advantage thanks to Kylian Mbappé brace that silenced the stadium in Montjuic. Barcelona settled in and after Eric García's goal, Hansi Flick's side dominated the rest of the first half to the tune of four unanswered goals to go into half time with a 4–2 lead.

Mbappé completed his hat trick in the second half but it wasn't enough for Los Blancos, as Barcelona managed to hang on in the final minutes to win secure a perfect El Clásico record this season and land a knockout blow in the title race.

One of the biggest rivalries in all of sports delivered this season. For the first time in years, the tension, drama, magic and big-game atmosphere that defined El Clásicos of old returned. The Catalans dominated the season series but the stage is set for the rivalry to reach another level in 2025-26. For now, Barcelona will celebrate their most important victory of the season.

Here's how fans across the world experienced the rollercoaster that was the final El Clásico of the season.

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Mbappé Scores in Third Straight El Clasico

Pau Cubarsí played a sloppy back pass to Wojciech Szczésny that Mbappé got to first before he was brought down by the Polish goalkeeper, leaving match referee Alberto Hernández to award Los Blancos a penalty.

Mbappé stepped up and dispatched the penalty kick to give Real Madrid the lead five minutes into the game.

Mbappe Makes Real Madrid History in Debut Season

Vinícius Júnior played a perfect trivela pass for Mbappé to go fire his brace past Szczęsny, double the lead and write his name into the Real Madrid history books with with his 38th goal of 2024-25—the most any player has scored in a debut season for Los Blancos.

Iván Zamorano was the previous record-holder with 37 goals in the 1992-93 season, but that mark now belongs to the 26-year-old Frenchman. Mbappé took the outright lead in the Pichichi race with his 26th La Liga goal of the campaign and Real Madrid silenced the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys with a two goal lead less than 15 minutes into the match.

Eric Garcia Responds for Barca

Five minutes after Mbappé's brace, Barcelona began their comeback when Dani Olmo's corner was headed back by Ferran Torres for Eric García to head the ball into the back of the net from short distance.

What was previously a dead-silent stadium erupted thank to a goal from a player that's stepped up in recent weeks after key injuries in the back line. Barça had been knocking on the door of an equalizer and García finally pulled one back for the hosts in the 19th minute.

The goal made this the first Clásico to see three goals scored in the first 20 minutes since Barcelona's infamous 6–2 victory at the Santiago Bernabéu in 2009.

Lamine Yamal Says "Calma"

Lamine Yamal had been menacing ever since Barcelona got on the scoresheet, making light work of Fran García on a number of occasions. In what's become a regular sight during Barça's biggest games of the seasons, Yamal looked unfazed by the pressure and took over.

After a quick combination between Pedri and Torres, the latter teed up Yamal who was waiting for the ball on the edge of the ball to curl a perfect shot into the far corner, far out of reach from Thibaut Courtois stretched arm to bring Barcelona level.

The stadium erupted as the hosts came from behind for a third straight Clásico and Yamal recreated Cristiano Ronaldo's legendary "Calma" celebration, sealing yet another moment of magic from the 17-year-old.

Raphinha Completes Yet Another Barca Comeback

It only took Barcelona 100 seconds after Yamal's equalizer to take the lead. Pedri took advantage of Mbappé and Dani Ceballos tripping over themselves to take the ball and set Raphinha through on goal.

The Brazilian calmly went inside the box and fired a bullet of a low shot into the far corner to complete yet another Barça comeback against Los Blancos. Real Madrid's temporary advantage had placed them within one point of Barcelona in the La Liga standings. In less than two minutes, The Catalans turned it around to take a seven point lead atop the table with a little under an hour to go.

Raphinha Secures his Brace

Barcelona weren't done with their first half feast. The Catalans exploited Real Madrid's makeshift defense to wreck havoc and take advantage of silly mistakes from Los Blancos defenders.

Lucas Vázquez was egregiously dispossessed by Raphinha inside the box. The Brazilian passed the ball to Torre to get away from Vázquez, got the ball back to emphatically fire in his second El Clásico brace of the season to re-ignite his Ballon D'or charge and give Barcelona a 4–2 lead going into halftime.

Six Goals in the First Half of El Clásico

It was a thrilling first half between two big rivals who traded punches from the starting whistle. The Catalans went into the tunnel with a two goal advantage and 45 minutes away from landing a knockout punch in the La Liga title race.

The final Clásico of the season lived up to the hype.

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Mbappe Completes Hat Trick

Barcelona missed clear chances to extend their lead in the second half. As it often happens in soccer, the goals you fail to score, you usually end up conceding.

In the 70th minute, Real Madrid exploited Barcelona's high defensive line and Vinícius went free on goal with Mbappé alongside him. Once they entered the box, the Brazilian squared the ball for Mbappé to tuck in his hat trick into an open net. The Frenchman showed his quality and single handedly carried Los Blancos throughout the game.

With 20 minutes to go in the match, Los Blancos were in business, needing just one more goal to make a Remontada of their own.

Barcelona Keep Their Cool and Have One Hand on the La Liga Title

The final minutes of the match were chaotic. Real Madrid had chances to score the equalizer, but weren't sharp in front of goal during the game's climax.

Fermín López thought he'd clinched Barcelona's win deep into stoppage time with a brilliant goal, but his celebration was cut short when the goal was disallowed for offsides.

However, Barcelona's party couldn't be denied any longer. The referee blew the final whistle to confirm Barcelona's 4–3 victory. The Catalans completed the season sweep of El Clásicos, dominating Real Madrid all season. A special victory for Barcelona in the last El Clásico at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.

The result give Barcelona a seven point lead in the title race with only nine left at play. The win essentially checkmates La Liga in favor of Hansi Flick's side, who can become champions in next Thursday's Catalan derby vs. Espanyol.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as X Reacts to Barcelona vs. Real Madrid in Exciting Seven-Goal El Clasico.

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