Carlo Ancelotti's side were humbled by their biggest rivals at home
Real Madrid took an early blow in the Spanish league title race in the first Clasico of the season, as they were handily beaten 4-0 by a rampant Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu.
A Robert Lewandowski second-half double, followed by Lamine Yamal's fine finish and Raphinha's deft chip, saw Los Blancos seen off at home – and fall six points behind their bitter rivals in La Liga.
Madrid repeatedly tried to exploit Barca's high-line, but had little to show for it. Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr found themselves caught offside time-and-time again, succumbing to the Blaugrana's well-executed offside trap. The Frenchman had the ball in the net after 31 minutes, but saw the flag go up after a mistimed run.
Madrid were made to pay for their lack of cutting edge early in the second half when Lewandowski ran through on goal to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. He added a second two minutes later, ghosting between Madrid's centre-backs before heading into the bottom corner.
And Lamine Yamal offered the killer blow, smashing into the roof of Andriy Lunin's net from a tight angle as a scattered Madrid defence was left searching for answers. Raphinha offered an all-too-easy fourth five minutes from time. This was a humbling.
GOAL rates Real Madrid's players from the Santiago Bernabeu…
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Andriy Lunin (4/10):
Beaten at his near post for the third, and was lacking in his distribution. Poor.
Lucas Vazquez (5/10):
Had no answers for Balde's pace on the left. Didn't offer much going forward
Eder Militao (5/10):
Left Lewandowski wide open for the second goal, and looked lost at times as Barca broke.
Antonio Rudiger (5/10):
Was up for the fight with Lewandowski, but looked mightily unsteady in transition.
Ferland Mendy (5/10):
Dealt with Lamine Yamal pretty well in the first half. Played Lewandowski on for the first goal, though – and was rinsed for Yamal's decisive third.
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Aurelien Tchouameni (5/10):
Struggled to handle the buzzing Fermin Lopez for long stretches. Hooked for Modric.
Federico Valverde (5/10):
Completed less than 70% of his passes, and was constantly humbled as Barca broke. Poor.
Eduardo Camavinga (6/10):
Offered cover for Yamal and did the dirty work. Madrid's best midfielder by some distance.
Jude Bellingham (5/10):
Looked to link with the Madrid attacking duo, but was often dragged into deeper areas. Poor in the final third, though.
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Vinicius Jr (5/10):
Squandered the best chance of the opening 45 minutes. Well-handled by Jules Kounde for the most part.
Kylian Mbappe (4/10):
Had the ball in the net in the first half, only to see it ruled out. Missed a golden chance to pull one back after an hour. Constantly done by Barca's defence.
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Luka Modric (6/10):
Injected some much-needed quality after his introduction – but it came too late.
Brahim Diaz (N/A):
No time to make an impact.
Fran Garcia (N/A):
No time to make an impact.
Carlo Ancelotti (3/10):
Made the interesting call to leave out Modric in a mostly defensive setup – relying on his pace on the counter. His side were battered, though, and face real questions now.
