Kylian Mbappe scored both of Real Madrid's goals as they won 2-1 at Barcelona on Sunday, ending the hosts' perfect start to the La Liga season on the eve of the Ballon d'Or ceremony in London. Raphinha equalised for Barcelona on 61 minutes, but Mbappe struck the winner three minutes from time. The National reports that seven Ballon d'Or nominees started the match at Camp Nou.
The result leaves Barcelona, who had won all nine of their league games before Sunday, still top of the table but no longer able to move nine points clear of their rivals. According to The National, only three points now separate the top three sides, turning what had looked a predictable title race into a genuine contest.
Why it matters
The match was played the day before the Ballon d'Or Awards at London's Palladium Theatre, where both clubs have nominees among the 30 finalists. Barcelona's list includes Pau Cubarsi, Rodri and Lamine Yamal, while Madrid are represented by Jude Bellingham, Marc Cucurella, Mbappe and Vinicius Junior. The National notes that Madrid skipped the previous two ceremonies after learning Vinicius would not be honoured.
Yamal had been widely expected to take the spotlight. The National reports that Barcelona supporters outside Camp Nou, asked who should win the award, mostly named the teenage winger, who is among the favourites alongside Bayern Munich and England striker Harry Kane and then Mbappe. Instead, Mbappe's brace in world football's biggest fixture shifted the conversation hours before the vote was revealed.
Cucurella gets the better of Yamal
Cucurella, who grew up a short drive from Yamal in Catalonia, according to The National, largely contained his former neighbour. The Barcelona winger sent a shot wide before half-time and did so again in the 78th minute. Barcelona enjoyed 62 per cent possession and took 12 shots to Madrid's five, but The National reports that the visitors created the clearer chances.
The home crowd treated Cucurella as a villain, singing about him and reacting loudly to his challenges on Yamal. The National reports that Cucurella, who came through Barcelona's B team without ever appearing for the first team, had the last word: he released Yan Diomande, whose cross allowed Mbappe to punish a Gerard Martin error and open the scoring before the break.
Madrid's players and much of their bench celebrated in front of Barcelona's most vocal supporters, a scene The National describes as poorly received. Raphinha levelled in front of a crowd of 62,000 as Camp Nou continues its redevelopment towards a 105,000 capacity.
Mourinho's return ends in victory
Jose Mourinho, back at Madrid after 13 years, said the occasion had lived up to its billing. "The world that loves football will have stopped to watch this and they won't have gone disappointed; this was two teams that played to win," he said, according to The National. Sky Sports also examined the match, framing the result around Barcelona's weaknesses as exposed by Mbappe and Mourinho, while Punch Newspapers reported Mourinho's remark that Madrid play for La Liga rather than for wins at Camp Nou.
Barcelona's own website called the defeat heartbreaking. The National described Madrid's win as a surprise but a deserved one, coming against a side that had averaged more than four goals a game in its opening nine fixtures.
The match also highlighted the depth of talent produced in Catalonia. The National notes that Yamal and Cubarsi are both 19 and grew up in the region, as did Cucurella, and that nine members of Spain's World Cup squad were Catalans. Cubarsi, who won the award for the World Cup's best young player, came through Girona's youth setup before joining Barcelona; The National recounts that at a tournament game against Manchester United when he was 10, opposing coaches described facing him as playing a one-man team. Yamal, by contrast, had a quieter World Cup, though Spain conceded only once on their way to the title.
Barcelona will look to respond in their next league fixture, while attention turns to London on Monday, where the Ballon d'Or winner will be named. Whether Mbappe's timing — two goals in the sport's most watched club game, the day before the ceremony — carries any weight with voters is the question the evening will answer.
