The Pole turned in a masterclass in finishing while his French counterpart fell short in Barcelona’s emphatic Clasico win
One striker was banging in goals at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday night. Another squandered countless chances. But before the game, you might not have guessed which was which. A 36-year-old Robert Lewandowski showed a man 10 years his junior just how a No.9 should play in Kylian Mbappe’s first Clasico, turning in an attacking clinic to lift Barca to a 4-0 win.
Lewandowski was immense throughout, taking his two goals wonderfully, and putting in the kind of legwork worthy of any top team. Mbappe, meanwhile, was woeful. He mistimed his runs, squandered chances, and was often strolling around the park when Madrid didn’t have the ball. One led by example, another was on the periphery of a team he is supposed to own.
Ironically, it was Mbappe and Madrid who might have had the better of the play in the first half, but their susceptibility to the Blaugrana’s audacious offside trap saw the two sides go into the break goalless.
And then, Lewandowski took over.
His first goal was the finish of an experienced veteran, the Polish No.9 running through on goal, waiting for Andriy Lunin to commit, and sliding the ball in at the near post. The second was even better, shuffling into space between Madrid’s two centre-backs and flicking Alejandro Balde’s cross into the bottom corner with a powerful header.
He wasn’t the only one to chip in. Lamine Yamal, kept relatively quiet in the first half, made his mark in the second, rinsing Ferland Mendy on the wing and blasting the ball into the roof of the net. Raphinha, reborn under Hansi Flick, added a clever fourth by dinking over Lunin and careening off in celebration to complete what was a humiliation.
Madrid, then, might just be in a bit of trouble here. It was widely assumed that they would run away with this league, with Barca overseen by a new coach and reliant on a young squad. Instead, the plucky La Masia kids – led by the classy veteran – arrived on Madrid’s turf and showed them exactly how to show up in a big game. Lewandowski one, Mbappe nil.
GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from the Santiago Bernabeu…
