Barcelona closed in on the league title as they fought back from two goals down to beat Real Madrid – for whom Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick – in a thrilling Clasico.
Real Madrid raced into a 2-0 lead with Mbappe scoring twice inside 14 minutes, but Barca hit four by half-time – one each for Eric Garcia and Lamine Yamal, and two for Raphinha.
Mbappe scored again with 20 minutes left, to take his club total in all competitions to 39 – the most ever by a Real Madrid player in their debut season – and Barca’s Fermin Lopez had a goal ruled out for handball in a gripping finish.
Victory put Barca seven points clear of their arch-rivals with three games left to play.
Hansi Flick named an unchanged Barcelona side following their draining Champions League semi-final defeat by Inter Milan on Tuesday, and in the early stages they looked lethargic.
Mbappe converted from the penalty spot after he was felled by Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, and added a second after running on to Vinicius Junior’s through ball in behind Barcelona’s high defensive line.
As the Frenchman celebrated, he likely didn’t expect what came next at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium.
Garcia halved the deficit with a header from a corner in the 19th minute, before Lamine Yamal produced his latest piece of brilliance.
The 17-year-old was quiet for the first half-an-hour, but announced his arrival in the match by curling a sumptuous strike into the bottom corner of Thibaut Courtois’ goal.
