Barcelona have taken a big step towards their first La Liga title since 2019 after a 2-1 comeback win in El Clásico against Real Madrid to increase their advantage at the top of the table to 12 points with 12 matches to go entering the final international break of the season.
The opening 10 minutes of this one were absolutely chaotic, with Madrid firing a shot on target after just 45 seconds followed by three big Barça chances before the sixth minute and a completely accidental opening goal by Madrid when Vinicius Junior’s attempted cross inside the box hit Ronald Araujo’s head and went into the net for an own goal.
It seemed Los Blancos were going to survive the Barça pressure and take a valuable lead into the break, but the Blaugrana never gave up and finally got their just reward: after a shot from Raphinha was blocked inside the box the rebound fell to Sergi Roberto, who took his time and found the back of the net with an excellent finish to score the equalizer and give Barça all the momentum.
At halftime the home team was by far the better side but the score was somehow tied, and things were beautifully poised going into the second half.
desperate late surge left spaces in behind, which Barça explored in a huge way: a quick counter-attack led to a great pass from Lewandowski to find Alejandro Balde all alone on the left wing, and the full-back made a perfect low cross to Franck Kessie who completed the comeback and put Barça ahead
The final whistle came shortly after, and Barça are officially the title favorites after this one.
