Barcelona’s week went from bad to worse on Sunday as Xavi Hernandez’s side followed up a traumatic 4-1 defeat to PSG in the UEFA Champions League with, arguably, an even more traumatic 3-2 defeat to Real Madrid in La Liga.
And the El Clasico defeat is arguably more traumatic because Barca actually played quite well, and yet still couldn’t get over the line.
Having dominated much of the game at the Santiago Bernabeu, La Blaugrana ultimately fell to a 91st minute goal from superstar Jude Bellingham – a goal which leaves them a whopping 11 points adrift of the table-toppers heading into the final few weeks of the 2023/24 season.
Here’s Barcelona’s best and worst players in the defeat to Madrid at the Bernabeu on Sunday, according to 90min’s esteemed player ratings.
Lamine Yamal: 8/10
Is it a good thing that Barcelona are relying on a 16-year-old to provide their offensive line with a bit of x-factor?
Probably not, but it is genuinely hard to blame them when said 16-year-old is as good as Lamine Yamal.
The youngster was absolutely electric on the right-hand side of the Barca’s attack in El Clasico, skinning Eduardo Camavinga an incalculable number of times and came within a whisker of scoring a backheel volley in the first half (yes, you read that right) too.
He’s a generational talent.
Joao Cancelo: 3/10
As fans of Juventus, Bayern Munich and Manchester City have known all too well, at some point this season Joao Cancelo’s lack of defensive awareness was going to cost Barcelona – it’s just a pity that he waited until literally the most important week of their campaign to revert to type defensively.
After an abysmal outing against PSG, Cancelo was similarly abysmal against Madrid on Sunday, falling asleep at the back post to allow Lucas Vazquez to score an all-important equaliser in the 75th minute.
Dishonourable mention
Robert Lewandowski: 4/10
If you type Lewandowski’s name into the search function on X, you’ll get an insight into Barca fans feel about their number nine right now.
And it’s hard to argue with them to be honest.
The Polish striker has really struggled of late – scoring a measly two goals since February – and he once again looked out of sorts on Sunday.
The header he ballooned over the crossbar from six-yards out in the first half is pretty great summation of his second season in Catalunya.
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