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Barcelona and Real Madrid met on Sunday night in a very entertaining clash at the King Abdullah Stadium in Saudi Arabia. With a trophy at stake, tensions ran high.
Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring early to The Whites but Lamine Yamal soon equalized for Barcelona with a brilliant shot past Thibaut Courtois.
Consecutive goals from Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha overturned the deficit and gave Barcelona a 3-1 lead in a matter of minutes.
To put the icing on the cake, Alejandro Balde scored a goal in the final seconds of the half.
The second half got off to a perfect start for Barcelona with Raphinha scoring a fifth goal and giving Barcelona an almost certain victory.
However, Wojciech Szczesny’s red card and Rodrygo’s free-kick goal once again put the situation in danger.
Barça Universal brings you the evaluations of the Barcelona 5-2 Real Madrid players.
Wojciech Szczesny: 6
The Polish goalkeeper had a busy night against Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Jr, but did well to keep Barcelona in the game repeatedly.
He couldn’t do much about the first goal, but he was successful with several saves, timely exits from the area and great attempts to end Real Madrid’s attacking opportunities.
He was sent off at the beginning of the second half for a bad tackle on Mbappé outside the area.
Alejandro Balde: 8.5
The left-back produced a delightful performance from start to finish, almost flawless in both defense and attack, as he continues his impressive growth under Hansi Flick.
He completed all of his passes in the first period and largely kept Rodrygo under control. He attacked with pace on the counterattack and even scored Barcelona’s fourth goal that night with a brilliant shot past Thibaut Courtois from a tight angle.
Pau Cubarsi: 8.5
Playing at such a high level at 17 years old shouldn’t be possible, but Cubarsi is going from strength to strength with each passing week.
The Spanish centre-back was rock solid against Real Madrid throughout the 90 minutes and remained calm despite his teammate changing mid-match. His pace was vital to keep up with Real Madrid’s rampant counterattacks.
Inigo Martinez: 8
Martinez was a force to be reckoned with on defense and kept an eye on every loose ball to make sure it was cleared before it created a ruckus. Unfortunately, his night ended early after dealing with a muscle problem.
Jules Koundé: 8.5
Facing Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius that night, Kounde had a lot of defensive ground to cover in the final. However, that didn’t stop him from making his own offensive contributions.
The Frenchman was always present in the final third of Barcelona’s build-up phase and always provided a passing outlet for Lamine Yamal.
His highlight, needless to say, was the perfect cross to Raphinha for the team’s third goal.
Marc Casado: 9
The youngster was partly responsible for the first goal Barcelona conceded, but he was impressive beyond that singular error.
Another masterclass from Casado’s run-of-the-mill defensive midfield in which he didn’t give the opposition much time on the ball.
He earned an assist for Raphinha’s second goal with a defense-splitting pass from midfield.
Peter: 8
The Canary dictated the flow of Barcelona’s midfield play and orchestrated the overall layout with ease.
He made it look easy to bypass Real Madrid’s midfield and found the right passing outlets consistently.
Gavi: 8
The youngster was relatively playing catch-up during the first part of the game, but soon found his magic with simple sequences of one-touch passes and movements between the lines.
He won the all-important penalty that gave Barcelona the lead against Real Madrid in the first half after falling to a terrifying tackle from Camavinga.
Yamal sheet: 9.5
There are no words to describe the quality that Yamal exuded as a teenager, and his ability to display it at the highest level under immense pressure is what makes him special.
The 17-year-old was simply phenomenal against Real Madrid, creating opportunities every time he had the ball and picking off defenders for fun.
He scored the equalizer for Barcelona at the King Abdullah Stadium with a sensational solo effort to beat defenders and Thibaut Courtois and produced a finish that anyone would be proud of.
Rafinha: 10
The Brazilian was all over Barcelona’s pitch, dictating offensive preparation and covering large defensive areas.
He was very brilliant in the opening phase of the match and created numerous opportunities to put the team ahead.
He finally got his goal with an impressive header after a Kounde cross and once again showed why he is the best Brazilian at the moment.
He completed his double after the break with another icy world-class finish.
Robert Lewandowski: 8.5
The Polish forward stepped up and converted Barcelona’s first-half penalty to give the team the lead, but his impact went far beyond that contribution.
Despite not taking many shots on goal, the Polish star’s role in going deep and drawing in defenders created multiple avenues of attack for Barcelona.
In fact, it was Lewandowski’s touch that freed Yamal to equalize.
Ronald Araujo: 8
The Uruguayan did well to replace Íñigo Martínez and had a huge responsibility on his shoulders after the expulsion.
However, he managed to stand his ground and maintain The Whites and bay
