Barcelona extended their lead at the top of La Liga with a resounding 4-0 victory over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu on Saturday night.

Robert Lewandowski scored twice, while Lamine Yamal and Raphinha also found the net in a dominant performance that left Real Madrid stunned.

Barcelona was expected to struggled in this game well against Madrid, who have Galacticos, which spearheaded by Kyian Mbappe, Vini Jr and Jude Bellingham.  

But Barcelona, in the face of pressure, held their own in the first half.  

Saturday’s El Clasico was the 189th meeting between the two in the league, with Madrid having won 105 while Barcelona have won it 100 times. 

This was a contest between two second-choice goalkeepers, with Inaki Pena in goals for Barcelona and Andre Lunin for Madrid, stepping in due to injuries for Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Thibaut Courtois respectively.  

With the pressure at its highest and so much attacking quality on the pitch, one mistake could be all it took to decide the result, but instead, it was a glut from either side.  

Barcelona came to this game sitting on top of the table with 27 points after 10 matches played, while Madrid was second behind by three points. It was key for Carlo Ancelotti’s side to win this game and dethrone their fierce rivals for the La Liga top spot. 

Both teams came to this game having won their UEFA Champions League phase midweek, with Madrid coming from behind to crush Borussia Dortmund 5-1 at Santiago Bernabeu, while Barcelona beat Bayern Munich 4-1. 

Barcelona, under coach Hansi Flinck, has been outstanding with the side made of youngsters such as Yamal, Fermin Lopez, Pedri, Marc Casadó, Alejandro Balde, and Pau Cubarsí but they were not out of place.  

Madrid started the game much better with Mbappe and Vinicius Jr terrorising the defenders of Barcelona. 

Mbappe, playing in his first EL Clasico, had two clean breaks with the first dragging it wide from close range and the other seeing over the bar after Pena had come off his line to clear the danger.   

Vini JR, who scored three times against Dortmund, twisted Barcelona defenders in the 22^nd minute but again dragged his shot wide having cut inside at the near post instead of the far post, unlike against Dortmund where he did the same but scored.  

Mbappe thought he had opened his first goal in this famous game when he ran to clip the ball over, but he was flagged offside.   

Madrid was asking so many questions and it was just a matter of time before the goal came. But Barcelona grew into the match and absorbed the pressure as the game went to half-time goalless.  

In the second half, Barcelona completely bossed the midfield and made it count to open the scoring in the 54^th minute.  

Casado steps into the center circle and spotted the width of Madrid’s center-backs, playing a perfectly timed ball through the lines for Lewandowski. Onside, the striker got to the edge of the 18-yard box, before dispatching a low, right-footed strike into the bottom corner.    

Two minutes later, Lewandowski doubled the lead with a glancing header on the penalty spot from a Balde cross giving Lunin no chance at the far post.   

Madrid threatened as Vinicius supplied Mbappe with an outside-of-the-foot pass, but Pena spread his body big to block the shot in the 64^th minute. 

Lewandowski had two chances to score a hat-trick, but his first finish hit the crossbar after he was set up perfectly by Rafinha, and the other from Yamal was blazed over.  

Yamal made it 3-0 in the 77^th when he fired into the top corner after Raphinha released the Spanish youngster as Madrid was left open at the back, with home fans stunned as their team was all over the place.  

Barcelona scored the fourth following Inigo Martinez’s incisive launch pass forward into Madrid’s half for Rafinha who clipped over in the 84^th minute  

Madrid needed to avoid the defeat to equal the record of Barcelona of 2018 where they went 43 games unbeaten in the history of La Liga, having been unbeaten in 42 La Liga matches before this game. But Madrid will have to try the next time.