Barcelona mounted a spectacular comeback to beat Real Madrid 4-3 on Sunday and move to the brink of the La Liga title.
Mbappe nets hat-trick
Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick for Los Blancos but Raphinha’s double and goals from , Eric Garcia gave Barcelona a seven-point lead on the reigning champs.
This was the fourth time Hansi Flick’s side outclassed Real this season. They beat them 4-0 at the Bernabeu earlier in the league, 5-2 in the Spanish Super Cup Final in Riyadh, and 3-2 in the Copa del Rey Final.
Real had made the perfect start to the match as Mbappe earned a penalty when he was scythed down by Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. The striker stepped up and beat Szczesny.
In the 14th minute Mbappe doubled Madrid’s advantage with a lethal finish after Vinicius Junior played him through.
Just as they have done on so many occasions this season, Flick’s spirited team fought their way back in front with a stirring comeback.
Garcia (19th min) headed home Ferran Torres’ flick-on to kick-start the ‘Remontada’ before Yamal bent one past the outstretched Courtois to equalise (32nd min).
Raphinha two good
Two minutes later, Raphinha sent Barca ahead, with Pedri threading a pass through for the Brazilian winger to drill home. He then netted his second just before half-time, picking Lucas Vazquez’s pocket on the edge of the area, exchanging passes with Torres before beating Courtois. Not to be outdone by his Barcelona counterpart, Mbappe stepped up once more, slotting home his hat-trick to cap a roller-coaster of a match.