Mbappe Double Sinks Barcelona as Mourinho's Real Madrid Win El Clasico at Camp Nou

Mbappe the difference as Madrid stun Camp Nou

Kylian Mbappe scored twice — including a late winner — as Real Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1 at Camp Nou, ending the competition-leading unbeaten domestic run of the hosts and transforming the top of La Liga.

A defeat for Real would have allowed Barcelona to establish a commanding nine-point advantage in the title race, but Mbappe's double instead brought Mourinho's side to within three points of their bitter rivals.

According to prior reporting from 25 October 2026, Mbappe's second goal arrived in the 87th minute, set up by Eduardo Camavinga, after Raphinha had equalised following an own goal by Gerard Martin. Barcelona had been chasing a 10th straight win to start the LaLiga season, having matched Real Madrid's record for the best start to a Spanish top-flight campaign with a 5-2 win over Real Betis in Seville on 17 October 2026, as reported on 18 October 2026.

Mourinho: 'Real Madrid play to win La Liga'

Mourinho celebrated Mbappe's late winner with a trademark knee slide, and afterwards framed the victory in the widest possible terms.

"In my view, Real Madrid do not play to win at the Camp Nou, Real Madrid play to win La Liga," he said.

"We could win with luck, but we won with calmness and with all merit. It's a very strong group. Everyone works very hard. Everyone was ready to win.

"The credit goes to the players. When you win, the credit goes to the players. But when you lose, the blame falls on you. And that's why we see coaches being sacked from their positions every week."

A record to stand alongside Munoz and Del Bosque

The Portuguese has now gone six El Clasicos in a row without defeat, becoming just the third Real Madrid boss to do so — 13 years after he last led Los Blancos in this fixture.

Four wins and two draws across his past six matches in charge of Real Madrid against Barcelona place him alongside Miguel Munoz (1962 to 1965) and Vicente del Bosque (2001 to 2003). In total, Mourinho has now won six and lost six El Clasicos.

Mourinho returned to Real Madrid this summer, 13 years after his first stint in charge, and he said the run had taught him plenty about his squad.

"I've learned that I have an extraordinary group, with the quality and mindset to play," he said.

"In midfield, having a mix of talents gives us more than just having two players with similar characteristics. This mix of talents gives us balance when defending and quality when we go on the attack.

"We've beaten several teams by four or more goals, but this is Barca, and the players put on a great performance. We need to continue like this and don't go over the moon after this win."

Real Madrid have now won five consecutive games in all competitions. As of the start of this LaLiga 2026-27 campaign, Mbappe had scored 11 goals and added two assists in his first 10 league appearances, according to a FotMob player snapshot taken on 25 October 2026.

Flick points to tired legs

Barcelona boss Hansi Flick said he did not want to give excuses for the defeat but admitted his team lacked fresh legs after a demanding few weeks.

"We missed the freshness," he said. "It's not easy for our players. We have to recover well, train well and we have to respond from this defeat."

"In big games, small things are important and they decide the games and today, it wasn't on our side.

"I can see that today we were not fresh and this is what we have to change."

What it means

The result throws the La Liga title race wide open. Barcelona's perfect start to the season is over, their lead at the summit is down to a slender three points, and a Mourinho side that has yet to lose a Clasico in his second spell is now firmly on their heels.