Barcelona rallies to beat Madrid despite Mbappé hat trick to move closer to La Liga title

MADRID (AP) — Barcelona took a huge step Sunday to securing the Spanish league title with a 4-3 win over Real Madrid — despite Kylian Mbappé’s hat trick in a mesmerizing “clasico” — and opened a seven-point lead over its second-placed rival with three matches remaining.

Raphinha scored twice, and Lamine Yamal and Eric García added a goal each for Barcelona, which needs two more points to secure its 28th league title.

The Catalan club trailed 2-0 after Mbappé scored in the fifth and 14th minutes at Montjuic stadium. The hosts evened the match just over the half-hour mark, and went on to lead 4-2 at halftime in a sensational recovery.

Mbappé completed his hat trick in the 70th but Madrid wasn't able to come back in a likely fatal blow to its hopes of successfully defending its title.

Mbappé became the league's leading scorer with 27 goals, two more than Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, who did not play on Sunday.

Mbappé also became Madrid's player with the most goals in his debut season with 39, surpassing the 37 scored by Iván Zamorano in the 1992-93 campaign. Mbappé had already overtaken Cristiano Ronaldo and Ruud van Nistelrooy (both 33 goals) and Brazil great Ronaldo (30).

Another Barcelona thriller

It was another thrilling match involving Barcelona, which on Tuesday was eliminated by Inter Milan in extra time in the semifinals of the Champions League. Barcelona lost to the Italians 7-6 on aggregate.

The Catalan club has won every match against Madrid this season. It had already won 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in the first league match in October, 5-2 in the Spanish Super Cup final in January, and 3-2 in the Copa del Rey final last month.

“We have to celebrate the victory. I’m very happy for the whole club and the fans. The atmosphere is incredible, and I really appreciate it,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said. “The job isn’t finished yet. We need to be more consistent defensively, but with matches every three days it’s very difficult to train.”

Barcelona can clinch the title by winning at Espanyol on Thursday. It could already be champion by then if Madrid fails to beat Mallorca on Wednesday.

Barcelona then hosts Villarreal and visits Athletic Bilbao in the final round.

“Every match will be tough, but we have the quality,” said Flick, who is in his first season with Barcelona. "I believe we can do it.”

The result virtually ends Madrid’s chances of winning the league, with its hopes shifting to the Club World Cup, starting next month. Madrid won the UEFA Super Cup at the start of the season.

Ancelotti's future

The loss adds pressure on coach Carlo Ancelotti, who is rumored to be leaving the club to take over Brazil's national team. Former Madrid player Xabi Alonso, who recently announced he is leaving Bayer Leverkusen, is widely expected to be Madrid's next coach.

When asked if it was his last clasico, Ancelotti said: “It’s the last one of the season. There are three games left and we have to try to win all three."

Spanish media reported that some fans protested against the team after players arrived back in Madrid.

Ancelotti had his 350th game with Madrid.

“In a game at this level, you have to defend and attack well. We attacked well, looking for chances. Obviously, we could have done better in the first half, we made some obvious mistakes that cost us goals," he said. “We had to defend better. We gifted them some chances and they punished us.”

Great start for Madrid

Needing to win to get back into the title race, Madrid got off to a great start before Barcelona responded.

García began Barcelona's comeback with a header off a corner kick in the 19th, Yamal equalized with a curling shot into the far corner in the 32nd, and Raphinha scored in the 34th and 45th minutes for Barcelona to lead 4-2 at halftime in a stunning turnaround.

It was a mistake by Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsí that had led to the early penalty converted by Mbappé in the first Madrid goal, and Mbappé added another goal in a breakaway to give the visitors a 2-0 lead.

Both teams had goals disallowed in the final minutes.

Vinícius Júnior had to be substituted in the second half with a sprained ankle.

Barcelona is unbeaten in 16 straight league matches, with its last loss coming against Atletico Madrid late last year.

Madrid, eliminated by Arsenal in the quarterfinals of the Champions League, had won four in a row in the league.

Among those in the stands at Montjuic was Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith and singer-songwriter Travis Scott, who was shown celebrating in the VIP tribunes.

Not down yet

In the fight against relegation, 18th-placed Leganes beat 14th-placed Espanyol 3-2 to move within a point of Alaves, the first team outside the drop zone.

Alaves lost 1-0 at fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao.

Also Sunday, sixth-placed Real Betis drew 1-1 with midtable Osasuna.

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