The tremendous anticipation that precedes Spain’s most celebrated fixture was amplified for Barcelona, who knew that success here was vital if they were to stand any realistic chance of a late title surge, and they converted that motivation into a sixth-minute opener for the second league Clásico running.
A corner was looped over to the far post by Raphinha, catching Andriy Lunin in no man’s land and finding the head of Andreas Christensen, who headed into the empty net for his first league goal since April last year.
The hosts’ response made Barça’s early goal look something of a bolt from the red and blue, and their domination led to a swift equaliser.
Lucas Vázquez left João Cancelo in his wake and coaxed Pau Cubarsí into taking him down in the area, setting the stage for Vinícius Júnior to bury it to Marc-André ter Stegen’s left from 12 yards and end Barcelona’s six-match run without conceding.
A fair dose of controversy followed that leveller, with VAR seemingly unable to find a conclusive angle to decide whether or not Lamine Yamal’s flick had crossed the line, while Real Madrid wasted chances of their own towards the end of the first half.
The withdrawal of the hugely influential Frenkie de Jong with injury just prior to the break coincided with an opening up of play in midfield, but the 78,000-strong crowd in the capital were forced to wait until the final 20 minutes for the match to explode back into life.
The lead was suddenly back in the visitors’ hands when 20-year-old Fermín López finished into an open net after Lunin failed to deal with Yamal’s effort, but they were pegged back once again just moments later.
Vinícius whipped in a wicked low cross to the back post, where Vázquez came steaming in to fire it beyond reach of Ter Stegen.
In much greater need of a win than their opponents, Barcelona worked hard for an equaliser, but a familiar foe rose to take advantage of their resulting defensive frailties.
Bellingham, scorer of a last-gasp winner in the reverse fixture, latched onto Vázquez’s sweeping ball at the far post to smash into the roof of the net to cap off a famous victory.
A 10-match unbeaten run comes to an end for Barça, who now need a miracle if they are to allow hopes of defending their La Liga title to creep in.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Lucas Vázquez (Real Madrid)
