Mbappe, Madrid claim first blood in Clasico

Los Blancos' Redemption

Madrid was outscored 16-7 last season as it lost every Clasico across all competitions. It was the first time Barcelona won every Clasico in a season that had at least three matches between the rivals.

Barcelona arrived Sunday with injury woes in attack, and coach Hansi Flick had to watch the game from a stadium box after he was shown a red card for protesting in the previous round of games. Striker Robert Lewandowski was out with a hamstring injury and forward Raphinha remains on the injury list because of a right leg ailment sustained in late September. Playmaker Dani Olmo and first-choice goalkeeper Joan Garcia had already been ruled out due to injuries.

Raphinha, who was among those involved in the altercation at the end of the match, netted five of the 16 goals that Barcelona scored in the four matches against Madrid last season.

Agencies via Xinhua