Hansi Flick's side had won the first three (Spanish Super Cup final, LaLiga, Copa del Rey final), and only once in the entire history of El Clasico, between 2008 and 2010 under Pep Guardiola (five wins), had the Blaugrana managed four or more consecutive victories.
Los Blancos should've been confident going into the match (which Barcelona won 4-3), given that they'd won four of their last five away matches against Barca in all competitions (L1), achieving the same number of victories as in their previous 19 visits to Barcelona (W4 D7 L8).
Ancelotti had already lost 12 of his 25 games against Barcelona
However, Carlo Ancelotti had lost 12 of his 25 games against Barca in all competitions (W10 D3), more than against any other opponent in his entire managerial career.
Real Madrid had also conceded 33 goals in LaLiga before the game kicked off, their worst defensive record at this stage of a campaign since 2018/19 (38 goals).
Barcelona hadn't lost any of their last 15 LaLiga games (W13 D2) since their 2-1 defeat against Atletico Madrid on December 21st, 2024, but Kylian Mbappe had club history in his sights as his 36 goals in 52 matches had left him one shy of the best scoring record for a player in his first season at the Santiago Bernabeu, achieved by Ivan Zamorano in 1992/93 (37 goals in 45 matches).
As ever, planet football came to a standstill as the two teams entered the Estadio Lluis Companys pitch, and what a game they witnessed...
Mbappe wrote his name all over El Clasico in the opening quarter hour
Within 14 minutes of the kick-off, Mbappe had written his name all over this Clasico with a brace that saw the raucous home crowd quickly silenced. However, it was Real's only two shots on target before they headed back to the dressing rooms.
Thereafter, in the opening 45, it was all Barcelona, actually, and the manner in which they roared back into the game left Los Blancos shell-shocked.
27 touches in the Real Madrid box compared to just six at the opposite end for the visitors, telling the story of just how well Barca had got the bit between their teeth after going behind.
Eric Garcia, Lamine Yamal and a brace from Raphinha improbably had the hosts 4-2 ahead at the break, though the dominance was only made possible thanks to Pedri's incessant work rate.
His 42 passes in the first half, 40 of which were accurate, were the most of any player on both sides and gave his teammates the platform to tear their Real Madrid counterparts apart.
Although Barca were comfortable after the break, it was actually Mbappe with his third that made the end of the game a bit touch and go for the hosts.
Barcelona could've scored more than four against a lacklustre Real
In the end, Real might consider themselves lucky to have kept the score to four. Not only did Hansi Flick's side have legitimate claims for a penalty overruled, but then what appeared to be a perfectly good goal from Fermin Lopez, which sparked wild celebrations inside the stadium, was chalked off.
When Ancelotti reviews this game, however, he will know that his team were well beaten on the day.
That said, he couldn't have faulted his players for effort as 21 tackles and the majority (54.9%) of duels won suggest a doggedness about Real's play.
Though it didn't win them the game, because their overall play lacked finesse, it's still a positive aspect to focus on despite the loss.
Barca's total of 23 shots, which included nine on target, were far in excess of what Real were able to produce, and the visitors just weren't able to cope with the three-pronged attack of Raphinha, Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres.
Between them, not only did they score three of the four goals, but they kept themselves busy in the penalty box, the trio managing 26 touches between them.
Pass completion stats heavily favoured Barca
Lamine also won possession the joint most times in the game (seven) along with Real's Fede Valverde, whilst Barca's passing on the day was so much more seamless and accurate once they got their natural game going.
Only Raphinha, Pau Cubarsi and Gerard Martin had a completion stat lower than 80%, with Pedri, Frenkie de Jong and Dani Olmo all posting accuracy levels up in the mid-90s.
Vinicius Jr's 66.7% was the lowest pass completion from both sides, whilst Jude Bellingham, Arda Guler, and Dani Ceballos could just about get into the mid-70s range.
In the Real Madrid engine room, there needs to be a much higher collective output in this regard if they want to be able to control matches.
One interesting side note from the match was that of Barca's starting XI, only Ferran Torres didn't commit a foul in the entire game, but every other player committed at least one. A tactical tweak to knock Real out of their stride, perhaps?
Whatever Hansi Flick's game plan was, it worked, and now either a Real Madrid loss against Mallorca or a Barca win against Espanyol will hand the Blaugranes the title.
