Real Madrid was denied two goal-scoring opportunities within the first 15 minutes of their match against Barcelona.
The first El Clasico of the 2025/26 season was intensely dramatic right from the opening moments.
After Barcelona posed some early threats, Real Madrid responded with great intensity. In the 2nd minute, Vinicius skillfully dribbled inside the box, forcing Lamine Yamal to commit a foul. Referee Soto Grado immediately pointed to the penalty spot amid roaring cheers at the Bernabeu stands.
However, after personally reviewing the VAR footage, the Spanish referee reversed his decision, ruling that Yamal touched the ball before colliding with Vinicius.
Ten minutes later, Kylian Mbappe punished the home side’s mistake with a volley from about 30 meters, leaving goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny helpless as he dived in vain.
Nevertheless, the home team’s joy was short-lived as VAR intervened again and disallowed the goal due to Mbappe being marginally offside behind Barca’s defensive line.
The match continued at a high pace with constant back-and-forth action. In the 22nd minute, from a precise through ball by Jude Bellingham, Mbappe broke the offside trap to open the scoring.
Amid the excitement, Los Blancos unexpectedly conceded after a turnover by Arda Guler, with Fermin Lopez capitalizing on the error by easily slotting the ball to level the score in the 38th minute.
However, coach Xabi Alonso’s side quickly regained the lead. In the 43rd minute, from a set-piece combination, Militao executed a tactical header to the far post, allowing Jude Bellingham to tap the ball into an empty net.
In the remaining minutes, Mbappe scored again against Barca, but the goal was ruled offside. The first half ended with Real Madrid leading 2-1.