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Lamine Yamal steals spotlight from Kylian Mbappe in El Clasico
Lamine Yamal of FC Barcelona. pressinphoto

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal steals spotlight from Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe in El Clasico

Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal keeps finding a way to one-up Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe. 

On Sunday, Barcelona hosted Real Madrid in El Clasico, the long-standing rivalry between the prestigious clubs. At the start of the match, it appeared Mbappe would carry Real Madrid to a needed win. 

The 26-year-old French star scored off a penalty kick in the fifth minute and a right-footed shot from the center of the box in the 14th minute, giving Real Madrid a 2-0 lead.

However, Yamal and Co. quickly responded. Barcelona defender Eric Garcia scored off a header in the 19th minute. Thirteen minutes later, Yamal nailed a left-footed shot from the right side of the box, tying the game.

Barcelona forward Raphinha subsequently scored goals in the 34th and 45th minutes of the match, giving Barcelona a 4-2 lead. 

Mbappe completed a hat trick in the 70th minute of the match. Despite his remarkable performance, Real Madrid still lost 4-3.

After the victory, Barcelona is now the first team in El Clasico history to go 4-0-0 in the rivalry in a season, via ESPN FC. 

In a postgame news conference, Yamal explained how the club is still disappointed about losing to Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League semifinals, but going undefeated against its rival makes up for that. 

"It was a very important match to gain a considerable lead. After the Champions League match, it was very important to win, and even more so if it was against Madrid. Today is the time to enjoy it," he said, via SB Nation's Barca Blaugranes. 

With the win over Real Madrid (23-6-6, 75 points), Barcelona (26-4-5, 82 points) needs just two points to win La Liga with three matches remaining. If Real Madrid loses to Mallorca in its road match on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. ET, Barcelona will win the Spanish league for the 28th time. 

Mbappe has been spectacular for Real Madrid, scoring 39 goals in all competitions, a club record for a debut season, per Alex Kirkland and Rodrigo Faez of ESPN. On Sunday, though, the 17-year-old Spanish phenom overshadowed him.

Clark Dalton

Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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