Kylian Mbappé scored twice, securing a 2-1 victory for Real Madrid over Barcelona in the El Clásico match on Sunday at Camp Nou, thereby reducing the three-point deficit.
The French superstar Mbappé opened the scoring before halftime and later scored late, giving Barcelona its first home defeat of the campaign after Raphinha equalized for the champions.
Real Madrid remains in third place in the table, trailing Atlético Madrid and Barcelona under Hansi Flick, who won her first nine matches before this week.
The Catalans suffered their second consecutive defeat after losing to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Coaches' Comments
Mourinho was very pleased with his team's performance in the first El Clásico under Real's management. He told reporters: "My team played extraordinarily, very organized, with good concentration, with courage playing defensively against a team that presses heavily."
He continued: "We had chances for a second goal... obviously, Barça had a strong reaction, but we remained calm and organized, and when the score was 1-1, we never lost composure."
Before Flick arrived, Barcelona had won six of the previous seven El Clásicos, but they looked surprisingly sluggish against Mourinho's team.
Flick commented on his team's game, noting: "You saw today, we lacked freshness. This is the first loss in La Liga; we won nine in a row. This is what we need to see. Losses are part of the game. We must analyze, we must improve. Right now, it is important that we react."
Match Progression
The 'White Lions', without injured winger Vinícius Júnior, secured their fifth consecutive win in all tournaments and found their place under the guidance of veteran Portuguese coach Mourinho. After two seasons without trophies, Real returned to Mourinho to try to stop Barcelona's dominance, and this result gives them hope for the right path.
The first period of the game was cautious, with few chances. Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsí reacted well twice to stop Mbappé, while Marc Cucurella from Real quickly targeted Lamine Yamal, constantly tackling the 19-year-old winger.
Anthony Gordon, playing in his first El Clásico after moving to Barcelona from Newcastle, passed the ball back to Raphinha, who shot wide as Barça created a threat.
The hosts faced a problem when young defender Xavi Espart was injured and replaced by Alejandro Balde before half-time.
Andriy Lunin, playing goalkeeper for Real after Thibaut Courtois was sidelined with the flu, caught Gordon's shot near the near post before the visitors scored the first goal.
Mbappé scored his tenth league goal this season, and it was the easiest for him when Gerard Martin from Barcelona deflected a cross directly onto the Frenchman, who guided it into the net.
Barça responded with a great chance to equalize, but the young sensation Yamal missed in front of the goal this time, shooting wide when he was ready to level the score.
The game became more open, and Jan Didomande came close to doubling Real's lead before halftime, shooting into the far net.
Late Strike
Martin restored justice early in the second half, saving Jude Bellingham, who could neither beat the defender nor find an open Mbappé.
Raphinha, who was quiet in the first half, equalized for Barcelona a little later in the game. Pedri passed to the Brazilian, the La Liga top scorer with 13 goals, who shot past Bellingham's legs, and Lunin could not stop the shot.
The Ukrainian goalkeeper made an excellent save to prevent Martin from scoring from a corner, as Barcelona began to attack with increasing intensity.
Yamal shot past Lunin, stretching him, and Barcelona substitute Frenkie de Jong received a shot that was desperately blocked by Din Huijsen.
However, the Catalans had an unpleasant moment when substitute Gabriel Jesus lost the ball, and Real broke into attack. Eduardo Camavinga bypassed Cubarsí and altruistically passed the ball back to Mbappé, who scored his second goal of the evening into an empty net because Joan García was out of position.
This brought Mbappé to one hundred goals since his transfer from PSG to Real in 2024, although corresponding trophies have yet to be won.
Mbappé told 'Real Madrid TV': "(The victory) is a good message today, but we cannot think that the season is over—next week (against Racing Santander) we must apply the same intensity."