Kylian Mbappe struck twice, including a clinical 87th-minute winner, to secure a dramatic 2–1 victory for Real Madrid against Barcelona in a pulsating El Clasico at Spotify Camp Nou.

Hansi Flick’s side entered the fixture aiming to set an outright LaLiga record for the most consecutive victories at the start of a Spanish top-flight season. 

However, the Blaugrana were ultimately unable to surpass the historic mark of nine straight wins set by Real Madrid’s legendary side of 1968-69.

Striver.Football rates the players to find out how they generally performed on the afternoon:

Barcelona Player Ratings

Joan Garcia -5

Made a couple of saves, but still conceded twice as Barca lost the clash.

Xavi Espart -N/A

Had to be withdrawn early on due to injury so did not really have enough time to influence the outcome of the game.

Joao Cancelo -5

Was relatively quiet having played both as a left back - the position he started in - and right back after Xavi Espart’s withdrawal.

Pau Cubarsi 

Alongside Martin, he tried to deal well with the pace and threat of the Real Madrid front three, and will have felt hard-done by to have seen his side lose late on. 

Gerard Martin -7

Alongside Cubarsi, he tried to deal well with the pace and threat of the Real Madrid front three, and will have felt hard-done by to have seen his side lose late on.

Rodri - 4

Looked unusually unsure and should have done better defending the first goal by Mbappe.

Pedri - 7

Arguably Barcelona’s best player on the night as he tried to get his team playing with purpose, and even produced an assist for their only goal.

Fermin Lopez -5

Just could not get going in a creative sense as well as his box crashing ability before he was subbed off for Frenkie De Jong.

Lamine Yamal -5

Struggled to make things happen against the brilliant one v one defending of Marc Cucurella.

Raphinha - 6

Scored Barcelona’s goal, but it was largely inspite of his own performance, which was somewhat quiet.

Anthony Gordon -4

Was kept ineffective for much of the game by Fede Valverde and really could not help get his team going.

Barcelona Subs

Alejando Balde - 5

Came on for the injured Xavi Espart in the first half, and should have done better to prevent Eduardo Camavinga from creating the assist for the winner.

Frenkie De Jong -N/A

Came on as a substitute but could not really influence the outcome of the game.

Gabriel Jesus - 3

Made an unfortunate mistake after coming on as he could not successfully resist pressure from Jude Bellingham in build up to Madrid’s winner.

Real Madrid Player Ratings

Andriy Lunin -7

Stepped up well in place of the unavailable Thibault Courtois and made a couple of saves that prevented Barca from really making anything of their possession.

Fede Valverde - 7

Did a fantastic job at right back against the speed of Anthony Gordon before being subbed off for Denzel Dumfries.

Ibrahima Konate - 7

His defending was crisp all night and helped keep Raphinha at bay even if the Brazilian got a goal, albeit in spite of his own performance.

Dean Huijsen -7

Looked tidy in possession and did a good job alongside Ibrahima Konate from making Raphina particularly effervescent.

Marc Cucurella - 8

Nonchalantly kept his Spain teammate Lamine Yamal at bay from the right flank, proving his elite one v one defensive ability once more.

Arda Guler - 7

His passing and vision was impressive all night from the right flank and it helped find Mbappe and Diomande on the counter attack on multiple occasions.

Aulerien Tchouameni - 7

Covered a fair amount of ground for his team as he helped set the tone for their victory.

Benardo Silva - 7

Impressed in the middle of the park as he was starting for the first time for a while, and played a crucial role during the build up for the first goal with his long ball from deep.

Jude Bellingham - 7

His workrate was crucial in helping Madrid pounce on mistakes by Barcelona, and he did a good job to dispossess Gabriel Jesus in the build up to the winning goal.

Yan Diomande- 8

Diomande was crucial in stretching Barcelona on the counter attack and played a crucial role in the build up to the first goal as it was his cutback that caused confusion in the box before Kylian Mbappe scored the opener.

Kylian Mbappe -10

Scored both goals to give Madrid the win and also was impressive with his workrate, aside from stretching Barcelona with his pace.

Real Madrid Subs

Eduardo Camavinga -7

Came on as a sub and was crucial in helping Madrid get the winner by assisting Mbappe’s second of the night

Denzel Dumfries - N/A

Came on as a sub but did not do enough to warrant a rating.

Final Thoughts

Real Madrid’s tactical triumph at Spotify Camp Nou re-establishes the title race into a three-way dogfight. 

Jose Mourinho’s side displayed supreme counter-attacking efficiency and defensive discipline, ruthlessly punishing Barcelona's late structural error. 

For Hansi Flick, while the historic nine-game winning streak comes to an end, Pedri and Gerard Martín's stoic shifts offer solid foundations as Barça attempt to maintain their narrow two-point lead at the summit of LaLiga.