Brilliant Bellingham settles chaotic clásico

The clock showed 98:40 when Pedri picked up the ball on the edge of his area and went on the final run of an exhausting afternoon when so much happened that it was not just the players who struggled to keep up.

- Sid Lowe

Here was one last chance to salvage something, the Barcelona midfielder somehow hauling himself up the pitch in search of a final twist; instead, as he reached the other end, a tired touch and a desperate lunge saw him take out Aurélien Tchouaméni - the world upside down - and get sent off. And so the clásico was over, bar the shouting and the pushing.

There was plenty of that, players squaring up then and again when the final whistle went a few seconds later, Thibaut Courtois and Lamine Yamal confronting each other; so too Vinícius Júnior, who had stormed off when he was substituted, and Raphinha, who had not even played.

In the midst of it all, Madrid celebrated. The match that never lets you down was 105 minutes long and featured 37 shots, three goals scored, three more disallowed, a penalty given and taken away again and another saved. It also had a new winner, Madrid beating Barcelona five clásicos later.

First-half goals from Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham brought revenge and maybe even some redemption after four defeats last season, Fermín López scoring for Barcelona. For 70 minutes, it had been frantic, players pouring through wide spaces from one end to the other; then Madrid had found a way to cede territory but not control, holding on to the lead they established early and might have established even earlier.