"It just felt like we were no match for them."

Real Madrid suffered a 3-4 comeback defeat against Barcelona in the 35th round of the 2024-25 La Liga held at the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, on the 11th. With three league matches remaining, league leader Barcelona (82 points) is now 7 points ahead of Real Madrid (75 points), effectively putting the championship within reach.

Mbappé could not smile despite achieving a hat trick. Just 5 minutes into the first half, Mbappé scored a penalty kick. Then, at the 14th minute, Mbappé connected Vinícius's pass for an additional goal. Real took a 2-0 lead, reviving hopes of a comeback championship.

However, Barcelona was strong. In the 19th minute of the first half, Eric García, in the 32nd minute, Lamine Yamal, and in the 34th and 45th minutes, Raphinha scored in rapid succession. Barcelona turned the game around to lead 4-2 at halftime.

In the 25th minute of the second half, Mbappé again connected Vinícius's pass for an additional goal. With Mbappé's hat trick, Real closed the gap to 3-4. But that was it.

On that day, Mbappé scored three goals, bringing his total for the season at Real to 39 goals. This surpassed the 37 goals scored by Iván Zamorano in the 1992-93 season, setting a new record for most goals in a single season at Real. However, as the league title became effectively distant, Mbappé could not smile.

After the match, Carlo Ancelotti, the manager, noted, "Mbappé played really well. He scored three goals, but he could have added more. The problem was our defense, which conceded four goals in the first half. We were missing five defenders," he lamented.

Mbappé has also surpassed his idol Cristiano Ronaldo's record of 33 goals in a single season set in the 2009-10 season.

However, Mbappé expressed regret, saying, "No matter how many goals I score, if the team does not win, my efforts will be in vain."

This season, Real has won the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. However, they have fallen far from winning the crucial La Liga title. They also finished as runners-up in the Copa del Rey. Real was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Champions League, leaving them without glory.

Regarding the complete defeat in El Clásico, Real legend Toni Kroos analyzed, "The atmosphere that Real struggled against Barça throughout this season was reflected in the match. The fact that Mbappé had a multi-goal lead to 2-0 in the first half was probably just lucky. Even when Barça was down 0-2, they pushed forward more, as if it were nothing."

Kroos further stated, "On the other hand, Real started to waver as soon as they took the lead. That’s why we couldn’t maintain the lead at all and had no choice but to be pulled along. The injuries were also a contributing factor. With Real's defense disrupted, building up from the back became impossible. It was truly the worst season."

[OSEN]