Barca edge Real Madrid in thriller

BARCELONA:

Barcelona mounted a spectacular comeback to beat Real Madrid 4-3 in La Liga on 关键字2Sunday and move to the brink of the title after overcoming a hat-trick from Kylian Mbappe.

The France striker threatened to haul Madrid back into the title race but Raphinha's double and goals from Lamine Yamal and Eric Garcia gave Barcelona a seven-point lead on the reigning champions with three matches remaining.

Hansi Flick's side were knocked out of the Champions League in the semi-finals by Inter Milan on Tuesday and risked their season collapsing if they were beaten by Madrid, but they resisted after Mbappe's early brace.

Barcelona battled back to claim a fourth Clasico victory from four meetings this season, showing their dominance over Carlo Ancelotti's side.

Madrid had made the perfect start to what is expected to be the Italian coach's final Clasico at the helm.

Mbappe earned a penalty when he was scythed down by Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, although the Catalans complained in vain the forward was offside in the build-up.

The striker beat Szczesny, who dived the right way and got his fingers to it, but could not keep it out.

In the 14th minute Mbappe doubled Madrid's advantage with a lethal finish after Vinicius Junior played him through, with Barcelona complaining again about a perceived foul on Yamal earlier in the move.

It was his 26th La Liga strike, taking him past Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski on 25 at the top of the scoring charts, and his 38th of the season across all competitions, beating Ivan Zamorano's club record of 37 in a first season with Los Blancos.

Garcia headed home Ferran Torres' flick-on from a corner to spark it.

Then Madrid could not stop 17-year-old star Yamal from levelling with a cultured bending effort beyond Courtois after Torres laid the ball off to him.

'Seal it on Thursday'

Two minutes later, Raphinha drilled Barca ahead, with Pedri threading him through.

Mbappe thought he had won another penalty when he fell under pressure from Frenkie de Jong but VAR revealed an offside in the build-up.

Moments later, Raphinha netted his second, picking Lucas Vazquez's pocket on the edge of the area, exchanging passes with Torres and beating Courtois.

Mbappe netted from an offside position before the break, bringing a rollercoaster first half to a close.

Vinicius then got behind Barca's high line and he fed Mbappe for his hat-trick.

Madrid had no time left to fight back though, and Barcelona, who last won the league in 2023, could seal the title as early as Wednesday, should Los Blancos stumble against Mallorca.

If Madrid avoid defeat Barcelona will be champions with a win at Espanyol the next day.

"We'll seal it on Thursday and that's all," said Torres.