How Barcelona can make Clásico history and cap off Real Madrid's nightmare week - ESPN

A bad season for Real Madrid might be about to get much, much worse. A calamitous 2025-26 has already seen Madrid lose a coach in Xabi Alonso, crash out of the Copa del Rey, exit the UEFA Champions League in the quarterfinals and suffer a string of LaLiga losses that have left them trailing leaders Barcelona, and facing a trophyless season for the second year in a row.

In just the last week, Madrid have been hit by a series of behind-the-scenes scandals: An injured Kylian Mbappé took an ill-advised midseason holiday, details emerged of a dressing room bust-up between Antonio Rüdiger and Álvaro Carreras, and vice-captain Federico Valverde was taken to hospital with a concussion after a confrontation with Aurélien Tchouaméni.

Now, Barcelona have the chance to twist the knife in Sunday's Clásico (LIVE at 3 p.m. ET across ESPN networks in the U.S.). They go into the game at Camp Nou 11 points clear of Madrid, with four games of the season left. That means Barça need just a draw to be confirmed as league champions, securing the title against their biggest rivals, in the most high-profile game in club football. The Catalans' celebrations would be raucous, and Madrid's suffering would be even more acute for having to experience it all, up close, with nowhere to hide.

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You might think that Clásicos are always decisive. After all, each LaLiga season inevitably concludes with giants Madrid and Barça battling it out for the title, with an interloper like Atlético Madrid occasionally making it a