The date was November 24, 2018.
Referee Juan Martínez Munuela blew the full-time whistle and a disappointed Real Madrid side headed to the tunnel after losing 3-0 to Eibar in La Liga. In that game, Karim Benzema was ruled offside seven times, equaling Elche's league record. Jonasas de Jesus, May 2015.
Almost six years later, Benzema's long-term successor Kylian Mbappe went one better against another team in red and blue to make that unwanted record his own. Real Madrid lost 4-0, and that was the only event in El Clasico, which was played in front of around 80,000 people at the Bernabéu and millions around the world.
Mbappe's first Clasico was a big hit as he scored six goals in four games against Barcelona, including a hat-trick at the Camp Nou. He also often scores in big games, scoring three goals in five games against his current club in the Champions League, and four goals for France in two World Cup finals, with appearances against Marseille, Lyon, Monaco and Lille. He has scored 38 goals in 52 games in Ligue 1.
On Saturday, it was expected that Barça's high line would give him a chance if he and partner Vinicius Junior made well-timed runs, given his superior pace compared to Barcelona's defenders. .
It was a simple strategy on paper, but Mbappe struggled on this occasion due to a combination of underdeveloped chemistry with his team-mates and sheer debauchery.
From kick-off on Saturday, Madrid's approach was clear.
Their defender kicked the ball up the pitch and Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham won the duel.
Even if they lost the ball in the first phase, the physicality of Federico Valverde, Aurelian Choameni and Eduardo Camavinga gave them the upper hand against Barcelona's front six. All three of Madrid's midfielders were also able to break through the press with quick passes, and this combination of qualities troubled Barça throughout the first half.
The final part of the jigsaw was a well-timed run and a solid finish, but two offsides within the first 90 seconds suggested it was easier said than done.
In the second of these, Camavinga slipped Mbappe backwards in a large gap between Jules Kounde and Iñigo Martínez, who alerted Vinicius Junior, after Pau Kubalsi tried to squeeze Camavinga in. Mbappé ran through, but his finishing was poor as he trailed wide.
In the next 12 minutes, Mbappé made two contributions without the ball, pressing Martínez longer than ever before this season and helping his team win possession. He also started the attack by dropping a long pass from Eder Militão and passing wide to Vinicius Junior.
Mbappe's eagerness to contribute was clear and his work off the ball laid the foundation for the team's approach to the game.
Then a third offside occurred, showing that he had not learned from the previous incident.
Vinicius Junior once again pinned Kounde on the right flank, and while Kvarsi did not raise his body, Mbappé found space between Barcelona's two centre-backs. Mbappe looked over his shoulder but still started running a little too early from Camavinga's pass.
After squaring Bellingham's ball, he was flagged for offside, but Bellingham forced into a great save from Inaki Pena…
Further off-the-ball pressure on Martinez forced Barcelona into another turnover before the most notable of Mbappe's eight offsides came in the 19th minute. Again, he looked over his shoulder and ran early to meet a pass Bellingham hooked forward from the right.
Six minutes later, Barça again trapped him offside. On this occasion, Mbappe returned onside, but as he continued to stare at the ball, he did not notice that Kvarsi had taken another step forward. He was inches in front of the final line when Ferland Mendy played him in from the left.
But Mbappe came close to understanding it and appeared to have done just that at the half-hour mark.
Antonio Rudiger's search ball found Lucas Vazquez on the right. Mbappe was offside when Vázquez received the ball, but hit back when Alejandro Balde pressed on the Madrid captain. After a few touches, Vazquez released Mbappe between and behind the centre-backs, and he darted forward and finished with a deft chip…
… Madrid's joy was only cut short by a VAR check.
This was the closest thing, as the semi-automated replay below shows. Interestingly, Vinicius Jr. seemed to have doubts when the goal was scored, as evidenced by his initial reluctance to join in the celebrations (see above).
The close call suggests that Vazquez, who had time and space thanks to Bellingham's positioning, could have played the pass sooner.
Three minutes later, another long ball from the home defense caused Barcelona problems. Mbappe won a one-on-one with Kvarsi and darted forward, but Martínez stepped back and flicked the ball back for a corner kick.
This was the striker's final contribution in the first half as his team reached break level.
Madrid were creating an opening, but as the Expected Goals (xG) graph below shows, the xG was far from Barcelona's goal due to offside, even though the visitors hardly produced any notable goals. It has become almost meaningless.
In the second half, Madrid had a chance to further strengthen their advantage, and four minutes into the game, Mbappé ran in behind Kvarsi at the right time and connected with Vázquez's pass on the counter. His first touch was a little heavy, allowing Kvarsi to put the ball behind him and give him a corner kick. However, this was an encouragement for the French player and his team.
But that optimism quickly faded.
In the 54th minute, the first signs of trouble were seen in Mbappé's pressing. A half-hearted attempt to stop Marc Casado sent the Barça midfielder staggering into space and he was able to thread the needle to find Robert Lewandowski, making it Barcelona's first successful play in Madrid. I let it happen.
Lewandowski, who was onside due to Mendy's poor positioning, felt uncomfortable with the finish. The visitors led 1-0.
Two minutes later, more tepid pressing high up the pitch and some deft passing from Barcelona (made possible by the composure of half-time substitute Frenkie de Jong) saw Lewandowski score again from a cross from Balde. Scored.
Down 2-0, Madrid's fightback was heading towards the wall, but there was no significant movement until the 61st minute, when Mbappé took the first legal shot of the match. Receiving a pass from Camavinga on the left, he cut inside and fired a low shot at Pena with his right foot.
The second shot followed three minutes later, with Mbappé again hitting a well-timed shot between Kvarsi and Martínez. He threatened to score by catching an out-of-the-boot pass from Vinicius Jr. from the left, but Pena narrowed the angle by going wide of the goal line.
Rather than turning the ball around or lifting it above himself, Mbappé took the first shot, firing straight at Pena.
Mbappe's involvement was increasing, but he struggled with an offside trap in the 66th minute.
After a miscontrol by Rafinha in Madrid's defensive third, Vázquez found Valverde, but Dani Olmo quickly fired. Mbappe remained offside in both of these actions.
Valverde initially confirmed that Mbappé (as well as Vinicius Junior and Bellingham) were still in an offside position, allowing Olmo to apply more pressure. With no other option, he played the only pass available – to the Frenchman. Mbappe completed the ball with a shot into Pena's far corner, but it was again clearly offside.
Mbappe's third and final shot of the match came in the 71st minute.
After Olmo lost the ball in his own half, Luka Modric lifted the ball over the last line and Mbappe ran in at the perfect time to Martinez's blindside, creating another one-on-one chance. This time Pena approached the edge of the six-yard box, daring Mbappé to beat him at either post.
Mbappé opted for the far post, but his performance was poor as Pena saved again without breaking a sweat.
Mbappé's final involvement in the match was a near-perfect example of how Madrid's originally envisaged game plan would unfold, occurring in the opening seconds of stoppage time.
Bellingham brought Kvarsi forward for a long ball that went past both players and into the path of Vinicius Jr. Kvarsi comfortably turned Kounde around the halfway line and found Mbappé on the left. Mbappé raced through to force a near-post save from Pena, but a deft shot backwards from Martinez allowed Kvarsi to recover and re-set the offside trap.
result? The assistant referee's flag went up again, marking 12 violations for the hosts and 8 for Mbappé alone…
Between Mbappé's last shot and his last offside, Barcelona had scored twice. The first goal was a powerful shot from Lamine Yamal's near post, partially reminiscent of Mbappé's first goal in 2021, when he scored a hat-trick at the Camp Nou. The second goal was a deft chip from Rafinha, who easily beat Madrid's last line of defense from a long ball. After they move people forward.
Those goals epitomized what Madrid needed from Mbappé that night, but he was unable to put both together.
At times, the opportunity and perhaps his eagerness to make an impact seemed to overwhelm him. In other situations, especially in front of goal, he showed none of the confidence that many would associate with his play. In a game this big, being on the wrong side of the margin doesn't go unpunished.
There are also synergy issues with new teammates, but that will improve over time. Barcelona's games have been marked by a high number of offsides, but it's worth noting that Mbappe had been found offside at least once in seven of the nine La Liga games up until Saturday.
Mbappé's frustration on display (Pierre-Philippe Marcoux/AFP via Getty Images)
Madrid have only been caught offside 24 times this season, with Mbappé contributing to 17 of them. Vinicius Junior was offside twice against Barcelona, compared to just once all season before. The Brazilian made intelligent runs, knowing when his teammates would release the ball and knowing that his pace would allow him to beat most defenders.
For this partnership to work on the biggest stage, Mbappe will need to develop similar in-game intelligence in addition to improving his chemistry with his teammates, especially given the duo's limitations in leading the press. Dew. He also needs to cut down on his profligacy when opportunities arise, with his six league goals this season coming from an xG of 7.7.
Playing for Madrid was Mbappé's ultimate dream. Now that you know that, the hardest part of the job now begins.
(Top photo: David Ramos/Getty Images)
