When the final whistle sounded on May 11 at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Real Madrid stood with their heads in their hands as Barcelona celebrated their fourth Clásico victory in 2024–25, one that all-but guaranteed them the La Liga title.
The 4–3 defeat was yet another stain on Los Blancos’ poor final campaign under Carlo Ancelotti. The Spanish giants failed to defend their Spanish or European crowns, conceded 83 goals and suffered four defeats against Barcelona across all competitions.
No Real Madrid team in history ever lost four Clásicos in a single season until 2024–25, when the likes of Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Jude Bellingham were powerless to stop their arch rivals from delivering embarrassment after embarrassment.
Hansi Flick’s men bested the 15-time European champions in the Spanish Super Cup final, the Copa del Rey final and twice in La Liga, scoring 16 goals across the four matches. Barcelona’s domestic treble, therefore, all came at the expense of Real Madrid.
Much of the blame falls on Los Blancos’ injury crisis that forced natural midfielders Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni to round out a makeshift defense that simply stood no chance against one of the best attacks in Europe.
There were other glaring weaknesses, though, that weighed down Real Madrid. Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior struggled to build chemistry up top, Rodrygo was in the worst form of his career and Ancelotti’s midfield desperately missed Toni Kroos.
Yet no matter what issues plagued Los Blancos, losing four matches to Barcelona in a single campaign was an unacceptable run of form, one that requires a massive response in 2025–26.
