Barcelonan suffer first defeat of the season in El Clasico despite not doing much wrong against Real Madrid

Jude Bellingham's second-half brace secured all three points in the season's first El Clasico for Real Madrid and handed Barcelona their first defeat of the campaign.

The entire Real Madrid team, including the English midfielder, struggled for much of the game but delivered in the decisive moments to defeat their archrivals.

The midfield trio of Gavi, Fermin Lopez, and Ilkay Gundogan seized control of the game in the first half and the German midfielder's sixth-minute strike looked to be the start of a fruitful day for the Catalans.

However, Barcelona’s inability to finish off their opponents came back to haunt them as Real Madrid made a comeback in the second half.

Barcelona beaten for the first time this season

Before Saturday, Barcelona had enjoyed a near-perfect start to the season. Although they had dropped points in some games, the fact that they were still unbeaten was something to hold on to.

They had secured 24 points out of a possible 30 in La Liga and won all three of their Champions League group stage matches. The defeat at the hands of their rivals will come as a deflating blow for the Blaugrana.

On another day, Barca’s dominance in the first hour would’ve yielded more than just a goal and they could’ve been out of sight before Real Madrid’s second-half resurgence even began.

However, Xavi’s side failed to close the game despite being the better team for large spells and were punished by two wonderful goals from the in-form Bellingham.

Barcelona didn’t have to do much wrong to lose

The Blaugrana didn’t put a foot wrong for close to 60 minutes in El Clasico and completely shut out their opponents. After Los Blancos manager Carlo Ancelotti made changes and introduced Luka Modric and Eduardo Camavinga, Jude Bellingham was able to take more attacking positions and made Barca pay.

Barcelona could’ve been more clinical with the chances that came their way after they scored the opening goal, but they still did enough to have gotten something from this game.

"We dominated 60 minutes, but this is football. We need five or six chances to score and they, with two or three, score two goals. It's the difference," Xavi admitted after the game (via GOAL).

"We lacked effectiveness. What we proposed went well, we were calm, patient... Maybe I'm exaggerating, but the feeling I have from the bench is that we deserved to win."

Barcelona played well for large spells, but they took their eyes off the prize for a moment and were made to pay for it. However, this is a young team that has huge potential and they will learn from such a defeat.

For Xavi, though, as hard as it is to accept the first defeat of the season, there is no time to brood, with the Blaugrana now four points behind Real Madrid in La Liga.