According to reports, Real Madrid players arrived at training on Wednesday morning to a strange sight: seven teddy bears waiting for them. The bears, dressed in white shirts, were placed on a bush outside Valdebebas. A banner in front of them read: “Thank you, Inter.” Simone Inzaghi’s team had done what Real had failed to do—at least not yet. Now, perhaps it’s their turn—the last chance to salvage something from a season that has largely belonged to another team.

Barcelona had lost: No Champions League, no treble. That alone was reason for celebration or at least consolation for Real—though perhaps not the only one. Because if it’s tempting to ask, “Is that all?” the answer might be, “Actually, no.”

Four days after Barcelona’s European exit, Montjuïc hosts the fourth El Clásico of the 2024-25 season. Real have lost the previous three matches 4-0, 5-2, and 3-2, witnessing their rivals’ dominance, their Super Cup victory, and then the Copa del Rey. If they lose this one too, they will also lose the league title. Hansi Flick’s team, with a seven-point lead and only three games left, will be on the verge of a double, while Real could end the season without a trophy.

But if they win…? A victory would suddenly change everything. Real would then be just one point behind, with their remaining fixtures easier than Barcelona’s: Mallorca, Sevilla, and Real Sociedad compared to Barcelona’s derby against Espanyol, followed by Villarreal—still fighting for a Champions League spot—and Athletic Bilbao. Carlo Ancelotti said: “We’re still a bit behind, but we’ll have a better chance. El Clásico will practically decide it.” Federico Valverde called it “the game of the season.”

They always say that, but Valverde isn’t wrong. At least for Real, this game is everything. The biggest rivalry in football history, played 260 times since 1902, was once described by a newspaper: “Ladies in bee-like dresses, faces powdered with rice flour, serious men in dark suits with a carnation in their buttonholes, gentlemen in brilliant uniforms, military men in tight vests and trousers resembling bullfighters, and pleasure-seekers creeping in with top hats and marble-headed canes.” And every match has symbolized a season. But rarely has it decided the fate of a title like this.

The closest recent comparison might be 2012, when Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winner at Camp Nou and silenced the crowd with his “Calma” gesture, effectively ending Pep Guardiola’s title hopes. Or 2009, when Barcelona won 6-2 at the Bernabéu, sealing the league.

Both times, the league leaders entered the match with a four-point lead, and the chasing team had a chance to close the gap—just like now. Both times, the winners left with a seven-point lead, effectively clinching the title. But even those matches weren’t this close to the end of the season. By kickoff on Sunday, it will be the 35th of 38 matchdays—meaning this game is everything.

Yet, in reality, this Clásico hasn’t felt like the “game of the season” or generated the pre-match excitement of past encounters. There was something about the Copa del Rey final two weeks ago that gave it a sense of finality—scenes of players throwing ice at the referee, Real’s last collapse. Anger as the lights went out.

For Real, already beaten by Arsenal and facing reality, that night felt like the curtain falling—as if the season was over and they were out. The future lay beyond May, and conversations turned elsewhere: When will Ancelotti leave? When will Xabi Alonso arrive? Who will come with him? Who will leave? How to say goodbye?

Meanwhile, Barcelona’s focus shifted to Inter—something bigger was brewing. But it didn’t happen; the treble slipped away. For Barcelona, pride remained in defeat—one of the most extraordinary semifinals anyone could remember—but the loss and Champions League exit were damaging.

For Real, there was relief. Maybe even a reminder that Barcelona aren’t invincible, that not everything is lost, that the league is still there to fight for. Maybe even a reminder of the Copa final, where, though utterly dominated in the first half and ultimately defeated, they staged a rebellion in the second half. That strange inferiority complex that had haunted them was pushed aside enough to come close to victory.

Given the season Real have had—a sense of total system collapse—a season where they haven’t even beaten a good team and Barcelona have scored 12 goals against them, winning the league seems almost laughable. But if they can claim at the end that they’ve been more successful than Barcelona—the league title is surely worth more than the Copa del Rey.

The contrast has been stark: Barcelona have had a dream season, leading since February, nearing 100 league goals, with 13 wins and one draw from their last 14 games. Real, meanwhile, have had a season where it feels like they haven’t even been present. And yet, here we are. It’s no longer so far-fetched.

Victory is mandatory, but it’s also an opportunity: A second chance, or maybe a third or fourth. Undoubtedly, the last attempt. Especially for Kylian Mbappé, who, despite 36 goals, can’t be called a failure, but no one has called him an unqualified success either. Unless he can seize this moment—as he almost did in the Copa final but failed to do on so many other nights.

The player who was supposed to make this season his own but lost it, becoming a symbol of Real’s decline. While Paris Saint-Germain reached the Champions League final without him, and Lamine Yamal may have even overtaken him as the biggest star of this competition.

For Barcelona, this is also an opportunity, and if past Clásicos are any guide, they will embrace it, but it’s also a necessity: To ensure the excitement, joy, and thrill of this season don’t end in disappointment. For a long season to end as pleasantly as it has been throughout.

Undoubtedly, it has been a very long season. Both teams enter with injuries and fatigue. Neither has their first-choice full-backs, though Barcelona hope Alejandro Balde can play, and Robert Lewandowski, who came on late in Milan, will start. Six key Barcelona players missed Thursday’s training.

In Madrid, it seems Arda Güler will replace Rodrygo. Ancelotti wants more power in midfield. But this game is more about mental battles than physical readiness or form. The Santiago Bernabéu couldn’t be better for Real: Barcelona were beaten and bruised. The game went to extra time, and they returned tired and empty. There’s always a psychological element to El Clásico, and this time, perhaps more than ever, it’s visible. What did defeat in Italy do to Barcelona? What will it do to Real?

Barcelona played fearlessly, but for many of their young players, this was the first real blow of their professional careers. So will it affect them?

Ronald Araújo said: “I don’t think so. This team has an incredible mentality.”
Eric García added: “This defeat won’t affect us; on the contrary. This team has exceeded all expectations.” Flick told his players to look in the mirror when they got home and be proud of themselves. Two days later, they had a barbecue to prepare for one last push.
Yamal said: “Sunday is a final.” Though not the final they expected on Tuesday night.

Source: The Guardian