Just when Barcelona thought there was a little life left in this game and in them too, Rodrygo slipped in the knife. With Barça 2-1 down and heading into the final minute chasing an equaliser that had seemed so implausible for so long, Xavi Hernández’s team were caught again, complicit in their own demise as they had been all afternoon.
First‑half goals from Karim Benzema and Fede Valverde seemed to have ended this early, Madrid easing to victory, until a Ferran Torres late strike gave the Catalans a chance, only for Eric Garcia’s even later tackle to take it away.
