Chapter 49: El Clásico. [1]
FWEEE!
The whistle cut through the night like a blade.
The Santiago Bernabéu was a storm.
White flags swirled in a sea of noise, drums thudded from the upper tiers, and chants cascaded like thunderclaps. Every tackle, every touch, and every sprint carried the weight of history.
El Clásico was alive.
Madrid roared first. Right from kickoff, receiving the ball, Vinícius Jnr. darted at Jules Koundé with the hunger of a man who lived for this stage. He dropped his shoulder once, twice, and burst into the box like an assassin.
BAM!
Vinicius unleashed the first shot of the game in the 1st minute.
Koundé scrambled, and Jose García reacted, going on a full stretch dive. For a few seconds, time seemed to freeze, and then... BAM... the shot stung Garcia’s palms as he parried wide.
The Bernabéu erupted as though it had already gone in.
"Así se juega!" Fans screamed. (This is how you play!)
Barça exhaled as they survived the first surge. And for the first time this season, they felt the pressure of Madrid’s cauldron.
There was no more buildup, now was the time, now was the moment.
Now was El Clasico.
The ball finally reached Sam’s leg in the 5th minute as a deep diagonal from Pedri arced into the half-space. Rüdiger closed in like a wall, Huijsen flanking as they locked out all of his options.
Sam let the ball bounce. He rolled his shoulder, and cushioned the ball with his chest.
That was one touch with his chest, then...
BZZZ!
A sharp flick past Rüdiger left the defender chasing ghosts.
Sam burst forward, shrugging off Huijsen, before slipping the ball wide to Yamal. The teenager twisted Mendy inside-out like a shrimp, forcing the crowd to roar in disbelief before throwing in a cross.
His cross zipped just beyond Raphinha’s outstretched legs. Close... too close.
Even Madrid fans whistled nervously.
By the 10th minute, the rhythm of the game was chaos. Every duel was a battle inside a war as exciting individual duels took place all across the pitch.
Bellingham vs Pedri in midfield was a game of silk vs silk. Bellingham’s long strides carried him through challenges with elegance, while Pedri responded with sharp turns and flicks in tight spaces. Pedri was hypnotic with the ball.
Valverde vs Gavi was fire vs fire. Gavi was supposed to play as the attacking midfielder, but Madrid’s pressure forced him deep. Valverde and Gavi... both men flew into tackles, snarling, chest-to-chest at one point as the referee rushed to separate them.
The tension was palpable.
Arda Guler vs De Jong... the veteran maestro vs the metronome. Passes zipped like lightning flashes, they also intercepted and recycled.
Each clash earned roars or whistles from the fans. The match wasn’t football anymore; it was theatre, war, and dance combined.
Madrid’s first big chance came in the 13th minute.
A quick transition saw Valverde snap the ball from Gavi and immediately thread it to Mbappé. The Frenchman accelerated like lightning, surging past Araújo like a Ferrari, the crowd rising with every step that he took.
Thud... thud... thud...
He cut inside, shaped to shoot, but Pau Cubarsí threw himself in on a perfectly timed sliding tackle, blocking with desperate bravery.
Barca were not yet safe though as the rebound spilled to Rodrygo, who hammered a shot toward the near post.
García dove... and saved. The goalkeeper was in form.
The Bernabéu groaned in frustration, then roared even louder, urging their stars to keep going.
But Barca were not to be outdone. Their response came in the 16th minute.
Pedri orchestrated from deep, slipping a disguised pass through Bellingham’s legs. The ball found Sam on the edge of the box and he went Super Saiyan.
BUZZ!
One shimmy, then another, then he dragged Rüdiger wide before slipping a no-look pass into Raphinha’s stride.
POW!
Raphinha struck it first-time.
The Brazilian’s shot bent viciously toward the far corner, but called to action, Courtois flew like Zack Snyder’s Superman, fingertips clawing the ball away.
Gasps erupted in the stadium even as the away fans in the top corner screamed, their voices drowned by whistles from the Madridistas.
The game was tight and end to end.
In the 20th minute though, Yamal switched it on, putting on the Yamal show.
Barcelona earned a throw-in deep in Madrid’s half. The ball reached Yamal, and what followed left jaws unhinged.
The 19-year-old danced... he danced like Michael Jackson.
First, he nut-megged Mendy with a cheeky flick. The crowd gasped. Then he squared up against Bellingham, chopped the ball inside, then out, before darting past him like some ballet dancer.
Finally, he faced Rüdiger. In the face of the towering and intimidating German defender, Yamal showed no fear as he feinted left, darted right, and whipped in a curling cross into the box.
’This is it!’ Sam thought as he rose, towering above Dean Huijsen, meeting it cleanly with a perfect header.
Power header!
But Courtois was equal to it, palming over the bar.
"F*CK!" Sam cursed.
The Bernabéu exploded in both awe and fury, cheering the save, but also jeering the teenager who had just humiliated their stars.
"Niño loco!" Someone screamed from the stands. (Crazy boy!)
Yamal jogged back, grinning, unfazed by the fans’ antics. He was too young to feel fear, all he felt was freedom and fire.
After that, tempers flared and the tackles sharpened.
In the 23rd minute, Valverde lunged through Balde, winning the ball but clattering him into the boards. The referee blew instantly, but it was not enough for the fiery Barca players as they rushed in.
Gavi shoved Valverde, Bellingham shoved Gavi; Raphinha stormed over, wagging a finger at the referee.
The Bernabéu seethed. Barca’s bench leapt, Hansi Flick screaming for calm. Alonso only smiled, arms folded. Chaos was Madrid’s element.
The referee showed a yellow card for Valverde; it was the first blood in discipline in the game.
And then, by the 25th minute, the duel everyone had been waiting for finally exploded... Sam vs Rudiger.
Sam dropped deep to receive another ball from Pedri. Rüdiger was right on him, body-to-body, snarling in his ear like a Wolf. Unfazed, Sam rolled him with pure strength, sprinted into the channel, and drew a foul just outside the box.
The Bernabéu whistled furiously, protesting the decision but Madrid hearts raced... their giant defender had just been outmuscled.
They almost couldn’t believe it. ’The f*ck!’
Sam stood over the free kick, but Raphinha took it, lashing it straight into the wall. The rebound spilled loose, but the referee’s whistle blew for a foul.
The crowd booed, but Sam only smirked. He had sent a message; he wasn’t afraid of Madrid’s monster.
As the clock ticked past 26 minutes, the game’s tone was set.
Madrid was fast, direct, and relentless, feeding Mbappé and Vinícius like predators on the hunt.
Barcelona? They were patient and intricate, flashes of Yamal’s trickery, Raphinha’s fire, Sam’s brilliance, and Pedri’s artistry keeping the game exciting and on edge.
Neither side had scored yet, but the Bernabéu buzzed with anticipation. Every fan could feel it, goals were coming.
The camera panned across the stadium to the legends watching from the stands, to Lionel Messi who was disguised in a cap, eyes locked; to Cristiano Ronaldo who smirked, whispering to his son.
The world’s icons had gathered to witness the new era.
The referee’s whistle blew for a foul on De Jong in midfield, and as play reset, the commentators’ voices boomed across millions of screens worldwide:
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is not just a game".
"This is war, and the first punch hasn’t even landed yet".