Since losing to Atletico Madrid at the start of last season, Real Madrid have not lost a single game in La Liga until this match against Barcelona. A draw against the Blaugrana would see Los Blancos equal their opponents' record of 43 games unbeaten in the competition.
However, after a goalless first half in which Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid missed numerous chances, Carlo Ancelotti's side were torn apart by a ruthless Barca side. Before defeating the "White Vultures", Barcelona had made an incredible start to the season under new coach Hansi Flick.
For Mbappe, this is his first El Clasico after joining the Bernabeu this summer from PSG. Before that, the French striker had a very good relationship with Barca when he scored 6 goals in 4 matches. However, that has not been maintained by Mbappe in the royal shirt.
A missed opportunity early in the game started a sad night for Mbappe. This was a match where the Real striker was repeatedly caught offside. The 2018 World Cup champion even celebrated but then felt disappointed when the goal was disallowed.
In total, Mbappe was caught offside six times in the first half, more than in any previous game of his career. In the next 45 minutes, the Les Bleus captain was caught offside twice more. In the last 15 La Liga seasons, no player has been caught offside more times in a single game than Mbappe.
In fact, Mbappe had a number of good chances to shoot, but they were all saved by Pena. This was a complete contrast to what Robert Lewandowski was showing at the other end of the pitch.
It was not a disastrous start to Mbappe's career at the Bernabeu. But this was the match where Mbappe was expected to make a difference.
The Frenchman has scored eight goals in all competitions so far, but Real Madrid fans are still waiting for him to form a new attack alongside Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham.
"Barcelona completely lost Mbappe. The constant battle with the offside flag seemed to have left Mbappe demoralized. Mbappe's first El Clasico ended like an early Halloween nightmare for the Frenchman" - Spanish newspaper AS described Mbappe's performance against Barcelona.
Of course, this is only Mbappe's first El Clasico and there are still many opportunities for him to make amends. Failure is inevitable, what matters is how Mbappe gets up.
