Rise of a Football God

The city of Barcelona pulsed with restless energy days before the final El Clasico of the season.

The victory in Milan had not dulled the hunger; rather, it had sharpened it.

And now, Real Madrid was coming to the Spotify Camp Nou, and the Catalan faithful had one goal: to bury their rivals beneath a thunderstorm of pride and vengeance; to rub their superiority this season on their faces.

And then, it was D-day.

11th May, 2026…

(La Liga:)

(Barcelona – Real Madrid)

On matchday, the streets swarmed with a sea of Blaugrana, drums echoing off the buildings, chants erupting from balconies, cafes, and alleyways.

Fireworks crackled as early as noon. The sun barely stood a chance against the smoke that curled into the sky from flares and fireworks, painting the air in warlike hues of red and blue.

As the Real Madrid team bus approached, it was met with the kind of welcome forged in centuries of rivalry and resentment.

Thousands of fans lined the route, screaming, whistling, waving flags and banners like weapons. One of the banners, a massive one read:

>Madridistas no sou benvinguts<

Smoke bombs exploded in brilliant bursts of color. The bus crawled forward, surrounded by riot police, its tinted windows hiding faces surely steeled, but not immune.

By contrast, when the Barcelona team bus emerged from the tunnel into the stadium, it was like the arrival of returning conquerors.

Flares lit up the entrance like a coliseum gate; fans pounded on the bus as if to send strength through the stee.

"VISCA BARCA!" They roared, a tidal chant that didn't stop.

It only grew louder.

Inside the Spotify Camp Nou, the cauldron had already reached a boiling point. Over 90,000 fans had turned the stadium into a living, screaming organism.

Tifos rippled like banners on a battlefield, massive murals of Cruyff, Messi, Iniesta, and Sam loomed high over the pitch like guardian spirits. A banner stretched across one stand, reading:

"We sent Italy to sleep. Now we wake Spain up".

The air crackled with hostility; every blade of grass felt charged.

Real Madrid stepped out into a storm. The boos were relentless, like a hurricane against their every touch. Whistles, insults, chants that shook the rafters.

And Barcelona's players?

They fed on it.

Gavi beat his chest like a warrior before kickoff. Ter Stegen walked with the calm of a general, while Sam gave a wry smile, nodding to the crowd as if to say, 'leave it to us'.

Tonight, it was a must-win game for Real Madrid.

The Catalans already stole everything from them this season. If they wanted to avoid a fate of going this season trophyless, their only hope laid on the La Liga title and to have a tiny chance of winning it, they must win today's game.

This was why Real Madrid fielded their best lineup of players, forcing the recovering Kylian Mbappe back into the starting XI.

Real Madrid played a 4-4-2 formation.

In between the goals for the Spanish Capital Club was Thibaut Courtois, while the defensive quadruple ahead of him comprised Ferland Mendy, Antonio Rudiger, Raul Asencio, and Trent Alexander Arnold.

In midfield was the quadruple of Federico Valverde, Dani Ceballos, Jude Bellingham, and Arda Guler.

Arda Guler, the young Turkish prodigy already settled somewhat in his second season in Madrid, featuring more regularly for the Spanish Capital Club.

As for Real Madrid's offensive duo? It was Vinicius Jnr. and Kylian Mbappe.

As for Barcelona, Hansi Flick started with exactly the same lineup that he used to play the Inter Milan second leg game.

The main difference was that this time, they had the home advantage.

The Spotify Camp Nou wasn't just a stadium this night.

It was a cathedral of defiance, a fortress of fury, and hell for anyone in white.

FWEEE!

The referee's whistle cut through the bustle of the stadium, and it started.

Like usual, FC Barcelona hoped to start the game on the front foot, eager to pressure their opponents but not tonight.

Tonight, fueled by pure spite, Real Madrid was ready for their archrivals.

They counter-pressed Barcelona.

The Real Madrid midfield swarmed like locusts, elite locusts, leading the press to keep the pressure on their opponents even as they aimed to pressure them too. Against a weaker opponent, Barcelona would have easily beat the press but this was Real Madrid.

After 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 8 minutes…, the game finally settled.

It was no longer one-sided. It became even.

Real Madrid played their hearts out on the pitch. The lethargy from the grueling semifinal clash against Inter Milan still showed on the body language of the Barca players, and the Madrid players took advantage of it.

Vinicius and Mbappe especially were pure menace.

With their speed, they terrorized the Barcelona defense, being careful so as to not be caught offside.

After so many games of being punished by Barcelona's highline, they already learned a few tricks to beat the offside trap.

And tonight, they did it.

In the 26th minute of the game, Real Madrid struck, hitting the anvil while it was still hot. And Vinicius Jnr. was the star this time.

One moment, Real Madrid was on the defensive and the next, they already transitioned from defense to offense so smoothly that it was scary.

As soon as the ball was won, Vinicius and Mbappe started running.

Rudiger passed to Vinicius and after taking one touch, without even looking first, Trent Alexander Arnold played an unreal cross field pass to the other side of the pitch where Vinicius Jnr. ran.

Vinicius blitzed past Jules Kounde with speed, taking the ball in his strides before cutting in and charging straight at goal.

With a fake shot, he sat Ter Stegen to the ground.

As soon as the German goalkeeper went down, Vinicius lobbed the ball above him. Even before the ball entered the net, he was already running away in celebration.

"GOALLLLLL…!"

The away stands at the Spotify Camp Nou erupted as Vinicius ran to the corner flag, doing the calma celebration and drawing the ire of Barcelona fans.

Real Madrid's victory didn't last though.

As soon as the game restarted, Barcelona equalized almost instantly.

Lamine Yamal struck.