Alex MacQuoid
The legendary El Clásico at the Santiago Bernabéu delivered yet another twist on 26 October. Real Madrid led Barcelona 2–1 at halftime, but early in the second half, all eyes turned to Kylian Mbappé — and what could have been his brace moment.
After earning a penalty moments after the restart, Mbappé stepped up to take it — only to be denied by Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny. The French superstar’s powerful strike was read perfectly by the Polish shot-stopper, sparking roars of relief from the traveling Catalan fans.
The miss carried more weight than it first appeared. It was the first failed penalty in El Clásico since 2008, ending a streak of 19 consecutive conversions. The last player to miss one in the historic fixture was Samuel Eto’o, whose spot-kick was saved by Iker Casillas on 13 December 2008.
Before his rare misstep, Mbappé had already found the net twice — though one goal was ruled out for offside. Jude Bellingham added Real’s second legitimate strike, while Ferran López pulled one back for Barcelona.
For Mbappé, the night remains a paradox: he was both the driving force of Madrid’s attack and the man who broke a 17-year streak of penalty perfection in football’s fiercest rivalry.
Even in failure, Mbappé manages to etch his name into El Clásico history.