Thirteen years later, José Mourinho led Real Madrid into the Camp Nou, and he led them out again with a late, late victory that opens up a whole new world. With three minutes remaining and the energy with which they had played dropping, a wonderful piece of skill from Jude Bellingham found Eduardo Camavinga and set them on one last run on a night in which there were so many of them. Camavinga sprinted into the area, slipped away from Pau Cubarsí and pulled the ball back for Kylian Mbappé to provide the finish.
It had been an intense, breathless ride, a proper battle, and Madrid had won it, Mbappé getting his second goal of a special match to end Barcelona’s record nine-game winning run. So much for a battering, so much for Barcelona going nine points clear, the title race run before November; there is life in Madrid and in this league. Life in their manager too; this was planned and executed to perfection, and not the way that might have been expected.
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