By our reporter 26.10.2026
Real Madrid secured a rare victory at the Camp Nou beating Barcelona 2-1 in Sunday night’s El Clasico.
And coach Hansi Flicks admitted that Yan Diomande made his team work extra hard, while Real Madrid with devastating counter attacks got rewarded.
Kylian Mbappe scored a double and Raphinha pulled one back for the home side.
The result ended Barcelona’s 9-game winning streak to start the La Liga season and narrowed their lead at the top of the table to just three points over Real Madrid.
Speaking on the out come Flicks noted:
“ I don’t usually enjoy coming here to explain defeats, especially when we have been on a good run. The plans were there, the tactics were there, but football doesn’t always reward you for preparing well.
“One player who impressed me enormously was Diomande. I don’t usually sit here praising players from other teams after losing, but this boy is special. He plays with incredible discipline and courage!
“Before tonight, when we played El Clásico, we often tried to exploit the left side through Vinícius. We knew there were moments when he wouldn’t track back consistently, which meant Lamine could put the left-back under pressure and force Madrid to defend deeper. We wanted to create that same problem tonight, but Diomande changed everything.
“This boy gives you no easy decisions. He tracks back, wins his duels, carries the ball forward, dribbles past players and then has the intelligence to find the right pass. You attack him, he defends. You give him space, he attacks you. You try to isolate him, and suddenly he’s bringing another player into the game.
“Honestly, it was frustrating because every time we thought we had found a weakness, he recovered and closed the space. Lamine had to work much harder than we expected, and that affected some of the attacking situations we usually create.
“Sometimes, the player who destroys your entire tactical plan is the one you didn’t expect to make the difference. Diomande was that player tonight, and we have to learn from it.”