A FOUR-GONE CONCLUSION?

Barcelona took a huge step Sunday to securing the Spanish league title with a 4-3 win over Real Madrid — despite Kylian Mbappe's hat-trick in a mesmerizing "Clasico" — and opened a seven-point lead over its second-placed rival with three matches remaining.

Raphinha scored twice, and Lamine Yamal and Eric Garcia added a goal each for Barcelona, which needs two more points to secure its 28th La Liga crown.

The Catalan club trailed 2-0 after Mbappe's goals in the fifth and 14th minutes at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium. The host evened the match just past the half-hour mark, and went on to lead 4-2 at halftime in a sensational recovery.

Mbappe completed his hat-trick in the 70th, but Madrid wasn't able to avoid a likely fatal blow to its hopes of successfully defending its title.

Mbappe became the league's leading scorer with 27 goals, two more than Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, who did not play on Sunday.

Mbappe also set a new club record, becoming the player with the most goals in his debut season with 39 across all competitions, surpassing the 37 scored by Ivan Zamorano in the 1992-93 campaign. Mbappe had already overtaken Cristiano Ronaldo and Ruud van Nistelrooy (both 33 goals) and Brazil great Ronaldo (30).

Another thriller

It was another thrilling Barcelona match, despite coming on the back of its Champions League elimination at the hands of Inter Milan last week.

The Catalan club has won every match against Madrid this season. It had already won 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in the first league match in October, 5-2 in the Spanish Super Cup final in January, and 3-2 in the Copa del Rey final last month.

"We have to celebrate the victory. I'm very happy for the whole club and the fans. The atmosphere is incredible, and I really appreciate it," Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said. "The job isn't finished yet. We need to be more consistent defensively, but with matches every three days it's very difficult to train."

Barcelona can clinch the title by winning at Espanyol on Thursday. It could already be champion by then if Madrid fails to beat Mallorca on Wednesday.

Barcelona then hosts Villarreal, before visiting Athletic Bilbao in the final round.

"Every match will be tough, but we have the quality," said Flick, who is in his first season with Barcelona. "I believe we can do it."

The result virtually ends Madrid's chances of winning the league, with its hopes shifting to the Club World Cup, which takes place next month in the United States. Madrid won the UEFA Super Cup at the start of the season.

Uncertain future

It was coach Carlo Ancelotti's 350th game at the club, but the loss piled more pressure on the Italian, who is rumored to be leaving Los Blancos to take over Brazil's national team. Former Madrid player Xabi Alonso, who recently announced he is leaving Bayer Leverkusen, is widely expected to be Madrid's next coach.

When asked if it was his last Clasico, Ancelotti said: "It's the last one of the season. There are three games left, and we have to try to win all three."

Spanish media reported that some fans protested against the team after players arrived back in Madrid.

"In a game at this level, you have to defend and attack well. We attacked well, looking for chances. Obviously, we could have done better in the first half, we made some obvious mistakes that cost us goals," he said. "We had to defend better. We gifted them some chances and they punished us."

Great start

Needing to win to get back into the title race, Madrid got off to a great start, before Barcelona responded.

Garcia began Barcelona's comeback with a header from a corner kick in the 19th, Yamal equalized with a curling shot into the far corner in the 32nd, and Raphinha scored in the 34th and 45th minutes for Barcelona to take a 4-2 lead at the break.

It was a mistake by Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsi that had led to the early penalty, converted by Mbappe for the first Madrid goal, before he added another following a breakaway, to give the visitor a 2-0 lead.

Both teams had goals disallowed in the final minutes.

In a further blow for Ancelotti's men, Vinicius Junior had to be substituted in the second half with a sprained ankle.

Barcelona is unbeaten in 16 straight league matches, with its last loss coming against Atletico Madrid late last year. Los Blancos were on a four game streak in the league.

Among those in attendance at the Olympic Stadium were Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith and singer-songwriter Travis Scott, who were shown celebrating in the VIP seats.

Relegation fight

In the fight against relegation, 18th-placed Leganes beat 14th-placed Espanyol 3-2 to move within a point of Alaves, the first team outside the drop zone.

Alaves lost 1-0 at fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao.

Also Sunday, sixth-placed Real Betis drew 1-1 with mid-table side Osasuna.

Agencies Via Xinhua