The France striker’s 87th-minute winner stopped Barcelona from setting an outright record for consecutive wins to start a LaLiga season.
Kylian Mbappe scored both goals as Real Madrid beat Barcelona in El Clasico, the biggest fixture in Spanish club football, ending the hosts' flawless start to the LaLiga season.
The France forward opened the scoring four minutes before half-time and then settled the match in the 87th minute, as reported by Daily Guide Network.
How the goals came
Madrid's first goal owed plenty to luck. Yan Diomande delivered a low cross, Barcelona defender Gerard Martin tried to clear it, and the ball struck Mbappe before looping over goalkeeper Joan Garcia.
The closing stages of the first half were open at both ends. Mbappe struck the post, while Barcelona's Lamine Yamal sidefooted wide from close range.
Barcelona drew level 16 minutes into the second half. Pedri found captain Raphinha, who drilled his shot through the legs of Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham and into the far corner.
Martin almost made up for his earlier mistake with a header, but Andriy Lunin pushed it away one-handed. The Ukrainian goalkeeper was starting in goal because first choice Thibaut Courtois was unwell.
With the game drifting towards a draw, Bellingham produced a piece of skill near the halfway line to start a late attack. Substitute Eduardo Camavinga carried the ball forward and squared it for Mbappe to tap into an empty net.
Record slips away from Barcelona
Barcelona, coached by German manager Hansi Flick, had been chasing an outright record for consecutive league wins at the start of a season in Spain. The defeat left them short of the nine straight victories set by Real Madrid's 1968-69 side, a mark they would have beaten with another win.
Despite losing, Barcelona are still top of the table after 10 matches. Atletico Madrid sit second, two points behind, with Real Madrid third, a further point back.
Why it matters for fans following from abroad
El Clasico is the fixture that fills viewing centres in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale, and it is one of the few club games that pulls Ghanaians in the United States out of bed early on a weekend. The result tightens the title race, because the gap between first and third is now only three points with the season still young.
For Real Madrid, the win is also a psychological one. They have taken points directly off the league leaders and cut into Barcelona's cushion in a single afternoon.
Both clubs return to league action in the coming weeks, with Barcelona now needing to rebuild momentum after their first dropped points of the campaign.
