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