Real Madrid's only chance of winning El Clasico just went out the window
Real Madrid have their biggest match of the early stages coming up at the end of the month: an El Clasico matchup against Barcelona at the Camp Nou. Real Madrid currently sit third in La Liga while Barca are flying at the top of the table, making Los Blancos pretty heavy underdogs heading into the matchup. Real Madrid had one thing playing into their favor: a reported injury to Raphinha, which gave Real Madrid fans slight hopes of taking all three points. However, that unfortunately isn't the case anymore.
As being reported by ESPN, Barcelona's Raphinha will be fit for El Clasico on October 25th after tests revealed no major injury to his thigh after an injury scare with Brazil during the international break. Raphinha missing El Clasico would have been a major boost to Real Madrid, putting an upset win fully in the cards; however, those chances have now gone completely out the window.
Real Madrid's last hope of an El Clasico win just disappeared
The Brazilian has been absolutely flying for Barcelona so far this season, grabbing 14 goals and three assists through eight games, including back-to-back hat-tricks in his last two games. Raphinha has been terrorizing La Liga defenses for fun so far this season, and with Real Madrid's backline still looking fragile, this is a worst-case scenario for Los Blancos.
Had Raphinha been diagnosed with an injury that would have kept him out of El Clasico, Real Madrid could have had a chance to walk away with the upset win. He's been their main source of goals, meaning Real Madrid's backline would really only have to look after Lamine Yamal, but with Raphinha expected to be fit, it's going to be a long night at the Camp Nou for Real Madrid. They've already conceded eight goals though the first eight games, and despite bringing in three new defenders, the team still looks like it will concede at least two goals a game.
There's no unity or understanding between the backline, and with how deadly in front of goal Barcelona have been this season, they will no doubt use that to their advantage. They've scored five or more goals in five of their eight games, and given how Real Madrid's backline has looked so far, it wouldn't be surprising if Barca put five past them, reminiscent of the 5-1 El Clasico loss from the 18/19 season.
Stopping the Barcelona attack looks impossible so far this season, so what exactly Jose Mourinho will do is anyone's guess. Real Madrid will have to hope he can pull out some of his old-school Mourinho magic, or it could be the end of Real Madrid's La Liga title hopes this season.
