After winning all four of last season’s Clasicos, Sunday’s performance was emblematic of Barcelona’s unconvincing start to the campaign.

Injuries have robbed boss Hansi Flick of key players including Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo, and his system isn’t working without them.

“It’s like the whole team is a little bit less sharp without the ball, less hungry to recover it, less aggressive to get the possession back,” added Balague.

“It’s easier to attack them. If the defensive line is not perfect, as it wasn’t on the Mbappe goal because Alejandro Balde played him onside, they are not helped by the midfield and forwards not closing down those on the ball as well as they should.”

Lamine Yamal, tormentor-in-chief of Real last season, was kept largely in check.

“Their stars weren’t at their best. Lamine doesn’t feel like he’s in good form, perhaps he’s suffering from groin problems that don’t allow him to display his talent.

“The Barcelona of a year ago that caught Mbappe offside eight times, with Lewandowski, Raphinha and Lamine playing together, is gone at the moment.

“They miss Raphinha in attack but defence as well, the intensity that he adds.”

Marcus Rashford has been a shining light for Barcelona since joining on loan from Manchester United, but on Sunday he looked blunted.

“He was trying to create danger on the left-hand side, but he found himself too often on his own and he could not beat the Madrid defence,” added Balague.

“Barcelona attacked too quickly which meant he had to beat one, two, three defenders.

“He felt a little bit isolated and he lost possession a lot in the second half. He couldn’t create a lot of danger, but he assisted for the goal. That came on the back of Barcelona stealing possession for the second time in 40 minutes. They don’t do that often enough, so their style falls apart.”