Barcelona need Ousmane Dembele to stay! 5 things we learned as winger stars in fiery Real Madrid clash

These two sides were never going to play a tame contest. It was clear early on, in Dembele's celebration - a passionate careen to the corner flag - that this was still very much a Clasico.

But it wasn't supposed to be this fiery. The referee handed out four yellow cards in the first half, and could have shown more. Frenkie de Jong was particularly culpable, clattering Aurelien Tchouameni towards the end of the half.

But he wasn't the only one. Jude Bellingham flew into tackles. Ronald Araujo wasn't afraid to throw an elbow. Romeu was as physical as advertised. By half time, both benches were snarling at the officials, who had swiftly lost control of the game. And it wasn't much better after the break. Tackles continued to add up, and more yellows were dished out. This matchup, it appears, never loses its passion.

It's not clear who Dembele will be playing for by the start of the season. Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly set to activate his €50m (£43m/$54m) release clause, hoping that the France international can be the right-winger they need. For now, though, he seems to be nearing his best for Barca.

The Frenchman opened the scoring for Barca with an instinctive finish, receiving a Pedri pass at a tight angle and lashing it into the bottom corner. He should have had a second later in the half, but saw his effort saved by Courtois.

Dembele, the creative presence, has been vital to Barca's success under Xavi with his angled passes and neat crosses. And that side of his game was very much apparent here. He fed Lewandowski for a chance, and almost set up Alejandro Balde, too. Dembele was far better contained by Fran Garcia after the break, but his damage was done. If it is his last game for the Catalan club, he has certainly shown the club what they might lose.

With Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, and now Karim Benzema gone, Vinicius has become the new galactico of this Madrid team. These days, he's a wonderful watch, all stepovers and sharp cuts. But, for some reason, he never seems to get the better of Araujo. Every time Barca and Madrid play, the Blaugrana switch the centre-back onto the right and task him with shutting down Vinicius.

The two had a fine duel on Saturday. It was a bit more even than in months past, with Vinicius enjoying his share of mazy runs, only to be met with a hard tackle or sneaky foul from his opposite number. The Brazilian grew into the game in the second half, though, enjoying more space to run into, and weaving through the Barca backline with ease.

Still, he never found the killer pass, or took the right shot. And Araujo went about his work diligently until he was removed. There will be many more of these duels to come, one would hope.

They were probably precautionary, but both Ilkay Gundogan and Andreas Christensen were removed in the first half. The loss of Gundogan, in particular, will be of concern for the Blaugrana. They have very little financial flexibility, and the former Manchester City man was set to be their marquee signing this summer.

Madrid, meanwhile, saw Ferland Mendy limp off. The left-back has been injury ridden for almost a year now, struggling with a series of muscle problems that have seen him fall down the pecking order in the Spanish capital. He wasn't helped by Fran Garcia's showing the second half.

The former Rayo Vallecano man was far more assured than the player he replaced, helping Madrid settle into a game they once seemed well out of. A lot can, of course, change in a few weeks. But these games are crucial for establishing roles for the season.

Madrid can't seem to shake off the Kylian Mbappe rumour. It seems like a predestined transfer at this point. The French international will, someday, play in Madrid white. Things seem nicely poised for that to happen at some point this summer, but there isn't much concrete progress on the deal.

Whether Mbappe joins or not, it is immensely clear that Madrid need a clinical player in the box. Barca was excellent defensively on Saturday, their defensive unit as solid as advertised. Still, Madrid looked devoid of ideas at times. Vinicius dribbled into traffic. Rodrygo made the wrong passes and Bellingham, still getting used to the No.10 role, found himself marked out of the game high up the pitch.

A central presence, a proper No.9, will go a long way to sorting this all out. Mbappe is not an aerial threat, or necessarily a central player by trade. But he is a deadly, instinctive finisher, something that Madrid lack. And even if they can't get him, there are other options out there. Games like this will not be easily won with Madrid's current front three.