The Four-Curse Showdown: Alonso Returns to Face Barca as Flick's Spell Looms
26 October 2025
Real Madrid fears the Four Curse as it faces its archrival Barcelona in a La Liga Clasico tonight.
Madrid hosts Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabéu in the tenth round of La Liga, eyeing the top of the table.
The royal club leads La Liga with 24 points from eight wins and a defeat to neighbor Atletico Madrid.
Barcelona sit second, just two points behind; a victory at their rival's fortress could reclaim the summit.
Ahead of his first Clasico against Barcelona as Real Madrid's coach, Alonso, the Spaniard, has long battled the Catalans as a player.
Alonso wore four different shirts against Barca—Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Real Sociedad and Liverpool—and played for five clubs.
He also lined up for Eibar, but never faced Barcelona in 13 matches with the Spanish club.
Against Barcelona, Alonso played 30 matches across all competitions, losing half (15 defeats); Barca is the Spaniard's most frequent defeated opponent. Conversely, Alonso has eight wins against Barcelona and seven draws.
He hopes to exact revenge with a new weapon, facing them today for the first time as coach, backed by a streak of good results domestically and in Europe since the season began.
In La Liga, Alonso has steered Real Madrid to eight wins, securing the top spot, while the club has won all three opening Champions League games, yet sits fifth on goal difference to the current top four. Alonso has tasted defeat from the Madrid bench only twice — once to Paris Saint-Germain in the 2025 Club World Cup semifinal, and once to Atletico Madrid in La Liga.
Clasico Curse Day
Ahead of today's Clasico on October 26, Real Madrid fears a heavy defeat by Barcelona, given painful memories on this date.
On October 26 of last year, Madrid fell 0-4 to Barca in La Liga; on the same date in 1958, the royal side lost to the same foe by the same score.
Flick's Dominance
Continuing the Four Curse, Real Madrid has struggled against the German coach Hans Flick in Clasico matches; since taking charge last season, Madrid has lost four games across three competitions.
After a banner 2023-24 in which Real Madrid swept Clasicos against Xavi Hernandez, Flick arrived to impose his will across the four matches played so far.
Barcelona, under Flick, swept Madrid in two Liga games and claimed two cups—Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup—against them. But Flick will not sit on Barca's bench today due to suspension; his assistant Markus Sorg will take charge.
According to Mundo Deportivo, the CAS rejected Barça's appeal to overturn Flick's suspension, upholding the disciplinary committee's decision. Flick was sent off in a Girona match at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in La Liga's ninth round. Referee Jesus Gil Manzano flashed the red card at 90+1 for his heated protests against refereeing decisions and stoppage time. Seconds after his sending-off, with Barcelona drawing 1-1 with Girona, defender Ronald Araújo scored a stoppage-time winner to hand Barca three precious points; Flick's celebration sparked controversy.
Barcelona's attackers surged, scoring 16 goals in four Clasico meetings last season: a 4-0 first-leg loss for Madrid, a 5-2 Super Cup win for Barca, a 3-2 extra-time King's Cup victory, and a 4-3 league finale that helped Barca clinch the title.
Punchline: If suspense were sharpshooting, this Clasico would win the league with a perfect headshot of the crowd's heart rate.
Punchline: The only thing more certain than a Clasico goal is the memes that follow.
