Much of Real Madrid's season has been a balancing act and they finally fell completely off the rails on Sunday as Barcelona sped away from them on the way towards reclaiming the Spanish title.
Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick but the Catalans came from two goals down to win 4-3 and the margin of victory might have been larger still, were it not for some contentious refereeing calls in the final stages in Madrid's favour.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti understood early on this season that fitting last summer's marquee arrival Mbappe and established stars Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo Goes in the same side was going to be difficult while keeping the team stable.
After losing just twice across all competitions on the way to winning LaLiga and the Champions League in 2024, this year Madrid have suffered 14 defeats – four of those against Barca – and will end up without a major trophy.
Defeat by Barcelona at the Olympic stadium on Sunday leaves them seven points behind the Catalans with three matches left to play.
That the Clasico was close at all came down to Mbappe, whose treble took him above Robert Lewandowski to lead Spain's scoring charts with 27 league goals.
"Mbappe was the only resistance," wrote newspaper Mundo Deportivo.
"Madrid faced the Clasico with one tank and 10 tin soldiers, and Barca knocked them all down."
Mbappe's goals also made him the club's top goalscorer in a first season at Madrid with 39, beating Ivan Zamorano's record of 37 set in 1993.
"The team's flagship figure is Mbappe," wrote AS, noting that although he has not been at his personal peak this season, he has still been one of the club's best players, and "among the 'fantastic four', undoubtedly the standout".
Madrid conceded 16 goals in their four Clasico defeats by Barcelona this season, scoring seven, with Mbappe netting five of those goals.
'CHANGING OF THE GUARD'
The French forward scored in every final Madrid played in, netting in European Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup triumphs, as well as in the Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup defeats.
By contrast, Vinicius and Bellingham did not score in any of the four games against Barcelona.
"The changing of the guard is real," added AS. "Heading into next season, the roadmap is clear: Mbappe and 24 others."
Mbappe failed to deliver in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid and then Arsenal as Madrid were eliminated in the quarterfinals, but his hat-trick against Manchester City was the kind of display Los Blancos expected from him.
With the team built around him and a sturdier defence and midfield, Mbappe can take Madrid to the silverware they demand.
"He did well," said Ancelotti of Mbappe, pleased with the way the forward got in behind Barcelona's high line, but upset at his team's woeful defending.
"It was quite obvious that we defended badly," said the Italian bluntly.
Ancelotti is set to depart at the end of the season to be replaced by Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso, who will inherit the puzzle of how to use Madrid's attacking stars effectively.
With Vinicius and Rodrygo struggling for form for months and Bellingham's first-season heroics long since faded, it is evident that Mbappe will spearhead Madrid's next project.