Barcelona came back from an early deficit to beat Real Madrid 2-1 and grab the bragging rights for the El Clasico on Sunday evening.
The result means that the Catalans now lead their arch-rivals by 12 points at the summit of the La Liga standings are in pole position to win the title come at the end of May.
Barcelona start brightly
Barcelona started the brighter of the two sides as Raphinha’s header was brilliantly saved by Thibaut Courtois before Sergio Busquets fired over the bar from a dangerous position.
However, it was Carlo Ancelotti’s side who took the lead in the lead in the ninth minute when Vinicius Jr’s cross was bundled into his own net by Ronald Araujo.
The hosts however didn’t let their heads drop as they looked to get back into the match by building from the back and maintaining possession in midfield.
Xavi’s side had two decent opportunities from Raphinha and Andreas Christensen but were both denied Courtois to keep the reigning Champions ahead.
Barcelona finally restored parity when Sergi Roberto fired home the equalizer minutes before the half-time whistle.
The Catalans could have been ahead after the hour mark but Robert Lewandowski’s acrobatic effort sailed over the bar.
Real’s gameplan, however, was clear; they tried to isolate Vinicus one on one with Araujo with Benzema looking to make darting runs into the box.
Ancelotti made several attacking changes and it almost paid off when Marco Asensio slotted home with just ten minutes left. However, VAR intervened to chalk the goal off because the Spanish winger was offside.
Kessie nets winner
Both sides looked to get the winner, and with the game looking certain towards a draw, it was substitute Franck Kessi who smashed in the winner in stoppage time.
Lewandowski’s fine back heel put Alejandro Balde through in the left flank, and the youngster kept his calm to find Kessie with a pinpoint pass.
The result means that Barcelona have one hand on the La Liga title with 68 points from 26 games and 12 games left to play.
Photo Credit: Imago / ZUMA Wire
