Luis Suarez made his mark in El Clasico by scoring the winner for Barcelona in a 2-1 victory over Real Madrid in the Nou Camp on Sunday.

French defender Jeremy Mathieu gave Barça an 18th minute lead when he headed in a chipped pass from Lionel Messi for his first goal in the derby.

One player who knows about scoring in El Clasico is Cristiano Ronaldo and the reigning Ballon d’Or holder was on hand to meet Karim Benzema’s cut back to equalise on the half-hour mark.

The goal marked the seventh time in eight visits to the Nou Camp that Ronaldo had scored against Barça.

Gareth Bale then had a goal controversially ruled out for offside five minutes before the break while Ronaldo and Benzema were denied by Claudio Bravo either side of half time.

Real were then punished for the missed chances on the 56th minute as Suarez controlled a Dani Alves cross before sweeping a shot past Iker Casillas for his first Clasico goal.

The match became a scrappy affair afterwards, with Neymar firing over in the 67th at the end of a good solo run, a bit to Suarez’s frustration as the Uruguayan was unmarked nearby.

Messi had a curling effort sail inches wide while Benzema saw a shot take two deflections before being saved by Bravo, as Barça held on for a big win over their arch-rivals.

The result puts the Catalans on 68 points, while Real remain on 64 points in second place, four points ahead of Valencia and a further point ahead of Atlético.