#ElClasico: Madrid edge Barca for crucial win at Nou Camp

 

Ronaldo gestures: goal

The trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar were out of the range today as Real Madrid’s BBC  won an ill-tempered match at Camp Nou.

Zinedine Zidane, coach of Madrid had said the team were not coming for revenge, having been whacked in the season 4-0 earlier by Barcelona at Bernabeu.

But the Madrid players knew what was at stake: a need to peg Barcelona lead on the La Liga table and  a need to recover bragging rights from their biggest rivals.

Barcelona too knew they needed to keep Madrid at bay, as both teams played cautiously in the first half, ending the segment goalless.

In the second half, Gerard Pique broke the deadlock for Barcelona with thunderous header in the 57th-minute and  Karim Benzema replied for Madrid with a bicycle kick at the goal mouth at the 62nd minute.

From then on, the game got more exciting.

Gareth Bale had a late goal ruled out after the Wales star was adjudged to have pushed Jordi Alba . Sergio Ramos was sent off in the 82nd-minute for a rash challenge on Luis Suarez.

It was left for Cristiano Ronaldo however to secure victory for the visitors with close-range effort five minutes from the final whistle, assisted by an intelligent pass by Bale.

Madrid not only won the El Clasico 2-1  but also ended Barcelona run of 39 games, unbeaten.Ronaldo, with 16 goals,  has now surpassed Raul’s 15 goals,  as the highest scorer  for Madrid in El Clasico.