Cristiano Ronaldo's late goal gave 10-man
Real Madrid victory in El Clasico and ended La Liga leaders Barcelona's
39-match unbeaten run.
Gerard Pique's powerful downward header
from a corner had given Barca a 56th-minute lead after a tense first half.
KarimBenzema's
brilliant scissor kick made it 1-1, before Gareth Bale had a goal harshly ruled
out for a push.
After Real captain Sergio Ramos was
dismissed for receiving two bookings, Ronaldo's superb finish won the game.
Ronaldo's
winner will undoubtedly grab the headlines, particularly as it has helped
third-placed Real salvage some pride from a poor season to date, but the
balance of the side was crucial to the victory.
Under
Rafa Benitez, Real were overwhelmed 4-0 by Barcelona at the Bernabeu in
November, but they showed far more steely edge at the Nou Camp.
Benitez
was punished heavily for not picking Casemiro in midfield that night, an error
that his successor ZinedineZidane avoided repeating in his first El Clasico as
a manager.
PLAYER RATINGS: 'Bale had possibly his best
game for the club'
Casemiro's
influence in breaking up Barcelona's attacks - and ensuring that Lionel Messi,
Luis Suarez and Neymar were frustrated - was crucial.
Real's
front trio of Benzema, Gareth Bale and Ronaldo, nicknamed the BBC, played their
part in the win, though.
Benzema
recovered from a bad first-half miss to score acrobatically from Toni Kroos'
deflected cross, while Bale could count himself unfortunate to have a goal
ruled out when he headed in Ronaldo's chip, with the officials judging that he
had pushed Jordi Alba.
Ronaldo,
having had little impact on the match until the closing stages, grabbed his
42nd goal of the season late on, chesting down Bale's cross at the far post
before driving a shot between the legs of goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.
It
was an emotional night at the Nou Camp, as Barcelona united to pay tribute to
their iconic former player and manager Johan Cruyff, who died of cancer on 24
March, aged 68.
Barca's
players wore shirts embroidered with the message "Gracies Johan",
while the fans lifted up sheets of paper in the stands before kick-off to spell
out the same message.
The
hope for the home side was that their modern attacking greats would produce a
performance worthy of the Dutch master.
But
it was no to be, with Suarez's early miss - failing to connect with Neymar's
square pass when free eight yards from goal - the first sign of what would be a
disappointing night.
Indeed,
Barcelona's goal came not from the stellar attacking trio, who have scored 103
times between them this season, but from a player who went to school in Sale.
Pique
was educated in the Greater Manchester town, at Ashton-on-Mersey School, when
he was in the youth set-up at Manchester United.
Having
found the net just once in La Liga all season before Real's visit, Pique picked
the perfect time to score his second, escaping the attentions of Pepe and
rising to power in a header from a corner.
It
was not to be enough, though, as Luis Enrique's side lost for the first time
since 3 October, when they were beaten 2-1 at Sevilla.
Perhaps
the greatest puzzle of this gripping encounter was how Real Madrid captain
Ramos managed to stay on the pitch for as long as he did.
The
Spain centre-back was booked inside the first 10 minutes for dissent after
appealing unsuccessfully that he had been fouled by Suarez.
After
that, Ramos walked a very, very fine line. He could have gone when he appeared
to bring down Messi on the edge of the penalty area, but referee Alejandro
Hernandez did not even give a free-kick.
In
the second half, the defender escaped a second yellow card after fouling Suarez
from the back, and then avoided punishment altogether when he caught Alves with
a trailing elbow while up for a corner.
Eventually,
his luck ran out. With seven minutes left, Ramos clattered into Suarez again,
and was given his marching orders. Astonishingly, Real then found a winning
goal just a couple of minutes later.
Man of the match - Casemiro (Real Madrid)
What next?
Barcelona
- still six points clear at the top of La Liga - host Real's neighboursAtletico
Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday, before
resuming their league campaign at Real Sociedad next Saturday.
Real
head to Germany to face Wolfsburg in the Champions League on Wednesday, then
host Eibar in the league three days later.
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