Cristiano Ronaldo’s late goal gave 10-man Real Madrid triumph in El Clasico and finished La Liga pioneers Barcelona’s 39-match unbeaten run.
Gerard Pique’s effective descending header from a corner had given Barca a 56th-minute lead after a strained first half.
Karim Benzema’s splendid scissor kick made it 1-1, preceding Gareth Bale had an objective brutally discounted for a push.
After Real commander Sergio Ramos was released for getting two bookings, Ronaldo’s magnificent completion won.
Ronaldo’s winner will without a doubt get the attention, especially as it has offered third-place Real some assistance with salvaging some pride from a poor season to date, however, the parity of the side was urgent to the triumph.
Under Rafa Benitez, Real was overpowered 4-0 by Barcelona at the Bernabeu in November, yet they appeared much all the more steely edge at the Nou Camp.
Benitez was rebuffed intensely for not picking Casemiro in midfield that night, a mistake that his successor Zinedine Zidane abstained from rehashing in his first El Clasico as a supervisor.
Casemiro’s impact in separating Barcelona’s assaults – and guaranteeing that Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar were disappointed – was pivotal.
Genuine’s front trio of Benzema, Gareth Bale, and Ronaldo had influence in the win, however.
Benzema recuperated from an awful first-half miss to score gymnastically from Toni Kroos’ diverted cross, while Bale could check himself grievous to have a goal precluded when he headed in Ronaldo’s chip, with the authorities judging that he had pushed Jordi Alba.
Ronaldo, having had little effect on the match until the end stages, snatched 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 a passionate night at the Nou Camp, as Barcelona united to pay tribute to their famous previous player and supervisor Johan Cruyff, who died of cancer on 24 March.
Barca’s players wore shirts weaved with the message “Gracies Johan”, while the fans lifted up sheets of paper in the stands before commencement to delineate the same message.
The desire for the home side was that their current assaulting greats would create an execution deserving of the Dutch expert.
In any case, it was no to be, with Suarez’s initial miss – neglecting to interface with Neymar’s square pass when free eight yards from goal.
Barcelona’s goal came from a player, Pique, who went to class in Sale.
Ramos could have gone when he seemed to cut down Messi on the edge of the punishment zone, yet ref Alejandro Hernandez did not give a free-kick.
In the second-half, the defender escaped from a second yellow card in the wake of fouling Suarez from the back and afterward dodged discipline through when he got Alves with a trailing elbow while up for a corner.
In the long run, his fortunes ran out. With seven minutes left, Ramos rattled into Suarez once more. Amazingly, Real then found a triumphant goal only a few minutes after.
Barcelona – still six points top of La Liga – host Real’s neighbors Atletico Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday.
Real head to Germany to confront Wolfsburg in the Champions League on Wednesday, then host Eibar in the league three days after.
