Barca win ‘El Classico’ to go top of Spanish La Liga
December 11th, 2011 - 6:05 pm ICT by IANS
Madrid, Dec 11 (IANS) Barcelona came back after conceding the quickest ‘EL Classico’ goal to beat Real Madrid 3-1 to go top of the table, courtesy their better head-to-head record over Madrid in the Spanish La Liga.
Pep Guardiola’s men had the worse possible start in the crunch tie as they went down to a Karim Benzema goal just 23 seconds after the start. A miskick from Barca keeper Victor Valdes landed at Mesut Ozil’s feet whose deflected shot rebounded straight to Benzema who slotted home from close range to give Madrid the lead in Santiago Bernabea Saturday.
Madrid pressed hard for the second goal but diminutive Chilean, Alexis Sanchez struck in the 30th minute against the run of play to bring the Catalans back in the game.
Xavi Hernandez’s deflected shot gave Barca the lead in the 53rd minute and showed why they are regarded as the best club team in the world. The newest member of the Barca team Cesc Fabregas grabbed the third in the 66th minute to end Real Madrid’s 15-match winning run and strike a potentially decisive blow in the race for the Primera Division title.
Elsewhere, Levante consolidated their fourth spot thanks to a 1-0 win over Sevilla. The win takes Levante five points clear of Sevilla.
Ruben Castro scored a brace in injury time to give Real Betis their first win in 11 games as they overcame Valencia 2-1 at the Benito Villamarin.
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- Barcelona take on Real Madrid in crucial 'El Classico' - Apr 20, 2012
- Real Madrid's lead shrinks to four points - Apr 09, 2012
- Real Madrid steer seven points clear of Barcelona - Jan 29, 2012
- Barca continue dominance over Real with Bernabeu win - Jan 19, 2012
- Real Madrid on brink of La Liga title - Apr 30, 2012
- Real Madrid defeat Barcelona in Camp Nou - Apr 22, 2012
- Real Madrid beat Malaga 3-2 in Copa del Rey - Jan 04, 2012
- Guardiola dedicates Getafe win to Eric Abidal - Apr 11, 2012
- Barcelona move closer to Real Madrid with 4-1 win - Apr 08, 2012
- Real Madrid routs Granada to lead La Liga - Jan 08, 2012
- Barcelona win easy in La Liga, Real maintain 10-point lead - Feb 20, 2012
- Barca look to put pressure on Madrid - Mar 23, 2012
- Barca stay seven points behind Madrid - Feb 05, 2012
- Real Madrid register narrow win in Getafe - Feb 05, 2012
Tags: 53rd, alexis, barcelona, castro, catalans, close range, crunch, decisive blow, el classico, five points, injury time, karim benzema, match, pep guardiola, primera division, real madrid, ruben, santiago, spanish la liga, victor valdes