Real Madrid 3 – Barcelona 1: Los Blancos tighten title fight

Real Madrid shortened Barcelona’s lead in La Liga to a one point difference thanks to their victory in an exciting Clasico.

Los Blancos found themselves 1-0 down very soon, but they showed great personality and confidence to make an impressive comeback thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo, Pepe and Karim Benzema goals.

The visitors made a perfect start to the match, scoring after just three minutes. Neymar drifted past Daniel Carvajal and Pepe before latching a strike into the bottom corner.

Los Blancos reacted ferociously, with Benzema hitting the post twice in the same play. The Frenchman first headed an attempt off the bar and then again in the follow up with a powerful shot.

Marcelo was a nightmare for Barcelona’s defence, constantly sending dangerous crosses.

Real were dominating, and yet Leo Messi had a huge chance to make it 0-2. The Argentinian met a low cross from Neymar but missed the challenge from five metres.

Another cross from Marcelo was the cause of Real’s first goal. Gerard Pique stopped the ball with his hand and the referee pointed to the spot. Ronaldo equalised with a confident shot to the bottom-right corner.

Los Blancos showed more hunger at the start of the second half, exerting a high pressure on their rival. And soon Pepe completed Los Blancos comeback with a brilliant header in a corner kick.

Barcelona struggled to threaten Casillas, while Los Merengues were extremely dangerous in their counter-attacks.

In one of those counter-attacks, Real made it 3-1 with a brilliant collective play. Isco stole possession after a corner kick and sent it to Ronaldo. The Portuguese found James, who threaded a lovely pass in behind for Benzema. The Frenchman sealed his superb match with a precise strike to the bottom corner.

Barcelona tried desperately to shorten Real’s lead, but Los Merengues were solid in defence. Ronaldo, James and Benzema had chances to score a fourth as Los Blancos kept on counter-attacking, but the visitors were lucky concede only three.