MADRID: Goals from Karim Benzema, Federico Valverde and Rodrygo ensured a dominating win for Real Madrid against FC Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday for the first El Clasico of the season.
FC Barcelona have lost for the first time this La Liga season and at the place where defeat hurts the most, the Santiago Bernabeu.
Without ever utterly dominating, Real Madrid scored twice in the first half and looked on steady course to win what had been a largely uneventful 250th edition of the biggest game in club football.
But especially after Ansu Fati entered the fray late on, Barcelona found the kind of energy they had been lacking until then, pulling one goal back and seriously threatening to take at least a point out of the game.
All hopes of that happening were ended by what many might feel was a rather harsh penalty call right at the end.
The way the game ended did leave a bit of a nasty taste in the mouth, but the upshot of it all is that it's Real Madrid who maintain an unbeaten record in La Liga, and move three points higher than Barca in the table.
By half-time things were looking bleak. The game was just 12 minutes old when Vinicius powered down the left. Ter Stegen blocked the shot, but the rebound fell straight to Karim Benzema and Barca had conceded for just the second time in this Liga campaign. IANS
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