Barcelona suffered a second painful defeat in 4 days to their arch rivals Real Madrid as Los Blancos won their La Liga clash 2-1 at the Bernabeu on Saturday afternoon.
Having been comprehensively beaten on their home turf at the Camp Nou in the Copa del Rey semi-final, the Catalans were looking to bounce back but instead ended the game on the losing side once more as a late header from Sergio Ramos sealed victory for Madrid.
Karim Benzema gave Real an early lead in the 5th minute opening the scoring before Lionel Messi equalized for Barca in the 18th minute. Messi scored his 18th El Clasico goal tying the record of Madrid great Alfredo di Stefano. With a draw looking imminent, Ramos rose highest to head home the winner off Luka Modric's corner with just 8 minutes to go.
The match itself was a lackluster affair with both teams looking content with a draw. Real boss Jose Mourinho left out his star names including top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo. Xabi Alonso, Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira also sat out with the return leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 clash at Old Trafford coming up midweek. Barcelona meanwhile played an almost full strength side with only Xavi replaced by Thiago Alcantara in midfield.
Ronaldo was brought on with half an hour left in the game and he almost made it 11 goals in as many Clasico games as his free kick thundered off the post slightly after Ramos had given Madrid the lead. The game ended on a sour note for the visitors as a penalty appeal for a foul by Ramos on Adriano was waived off and keeper Victor Valdes was shown a second yellow and sent off for berating the referee on the decision.
The win sees the gap between the 2 sides cut to 13 points. It was Barcelona's first loss in the league at the Bernabeu in 4 seasons and have now won only 1 of their last 8 Clasico's; their worst run since 2006-08 under the reign of Frank Rijkaard.
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