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As it happenedended

Barcelona beat Real Madrid to take step closer to La Liga title

Re-live the action from the Clasico in Madrid

Jack Watson
Saturday 02 March 2019 14:19 GMT
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Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde discusses Lionel Messi involvement in Real Madrid clash

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Ivan Rakitic's fine first-half goal proved enough to give Barcelona a hard-earned 1-0 win over rivals Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu as the LaLiga leaders continued their El Clasico dominance.

Barcelona had completed a 3-0 victory in the Copa del Rey semi-finals on Wednesday night and never looked like being stretched after Rakitic's clever chip broke the deadlock after 26 minutes.

Tempers almost boiled over at half-time when Lionel Messi looked to have been caught by a stray arm from Los Blancos captain Sergio Ramos.

There were, though, few clear-cut chances for Real, who are now winless in their last six league games against their rivals.

Barcelona are now 12 points clear of Los Blancos and 10 ahead of second-placed Atletico Madrid, who host Leganes on Sunday. Re-live the action below:

What time does it start?

Real Madrid vs Barcelona kicks off at 7:45pm (GMT) on Saturday 2nd March.

Where can I watch it?

The match will be shown live on Premier Sports 1, with coverage starting from 7:15pm (GMT).

The match will also be streamed on Eleven Sports 1, with highlights uploaded to the Eleven Sports website after the game.

Predicted line-ups

Real Madrid: Courtois, Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Reguilon, Casemiro, Modric, Kroos, Vazquez, Vinicius Jr. Benzema

Barcelona: Ter Stegen, Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Alba, Busquets, Vidal, Rakitic, Dembele, Messi, Suarez

Form guide…

Real Madrid: DWWLWL

Barcelona: DDWDWW

Head-to-head…

Real Madrid 0 Barcelona 3 (Suarez 2, Varane OG), Copa del Rey, February 2019

Barcelona 1 (Malcom) Real Madrid 1 (Vazquez), Copa del Rey, February 2019

Barcelona 5 (Coutinho, Suarez 3, Vidal) Real Madrid 1 (Marcelo), La Liga, October 2018

Barcelona 2 (Suarez, Messi) Real Madrid 2 (Ronaldo, Bale), La Liga, May 2018

Real Madrid 0 Barcelona 3 (Suarez, Messi, Vidal), La Liga, December 2017

Odds…

Real Madrid to win: 17/10

Barcelona to win: 7/5

Draw: 13/5

Prediction…

Real Madrid 1-2 Barcelona

The Real Madrid anthem is blaring around the Santiago Bernabeu, which reminds me of this time that the Real Madrid players were super comfortable with singing it together a couple of years ago.

This is well worth a watch - they've just walked out onto the pitch so you have just enough time.

Jack Watson2 March 2019 19:44

We're off!

Barcelona get us underway!

Jack Watson2 March 2019 19:45

2: Busquets has wasted no time in getting a yellow card, 82 seconds to be exact. Modric pinches the ball from him in the middle of the pitch and Kroos is brought down by Busquets as he trots forward.

Bale lines up the free-kick on the edge of the area and lifts the ball into the crowd.

Jack Watson2 March 2019 19:48

5: Real Madrid get caught in possession and Messi has time and space to find Suarez. The Argentine produces an uncharacteristic error and adds too much to his through pass and Varane is on-hand to clear, albeit amid a little confusion with Courtois.

Jack Watson2 March 2019 19:51

7: Both sides don't seem completely comfortable just yet, there is a feel that we may get a goal soon as a result of a mistake by either team.

Elsewhere the boos for Pique are as loud as ever. Not a favourite in these parts.

Jack Watson2 March 2019 19:53

9: Benzema has started by playing in every position across the front three and finally gets his first sniff at goal. He collects a low pass fired into him from deep and drags an effort wide after cutting in from the left side. Dynamic play from the Real Madrid forwards.

Jack Watson2 March 2019 19:55

11: We've had our first dive!

Congratulations if you had 11 minutes for the first tumble on your El Clasico bingo card. You have a lot to thank Rakitic for after he threw himself to the floor under Reguilon's imaginary touch. 

Elsewhere, you know with the actual football, Real Madrid unleash a couple of shots on goal, the best coming from Kroos. His left-footed effort from the edge of the box swerves upwards and into ter Stegen's arms.

Jack Watson2 March 2019 19:58

14: It'll be interesting to see who is controlling the television pictures that we are seeing. I wonder where their season ticket in the Bernabeu is? We've just seen a montage of what seems to be penalty appeals for the home side. The first a nudge by Rakitic and then a handball claim after Lenglet throws himself in front of a shot. Get a grip.

Jack Watson2 March 2019 20:00

Modric shows off his impressive face control.

Jack Watson2 March 2019 20:01

17: So close from Messi! He wriggles his way beyond the defence after collecting Suarez's high one-two pass. He somehow gets the ball under control at pace and looks to chip Courtois, only to shoot just wide of the post. The best chance of the game, that.

Jack Watson2 March 2019 20:05

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