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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

44: Nice move from Real Madrid to give Barcelona something to think about. Casemiro kicks things off with a pass to Bale to switch the play. The Welshman heads into the centre and Reguilon heads that over.

Jack Watson2 March 2019 20:30

45: Messi down and what a surprise it's after a challenge from Ramos. The Real Madrid captain touches the ball from Messi and appears to catch him with a wayward arm. Messi eventually gets back to his feet and is furious with him.

Jack Watson2 March 2019 20:30

Real Madrid 0-1 Barcelona

It's still all-to-play-for in El Clasico as Barcelona go into the break with a slender lead. Ivan Rakitic's superb chip is the difference at the break, but you could reasonably make a case for either side to be ahead at the break.

Jack Watson2 March 2019 20:34

Back underway!

Real Madrid begin the second half.

Jack Watson2 March 2019 20:47

48: Positive start by Real Madrid.

Pique picks up a lose pass to win back the ball but loses it straight away as Real Madrid seek a quick goal. The home side turn the screw and win a corner after some neat passing around the edge of the penalty area.

Kroos' delivery is touched away but Real Madrid recycle possession. Casemiro gets the ball on the left and delivers a seemingly brilliant ball to the middle and Benzema is fractions away from scoring....oh, the flag was up anyway.

Jack Watson2 March 2019 20:51

50: Dembele does well out wide and almost finds Messi with a low cross. Real Madrid break, but can't find a way through a well-marshaled defence. 

Jack Watson2 March 2019 20:53

52: Good from Barcelona on the break, great defending from Real Madrid.

Suarez is charging down on goal with Varane for company after an error by Carvajal. The forward takes a heavy touch as he enters the area and Varane and Courtois combine to clear any danger. 

Jack Watson2 March 2019 20:54

​55: We have our first change. Kroos makes way for Valverde, which is interesting as he seemed to be doing fairly well.

Jack Watson2 March 2019 20:57

56: Vinicius attempts to prove he can finish and almost has a goal! he cuts onto his right foot and almost catches out ter Stegen, but the goalkeeper swats his effort away.

Jack Watson2 March 2019 20:58

57: A great chance for Barcelona!

Messi moves the ball onto Alba and the left-back is inches from finding Suarez with a low cross at the back post. There was a slight deflection and Barcelona get a corner, which comes to nothing.

Jack Watson2 March 2019 21:00

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