Rakitic goal earns victory for dominant Barcelona over Real Madrid
BARCELONA returned to the Santiago Bernabéu three days after knocking Real Madrid out of the Copa del Rey and in effect knocked them out of the league title race too.
A single goal from Ivan Rakitic did for their biggest rivals and left Real 12 points behind with 12 games remaining. It also put Barcelona ahead 96-95 in clásicos across the history of this fixture – the first time the Catalans have led in 87 years and testament to their dominance in the last decade. This was their 11th win in the last 18 meetings in this stadium and their fourth consecutive win here in the league.
It was not as dramatic as the 3-2 or the 4-3, nor as overwhelming as the 6-2 or the 4-0, but it was yet another victory and sufficient to give Barcelona a 10-point lead over Atlético Madrid. As for Real, Ernesto Valverde refused to rule them out, but they are now a long way adrift. Three matches in three competitions across seven days were set to define their season: they have only the Champions League left and progressing against Ajax is no foregone conclusion on this evidence. Having suffered three consecutive home defeats for the first time in 15 years, a fourth would be even more costly.
The move that led to the only goal here began with Toni Kroos in possession but as he ambled Sergio Busquets took the ball from him, and built. Lionel Messi, receiving deep, played it to Rakitic who found Sergi Roberto and set off on a run. The return pass into his path was as perfectly weighted as the shot, the Croat clipping it over Thibaut Courtois.
There was something telling in the smoothness of the strike. - THE GUARDIAN