MADRID BEAT BARCA 2-1
Barcelona, which had been unbeaten in 19 straight league games, stayed 1 point off lead
MADRID: Keeping Lionel Messi in check again in what could turn out to be his last Spanish league clásico, Real Madrid continued the impressive run which has put it at the heart of the title race.
Four days after beating Liverpool in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, Madrid defeated Barcelona 2-1 on Saturday to return to the top in Spain.
“We have to enjoy what we've been doing. We got two very good results and it wasn't easy,” Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. “Being in the lead won't change anything for us. We have to keep working hard.”
The victory in pouring rain in the Spanish capital left Madrid tied on points with Atlético Madrid, which on Sunday can return to the top when it visits sixth-place Real Betis. Madrid is ahead of its city rival on the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Barcelona, which had been unbeaten in 19 straight league games, stayed one point off the lead.
The 33-year-old Messi, who reached seven straight clásicos without a goal, has his contract with Barcelona ending this season. The Argentina star expressed his desire to leave the Catalan club last year but had the request denied.
Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos scored first-half goals to give Madrid its sixth straight win in all competitions. The defending league champions were coming off a 3-1 win over Liverpool in the Champions League on Tuesday.
“It was a very important victory for us,” Madrid defender Nacho Fernández said after the Barcelona match. “It's always special to win a clásico, and even more when we are so close together at the top in the fight for the title. You could say today was a final, but there is still a lot left in the league.”
Barcelona got on the board in the second half with a goal by Óscar Mingueza. It nearly equalized with a shot from young substitute Ilaix Moriba that struck the crossbar in the final play of the match.
“We tried until the end but it wasn't possible. We almost had it in that final play,” Barcelona's Sergi Roberto said. “We depended on our own results had we won, but now we need to hope that our rivals stumble. We will keep fighting until the very end.”
This was the first time Madrid has taken the league lead since the early rounds of the competition, and it trailed Atlético by 11 points at one stage.
The result ended Barcelona's six-match winning streak in the league.