Second-half goals from Vinicius Junior and Mariano saw Real Madrid beat Barcelona in El Clasico and move above their rivals at the top of La Liga.
Following a cagey opening, Arthur was put clean through on goal by Antoine Grizemann. But the Brazilian was unable to lift the ball over the towering Thibaut Courtois.
Moments later, the Belgian goalkeeper was in the thick of the action again when Sergio Busquets found Lionel Messi with a defence-splitting pass. But Courtois stood firm once more.
The first half ended goalless, but Real Madrid came out fighting after the break. Marc-Andre ter Stegen saved Isco’s curling long-rang strike before Gerard Pique cleared another off the line.
Barcelona substitute Martin Braithwaite almost made an instant impact when he came off the bench midway through the second half. But the deadlock was finally broken on 71 minutes.
Toni Kroos’ through-ball found Vinicius down the left wing and the youngster cut inside to fire a deflected shot past the helpless ter Stegen.
Messi looked set to level moments later, but Marcelo tracked back to make an excellent goal-saving tackle. The left-back celebrated as if he had scored.
Mariano then wrapped up the win by coming off the bench to score Real Madrid’s second goal in added time.
Los Blancos are now back at the top of La Liga – one point clear of Barcelona and ten clear of third-place Sevilla.
Real Madrid – Barcelona
Possession
44%-56%
Shots
13-9
Shots on Target
5-4
Corners
8-2
Fouls
13-10
As expected, Barcelona enjoyed the majority of the possession. But Quique Setien’s side failed to make the most of their opportunities.
The brilliance of Thibaut Courtois, coupled with Barcelona’s wastefulness, saw the Catalan giants come away with nothing to show for their efforts.
However, the finishing from both teams wasn’t good. Real Madrid and Barcelona both built plenty of promising moves, only for them to be break down in the final third.
The 21-year-old Uruguayan has played a pivotal role for Real Madrid throughout the campaign and he was a threat both in defence and in attack on Sunday.
Valverde played on the right of a midfield three and continuously broke down Barcelona’s counter attacks, as well as starting a number of promising moves for Zinedine Zidane’s side.