Real Madrid 3 – 1 Barcelona

_{Photo: David Ramos / Getty Images}

Real Madrid beat Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in the ninth round of La Liga with a score of 3 – 1, and with their triumph in this El Clasico, they also took first place from their great rival. The Kings also inflicted the first defeat on the Catalans this season.

Los Blancos took the lead in the 12th minute. Vinicus broke through the left side and sent a shot that was defended by Ter Stegen, after which the ball bounced towards the center of the penalty area where Benzema scored for 1 – 0.

Barcelona came close to equalizing in the 26th minute after Lewandowski missed a decent chance, and very quickly Real doubled their lead. After a long action, Mendy passed the ball to Valverde, who hit the bottom right corner of Ter Stegen’s goal with a great shot. 2 – 0 was the result of the first half.

The only excitement in the early stages of the second half was Benzema’s goal which ended up being disallowed because of an offside position, as then there was a period of play marked by substitutions without any major opportunities on either side.

Seven minutes before the end of the match, Barcelona managed to score after Ferran Torres scored a goal from close range. This was followed by violent attacks by Barcelona in the hope of scoring an equalizing goal, but they could not find their way into the home team’s net. On the other hand, Rodrygo made the final 3 – 1 for the Madrid club from the penalty spot in the first minute of stoppage time.

With tonight’s triumph, Real overtook Barcelona and took first place with three points more than their great rival. In the next round, Real will visit Elche, while Barcelona will welcome Villarreal.