Barcelona leave it late to beat Real Madrid establishing a 12-point lead

Barcelona beat Real Madrid in the El Clasico

LALIGA Barcelona leave it late to beat Real Madrid establishing a 12-point lead

Faruq Ibrahim 23:06 - 19.03.2023

Barcelona opened a 12-point lead at the top of LaLiga thanks to a late goal by Frank Kessie that helped them beat Real Madrid.

Real Madrid took an early lead, but Barcelona dominated the game. The hosts restored parity just before half-time, and grabbed a late winner to clinch a famous victory over their rivals.

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Barcelona hosted Real Madrid at Camp Nou for the fourth Clasico of the season. The Blaugrana got their third straight win over their rivals thanks to a late strike by Frank Kessie.

Real Madrid dealt the first blow in the 9th minute after Araujo turned the ball into his own goal. Sergi Roberto pulled Barcelona level just before half-time.

Asensio thought he got the winner for Real Madrid in the 86th minute of the game, but it was ruled out for offside before Frank Kessie got a 92nd-minute winner for Barcelona 

Frank Kessie grabbed a late winner for Barcelona against Real Madrid in the El Clasico
Frank Kessie grabbed a late winner for Barcelona against Real Madrid in the El Clasico

The win opens a 12-point lead at the top of LaLiga for Barcelona, who are now clear favourites to lift the trophy. 

How it happened

The game lived up to its hype from the start, with both teams looking forward to it from the early stages.  

It was Real Madrid who got the first goal of the game when an attempted cross by Vinicius was deflected into his own goal by Ronald Araujo.

This did not deter the hosts, who were determined to play high, and they started to pin Real Madrid back and create chances.

They got their well-deserved equaliser just before the break when Sergi Roberto fired in after a goalmouth scramble.  

The second-half resumed where the first left off, with Barcelona dominating, but they continued to lack in the final third.  

The game advanced into the final stages with these dynamics until inspired substitutions by Carlo Ancelotti changed the tides.

Real Madrid started to dominate the game and thought they went ahead when Asensio turned the ball into the net, but he was found to be offside.

Barcelona weathered the Madrid storm and came out the other end triumphant when a devastating counterattack ended with Balde squaring the ball to Frank Kessie, who picked his spot on the bottom right corner of the goal brilliantly to fire Barcelona ahead. 

The little time left was only enough for an altercation, but it did not blow out of proportion before nerves were calmed and the referee blew the final whistle.

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