Lionel Messi scored his 500th goal in Barcelona colours with a dramatic injury-time winner against Real Madrid, helping his side to a 3-2 win that takes them to the top of La Liga.
Madrid felt that they should have had a penalty with less than three minutes on the clock after Samuel Umtiti clumsily caught Cristiano Ronaldo’s leg, but referee Alejandro Jose Hernandez decided against pointing to the spot.
The breakthrough arrived just short of the half-hour mark through one of the more unlikely sources, as Casemiro was in the right place at the right time to tap the ball over the line after Sergio Ramos’s initial attempt hit the post and rolled across goal.
It took just four minutes for Barca to level things up, however, thanks to a piece of individual brilliance from Lionel Messi, who weaved past a couple of players and picked his spot for his first El Clasico goal in seven outings.
Ter Stegen was required once again soon after to keep out a bullet attempt from Luka Modric, moments before Gareth Bale hobbled off with another muscular problem to be replaced by nine-goal midfielder Marco Asensio.
There was a contentious decision late in the opening 45 minutes, as the already-booked Casemiro dodged a second yellow for a cynical block on Messi, while the little maestro somehow failed to convert from close range from the final kick.
Much like in the first half, it was the hosts who came out the quicker at the start of the second as Toni Kroos produced another top save out of a busy Ter Stegen.
Gerard Pique was the next to come close, being denied by Navas from a bullet head, and an end-to-end spell then saw Ronaldo fail to convert from seven yards out once Asensio squared the ball to him, before Suarez blasted at Navas near the back post.
A huge moment in the match, and indeed the title race, then arrived 17 minutes from time through Ivan Rakitic’s curled effort past the reach of Navas – his ninth goal of the season.
Another twist arrived as the final 10 minutes approached when Ramos lunged in on Messi two footed for a 22nd career red card, but Pique’s failure to convert when one-on-one moments later ensured that the match remained in the balance late on.
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